Permission to Pause

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Quantum Waves of Wellness. I’m your host, Dr. Paula Apro, holistic health mentor and your guide to unlocking the healing power within.

Today I want to talk about something that I’ve personally struggled with for pretty much my entire life.

Relaxing.

Now, I know that probably sounds ridiculous. How hard can it be to relax, right? Well, when you’re me, it can be downright impossible.

You can sit down and put your feet up. Maybe you read a book or watch TV. You can even go on vacation and escape all your every day stressors. But, if you’re nervous system has become accustomed to the habit of being stuck in Fight or Flight, no actual relaxing is going to happen.

We have to realize that there is a very big difference between stopping what we’re doing, and actually allowing our mind and body to rest.

This has always been a challenge for me.

I’ve spent most of my life in what I would describe as a state of nervous system overdrive. I’m a doer. I’m always thinking, creating, crafting, researching or planning my next big adventure.

For years, I thought this was simply part of my personality. I never really thought this was a problem because I like being this way, and I enjoy being productive, learning new things, and having endless projects.

The problem is that we are human BEINGS, not human DOINGS. And we need to balance our doing with our being.

Life is all about balance and I’ve personally spent my entire life with a very tipped scale. It took a long time for my brain to get the memo. But I think I finally got it now!

The more I’ve learned about energy, stress, and the nervous system, the more I’ve started looking at it differently. Sometimes we become so accustomed to being “on” that being “off” doesn’t feel natural anymore. And I think a lot of people can relate to this.

You may feel exhausted, but you can’t settle down. You’re looking forward to a day off, but when you finally get one, you fill it with things that need to be done. You finally sit down at the end of the day and instead of feeling peaceful, your mind starts going over everything that happened today—or everything that needs to happen tomorrow. You’re tired, but you’re wired.

If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you know that I am always looking for an easier way to achieve wellness. I guess you could call it “biohacking” but I know some folks are adverse to that word.

Let’s just explore that word down for a moment. We all know what the term “hacking” means when it comes to a computer. Hackers are brilliant folks that can manipulate software and computer systems to do anything they want. They defy the laws of computer science and somehow figure out creative backdoor ways to work around the system and the structure.

So now let’s think about “hacking” in terms of our bodies and our health. What if there were new super creative ways to manipulate, or guide our body toward a desired state of being? Computer hackers aren’t necessarily using invasive dangerous machinery that physically harms a computer. They are simply using code, which is nothing more than information. They are writing new rules by which the system will follow.

What if changing the way our body functions is as easy as that? What if we could just change the information or instructions that our body is following and break out of a harmful cycle or pattern?

I no longer believe that healing has to be hard. Today we have so many more options available to us. And that’s the reason I have accumulated so many of these crazy bioenergetic tools over the years.

I’m always asking the same question:

Is there something that can help the body do what it already knows how to do, but may have forgotten how to do it? And there answer is yes. There are many somethings that can gently help our bodies remember how to function properly.

I have been collecting and experimenting with these sorts of tools for nearly a decade. And what an interesting and fun adventures it’s been. There is no doubt in my mind that most of the population is very much missing out on the amazing healing potentials that frequency medicine has to offer.

And that’s really the entire goal of this podcast. To open curious minds to new ways of helping the body remember how to BE, just be.

Now, getting back to my own personal struggle of not knowing how to rest and relax on my own. It took me a very long time to fully grasp the importance of allowing the body to shift out of Fight or Flight. No regeneration can happen during stressful times. This was not really a topic of concern in my younger years, but as we age, the topic of regeneration becomes much more of a concern.

I wanted to come up with a simple protocol that helps people like me . . . those who are stuck in nervous system overdrive, who know they need to slow down, but can’t seem to get there on their own ... to be able to finally give their brain and nerves a much needed break.

So I’ve been playing with a new protocol that I’m calling Permission to Pause.

And I love that name because I think sometimes that’s exactly what many of us need.

Permission.

Permission to stop being productive.

Permission to stop trying to figure everything out.

Permission to stop thinking and actually give the brain a break.

And maybe even most of all, permission to put yourself first, if even for just an hour.

This is a huge one for me personally. As an empath, a healer, and a healthcare practitioner, I am so overly focused on helping everybody else, my own needs always take a backseat. Such a big mistake. I wish somebody gave me permission 30 years ago!

So anyway, I started playing with the different technologies and techniques that I have here at the ZenDen and put together this brand new one-hour experience.

As with most of my services, this one is crafted to address each and everyone’s very unique needs. Because there is no one-size-fits-all medicine. It starts with two bioenergetic voice analyses. I use that information to help me choose the most appropriate multi-sensory experience that will follow.

In addition to the blissful light and sound journey provided by the NeuroVIZR, you will also enjoy a completely customized 15-minute Energy4Life meditation crafted especially toward your current emotional needs. And that meditation becomes yours. You can take it home and continue using it whenever you need your own little Permission to Pause.

Then we finish with one of my favorite Eden Energy Medicine techniques—a deeply relaxing nervous system protocol that involves gently holding specific points around the head and face.

And that’s it.

For that hour, you don’t have to accomplish anything.

You don’t have to understand anything.

You don’t have to fix anything.

You just get to receive.

Now, I want to be very clear about something. I don’t believe one hour is going to undo decades of stress or suddenly release every emotional experience you’ve been holding onto.

That’s not realistic and that’s not the point.The point is to give your mind and body an experience of truly and deeply relaxing.

Because I think sometimes we forget what the state of relaxation actually feels like. We become so accustomed to tension that tension feels normal.

We become so accustomed to rushing that slowing down feels uncomfortable.

We become so accustomed to carrying everything that we don’t even realize how heavy it has all become.

Are you just a little curious what happens when, even for a little while, you put it all down? Who knows how you’ll feel during or after that precious pause. I can’t answer that for you. You’ll just have to wait and see.

Sometimes the first step is simply discovering what it feels like to truly take a break for a while. From there, you may want to take it a step further and explore letting go of some of the heavy emotional baggage you are carrying. Now don’t be offended. Believe me, we are ALL carrying a heavy load and we could all very much stand to get rid of some of that load.

But that may be a topic for a different day. For right now, I just want to invite you to consider what it may feel like to give your body the right environment and the support it needs to take a break.

So whether you come experience a Permission to Pause with me at the ZenDen or simply decide to give yourself ten quiet minutes today, I want to leave you with this thought, and believe me . . . I need to a reminder of these things every single day.

Rest isn’t something you have to earn. (My goodness that’s an important one to let sink in!)

You don’t have to finish your tasks first.

You don’t have to solve every problem.

And you certainly don’t have to wait until your body forces you to stop.

Sometimes you simply need to give yourself permission.

Permission to stop.

Permission to let go.

And permission to pause.

For more details on this service please check the link in the show notes, or visit www.thezenden.me.

Until next time, stay curious, stay open, and keep riding those quantum waves of wellness.