I am back at the piano, for the first time in 27 years! I closed my gr8 books following a traumatic final exam, never to touch the black and white keys again, until last week.
Granny Ida’s beautiful heirloom Babygrand’s silent accusations forced me to take action. I can already play ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘When the Saints’. Humbling, hilarious, but so much fun!
High effort relaxation where we engage both top brain cognition, as well as bottom-brain sensory systems, is the only way (I have begun to realize) to reset and re-regulate our overwhelmed, frazzled, traumatized selves.
Try your hand at adult music lessons, learn new dance moves, commit botanical names of trees/plants to memory on your morning walk, or try out a challenging recipe – anything which absorbs you completely, and provide (albeit temporary) relief from ongoing stressors, work, and our screens.
It’s probably one of our best tools in preventing burn-out, preserving health and wellness, and increasing productivity.
