Letter from Acting President May 2023

It doesn’t hurt to feel sad from time to time.

- Willie Nelson

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Dear Reader,

Last weekend, Willie Nelson celebrated his 90th birthday. For decades, his one-of-a-kind voice and the dulcet tones of his acoustic guitar have spoken in a quirky yet direct way to the joy, trouble, humor, and weirdness of life.

Willie has written a lot of poignant words, and while one could write a dissertation on his cultural impact, the above quote stands out as particularly relevant to the work of the Institute. Simply, is grants us permission to experience the fullness of being human – sorrow and all.

One of the Institute’s four “Centers of Excellence,” the Center for Body, Spirit, and Mind, focuses on supporting individuals as they develop spiritually. This includes the dissemination of evidence-based mind-body through the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative, which was founded in 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The skills we teach are geared at helping people mitigate a chronic stress response, thereby reducing psychical, psychological, and spiritual distress.

There are two key “dances” involved in the practice of mind-body skills. The first is the dance between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. These systems, collectively known as the autonomic nervous system, play an important role in regulating our our experience of the inevitable stressors of life. The sympathetic nervous system regulates the “fight or flight” response, while the parasympathetic system regulates the “rest and digest” response. So, these systems must be in balance in order for us to function optimally. Unfortunately, in today’s demanding, fast-paced world we tend to over-stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which locks us into fight or flight mode, thereby contributing to chronic disease incidence and increased mortality. Mind body-skills provide ways for us to tap into our innate ability to regulate this stress response, for example by working with the breath.

The second dance of mind-body medicine involves experiencing and expressing emotions. In order to healthily move through difficult emotions, it is important to feel into them and find ways of articulating them through words, movement, art, music, or any other medium. The relationship between experiencing and expressing emotions is mutually supportive - the more one expresses one’s emotions authentically and without self-censorship, the greater capacity one has to experience them. Conversely, the more one pays attention to the nuances of one’s present emotions, the easier it is to fully express them.

So, when we feel sad, the best way to move through that sadness and integrate it into the wholeness of our lives is to get curious about it - asking questions like, “What do I notice as I feel sad?” or “Where do I feel this sadness most in my body?” or “What other emotions are present while I’m feeling sad?” Once one has allowed oneself to fully experience the sadness, it is good to express it somehow. Like Willie, you might write a song. Or, maybe you’ll call a loved one, make some art, or do a dance - anything to engage in some self expression.

As you move through the month, I encourage you to pause from time to time and consider what emotions are present and how you may express them in their fullness. You may be surprised at what you find.

If you’re interested in learning more about mind-body skills, consider attending one of our weekly groups. We look forward to dancing with you!

With Peace and Warmth, Stuart

Stuart C. Nelson, MA Acting President