This is our final Sunday fun-day for this Challenge.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been working this Challenge for almost 30 days. I’ve learned many things about myself. We’ve addressed both emotion and friction while incorporating them into our workout. Actually, they are a result of the workout.

I was raised during a time when we were taught that we needed to control our emotions. We needed to keep them hidden. We were weak if we showed our emotion. And no one wanted to see you cry. “Suck it up buttercup”, “brush it off and keep going”, were words we heard when we heard when we got hurt.

I don’t blame my parents for this though. They were only parenting the way they were parented. Part of our shadow work is to heal these wounds and change the perception of how we grow and learn.

For many years of my life, until recently, in fact, I hid my emotions. I never cried in front of my children. Certain people said I had a cold heart, because I didn’t show emotion. While that hurt, I never let it show. But it did affect me. For a while, I believed it. Yet, somehow in my “cold heartedness”, I still took excellent care of my children, volunteered and gave to charities. I was always there to help anyone who asked. Now that I look at the big picture, I can tell you I do have a heart.

The emotions didn’t break lose until I started doing the work. I’ve been focusing on my shadow work for years now. But to be honest, those tears didn’t flow freely, until I started this challenge.

I believe the friction created by the workout options is what forced the emotion to the surface. The friction creates pain in the body. We are learning the the pain we experience isn’t just a physical reaction to the body working muscles that haven’t been worked in years. The pain is also an emotional response to the energy that has been stored in those muscles. The “work” forces and releases that energy which is what prompts the emotion, causing the tears to release that energy.

I don’t claim to be an expert when it comes to shadow work. I’m a “newbie”. I will tell you I’ve learned a lot. I’ve become more acquainted with my true self. I’ve learned to trust myself. And I’ve learned that with time and patience, I can heal.

I’ve also learned that those working the Shadow Work Challenge have been a great support to each other. It is a new experience for me. I’m thankful for all the gifts that this Challenge has afforded me.

If you’re looking to grow and heal from past trauma of any sort, you should consider joining the Challenge in January 2023.