Thanks for this insightful post, Laura! I feel less embarrassed about caring whether my hometown and ridiculously over-funded college football team wins 😂
My husband is also a big sports fan, and I feel many men find it a "safe outlet" to express big feelings they otherwise would have locked up somewhere inside themselves! The game is the container, a ritual to participate in; the team, a way to enact the highs and lows; the food, comfort. I think of the Knicks and how they made New York a happy place, a time to celebrate the good amid division and turmoil! Thanks for posting this Laura!
I struggle with the idea of catharsis, particularly from what I’ve witnessed in breathing practices, and from the work I’ve done with people after the cathartic breathing practices have left them shattered instead of relieved. Yes, we’re holding on to big feelings and their physical manifestations, but just bringing them out in a random way, without a larger context or container in which to orient them can be more destabilising. I love this idea of joining with others, cheering on your team, being a part of something larger, experiencing and metabolising emotions together, even if we’re technically alone in our own living room. Thanks for bringing the theoretical into the experiential.
I don’t love those cathartic breathing experiences, either— while some people I know seem to get a lot out of them, they felt pretty terrible to me personally. So glad there are other ways(which I know you teach!) to experience breathing practices that are more integrated and supportive, especially for folks living with the effects of trauma!
Thanks for this insightful post, Laura! I feel less embarrassed about caring whether my hometown and ridiculously over-funded college football team wins 😂
YES Mary, as it turns out, it’s all totally meaningful and valid! 😂 I love that so much. And we’re big fans of that team in this house, too! 🙌🏻
My husband is also a big sports fan, and I feel many men find it a "safe outlet" to express big feelings they otherwise would have locked up somewhere inside themselves! The game is the container, a ritual to participate in; the team, a way to enact the highs and lows; the food, comfort. I think of the Knicks and how they made New York a happy place, a time to celebrate the good amid division and turmoil! Thanks for posting this Laura!
YES Anne! Such a good example. The Knicks, the World Cup, the Olympics— incredible how these events bring folks together! So good. 💜
I struggle with the idea of catharsis, particularly from what I’ve witnessed in breathing practices, and from the work I’ve done with people after the cathartic breathing practices have left them shattered instead of relieved. Yes, we’re holding on to big feelings and their physical manifestations, but just bringing them out in a random way, without a larger context or container in which to orient them can be more destabilising. I love this idea of joining with others, cheering on your team, being a part of something larger, experiencing and metabolising emotions together, even if we’re technically alone in our own living room. Thanks for bringing the theoretical into the experiential.
I don’t love those cathartic breathing experiences, either— while some people I know seem to get a lot out of them, they felt pretty terrible to me personally. So glad there are other ways(which I know you teach!) to experience breathing practices that are more integrated and supportive, especially for folks living with the effects of trauma!