From Hibernation to Healing: Navigating Life’s Natural Cycles

Constantly being on an emotional rollercoaster going from one high to another and another until you eventually reach a low spot?

That is how I felt over the last two weeks. 2024 as a year with massive growth, learning and expansion – emotions high as the sky. Over the last two weeks however, I felt down. Lack of motivation, lack of drive, last of inspiration.

I just wanted to hibernate. Hide from the world and be left alone with my thoughts, my emotions and my dreams.

This is totally natural, it’s the beauty of life. Maybe it’s the time of the year. It’s part of the human experience. To navigate through the lows without losing sight, as well as the highs without getting on top of your head.

And although it is a normal part of life, people typically reject the lows and aim for the highs.

The truth is: One cannot exist without the other. Just like you need darkness to make the sun visible, you need the lows in order to see the highs.

You need the contrast – without lows, there is no reference point for the highs.

Both joy and pain come from the same source, you cannot have one without the other. When you run away from pain while chasing joy, joy will always run faster and pain will always catch up.

Embrace both: To the degree you resist one is the degree you reject the other.

There is a time for everything. You cannot keep going and growing and feeling high all the time. Just like you cannot continue working without rest.

You can say: The way through hell leads to Heaven.

The time when you feel low is the time to slow down, reconsider everything you have in life, everything you have achieved in life and everyone who has supported you.It is a good time to reassess your values, your beliefs and your thought patterns.

The lows are really just guides that help you consider the course you are on, recalibrate your heading and focus on what really matters. Use them wisely, learn from them, grow through them.

Lows can create a problem if you let them. If you get caught up in the inner narrative of self doubt, entertaining limiting beliefs and indulging in negative emotions. Instead of facing reality, resisting what is. Running away and using escape mechanisms.

The danger: Getting stuck in a downward spiral of distraction, procrastination and avoidance. Paralyzed by your own mind.

The solution: Emotional Mastery

When you master the art of emotional regulation, you will not lose sight during lows, nor will you get over your own head when experiencing highs.

Mastering your emotions is not about suppressing them. Suppressing emotions will lead to chronic health challenges.

It is about allowing them to pass through. When you suppress them, you resist. Energy likes to flow freely. Don’t block the flow of life, you cannot do that sustainably for a long time.

When you become present and aware of any downs in mood, motivation, or drive, you create space and experience these emotions from a whole different level. You are already on your path of healing.

Sometimes just one or two deep conscious breaths can help you recalibrate your state and get back on course. Sometimes it can take a little more effort. Lots of presence is required.

I recommend journaling. It is a powerful way to bring more awareness to consciousness, sort your mind and allow the flow of energy without interrupting it.

If you want to learn how to regulate your emotions, download my free guide: Emotional Mastery – The first step towards freedom.

When you allow yourself to fully feel and accept the moments that feel the lowest, without getting caught up in regret, guilt, self pity, anger or other energy draining behavior, you get out of your mind and out of your own way.

You learn to navigate these ups and down with ease and grace.

In addition to emotional mastery, a proper structure and routine will be extremely beneficial and valuable. When you follow a routine with discipline, you don’t let emotions influence your actions and behavior.

Can breathwork help?

Here is how breathwork will help you create more equilibrium in your life.

Breathwork and breathing exercises can be extremely helpful to learn emotional mastery and to help you navigate the highs and the lows.

A single conscious diaphragmatic breath can take you right back to the present moment and shift your focus. You learn to pause before letting emotions influence your actions.

Do this often enough and it becomes an automatic habit. You become aware of a trigger, take a deep breath and continue undisturbed by any unresolved emotions.

A 60 min breathwork session can reset and regulate your whole nervous system and create homeostasis while building trust and confidence in life. Trust in life also means trusting in the lows and highs.

When you see your emotions as friends, helpers and teachers instead of enemies, you get to surf and ride the waves of life with ease. Your whole journey will become much smoother.

You stop getting lost in the valleys and learn to find your way despite the shadows you cast over your own life.

Everyone will experience highs and lows throughout their life, their years, months, weeks, sometime even throughout the day.

The key is to not to avoid any lows, but embrace them and to surrender. They add intensity to your life, they have great teaching potential, and are part of the whole.

Lows are a great way to become more present and open your heart(and mind) a little wider. This can be a catalyst for transformation.

Next time, you feel down, allow yourself to become fully aware of it, breathe through it and reflect. Journal about it. Awareness is the first requirement for change. You need to know where you are.