LET GO WITH THE BELLY LAB
PRACTICAL ADVICE
Summer is here and the holidays too! However, this summer has a particular taste after this period of confinement. In order to have a great summer, I wanted to talk about “Letting go” with THE BELLY LAB advice and tips.
Our lives have become ever more intense, forcing us to adapt to improbable situations and sometimes creating psychological and physical disorders. As you know, for me THE BELLY LAB is an essential daily tool: it has become a lifestyle in its own right and a remedy for many ailments. Letting go is something that you can learn and I will not leave you alone, I am here to help you on your life path and share with you my experiences for permanent well-being.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "LETTING GO"?
Letting go is, first of all, wanting to distance yourself from your fears and suffering, which is hurtful in itself. Letting go is also about being aware of and accepting your limits. Above all, letting go is to stop wanting to control everything: yourself, others, the future, everything. When we talk about letting go, we mean a state of well-being, more prone to calm and serenity. By taking a step back we adopt a positive state of mind that is beneficial to the heart and body, as this attitude provides us with relief.
Our culture, society and education often make us adopt ideas or obligations, which can sometimes be reassuring, but can also be fictitious or even burdensome. We must therefore succeed in discerning these limitations that we impose on ourselves!
Of course, if it were so easy to let go, you would know how to do it by now. Before you can do it, you have to work on yourself to be able to heal, trust yourself and act on it. And to be aware of this is already activating a mechanism for change. It is to begin the path to our true nature.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN LETTING GO?
There are many ways to let go. However, I think the most important thing is to be aware of yourself and your emotions and to be able to express them. It is first of all through this awareness that you will be able to activate the mechanisms of letting go. Without this deep analysis of your frustrations, your anger or even the things that annoy or hurt you, it is impossible to be able to get better.
Now that I think of it, these months of confinement have forced us to take a break from our stressful lives and recharge our batteries.
So this month of August – which I hope will be a vacation month for you – might be the perfect time to put your daily worries aside and take some time for yourself and your concerns.
• Make lists
Write down the list of things that worry you. It is already a first step to consider and control them in the long term. Making lists allows you to see more clearly, to take a step back and above all to ask yourself the right questions. Is it that important? Is there another solution? What would happen if …?
These questions can help us put things in perspective and let go quickly, efficiently and durably!
• Be Here and Now
We are too often living in the past or anticipating a better future, so we no longer live in the present moment. However, this really is the key to happiness: being here and now. This is my credo, my leitmotif.
Whenever I start dwelling on a past frustration or have a stressful event to manage, I repeat to myself: “here and now”. There are things you can’t control and that’s just how it is. Going over past situations and anticipating disaster scenarios will not change things and it’s better to accept it quickly if you do not want to be gloomy. That’s not to say that we should not use our ability to foresee or organize things, far from it.
Nor should we become active in the face of events and assume our responsibilities. You just have to live in the moment.
• Breathe and know how to breathe
Breathing – and I’m not teaching you anything new if you’re following my THE BELLY LAB program – is essential! Breathing exercises help release tension, stress and anxiety. You can practice breathing exercises at home or even get help from a sophrologist. By practicing meditation, you will also be able to work on your breathing and your ability to let go.
• Practice positive visualization
In a stressful situation, no matter how hard we try to calm down, our brains are in turmoil and our dark thoughts come out. We can then try the technique of positive visualization, which consists of focusing on an image, a person or a moment that reassures and soothes us. It’s a bit like in Peter Pan: the Lost Children must visualize a positive thought in order to successfully fly! Try it out! Well, you won’t be flying, but it’ll help you to let go and that is no small feat.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LETTING GO WITH THE BELLY LAB METHOD
Every day I receive hundreds of messages from Bellies, and I take the time to respond to each of you, so forgive me if it takes a little while!. A lot of these messages revolve around the same concern: “I play sports, I eat properly and I don’t feel like I’m doing anything I shouldn’t, but my belly is still swollen and it seems like there’s nothing I can do“.
I often reply that you have to look at the emotional side, because when belly swells while you follow the TBL program, it often means that the problem comes from stress or a psychological blockage.
It is therefore important to take a step back and gain some distance to be able to let go. Only when you relieve yourself of the internal weight that you will succeed in achieving a flat stomach, and above all stop suffering from the stomach aches that bother you on a daily basis.
So you have to learn to let go with your mind first, and then learn to do the same with your body and accept it. The body reveals to us what we feel, and if we really know ourselves we know it’s not wrong! Practicing body positivity will undoubtedly help you take a step back and relax. This is essential for maintaining your balance and reaching your goal. Thanks to the TBL method, we learn to inhale and exhale while working the abs! Why deprive yourself from it?
Joëlle's word
The subject of “letting go” is so close to my heart! Yes, letting go has changed my life and the relationships I have with others! So why shouldn’t you? Take advantage of this vacation to do this exercise every day: let’s watch our thoughts go by and let it go! This new path of “letting go” is one of the most beautiful experiences in life.