Navigating Life Transitions with Grace and Resilience

How to navigate major life transitions, such as career changes, relationships shifts, or personal growth, with the support of counselling and yoga practices.

How life transitions affect us

Some transitions we know about, others we have no control over.

All transitions deal with loss, regardless of our choice.  When we move through a change, we leave something behind, we face something new, and we deal with the stress of the unknown and what the newness demands of us.  To keep ourselves fully present in the change, we must grieve what we have left behind, regardless of whether or not the transition was our choice.  Sometimes, dealing with this loss and grief helps provide us with the closure we need to move forward and see what lies ahead with more clarity and hope.  We need to source support for the overwhelm that can come with a fresh start and we need to find comfort in facing the unknown.

Creating and sourcing support during life transitions

Seek support: 

Seeking social, emotional and psychological support from friends and family, as well as a counsellor or psychologist, can ease the difficulties that arise during transitions. 

Physical support:  Looking after ourselves physically is also an important way of supporting ourselves through transitions.  This can include regular gentle exercise, massage, eating well, sleeping well, yoga and any other practices and physical activities that support our wellbeing.

‘Feel the feels’: 

All sorts of feelings can arise during times of transition.  As already mentioned, grief is a common one, but anxiety, frustration, stress are common too.  It’s important to allow yourself time to feel what is happening. Allow yourself time to pay attention to the sensations in your body and the thoughts in your mind.  Pay attention and let the feelings be felt, so that they can pass.  If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by your feelings, seeking support from a trained professional is really important.

Rituals: 

Rituals, long forgotten in the west, can be a really helpful way of punctuating or moving through these moments in our lives. This can be as simple as burning a candle, writing your thoughts down and burning them or some other symbolic gesture that represents a part or all of this transition.  If there is someone close to you that can be with you as you practise this ritual, this can be a nice way of letting someone support you through your transition.

Reflecting: 

Taking the time to pause and use meditation, mindfulness or journaling to ask yourself the following questions and making your responses your focus as you move through transition can help you process and anchor as you move through your transition:

• How would you like to look back on how you managed this transition?

• What was the reasons for the change and what did you hope for?

• What are some good things you bring with you into this change?

Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra or yogic sleep is a deep relaxation practice.  It can help us to integrate our experiences and aspire for something new.  It also provides relief from the stress and intensity of change and provides our mind with the space to navigate it optimally.  Yoga nidra is a simple practice that can be practised alone (in bed!) or it can be led by someone else.  It is suitable for nearly everyone and is easy to learn. 

Summary

• Transitions are inevitable

• Transitions tend to involve 3 factors: loss, overwhelm and anxiety. 

• However, they can also involve new opportunities, hope and exciting beginnings

• It is important to use our resources and support to move through transitions with grace and resilience

Reach out

If you’d like to know more about this holistic approach to therapy please reach out for more information or a free 15-minute consult call.

Author bio

Melanie Rothman is a counsellor, meditation, yoga and yoga nidra teacher.  She considers herself a lifelong learner.  The goal of her practice is to support clients to achieve their goals for therapy. Master of Counselling, Grad Dip Education, Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science)

Disclaimer:  The content contained in this blog post is not a substitute for medical or psychological treatment or advice and should not be taken as such.  If you are experiencing mental distress, please contact a medical professional for advice and treatment.