How do you shift from perfectionism and self-judgement into new possibilities for freedom and ease?
Vix Anderton has found her path of freedom through embodiment practices, authentic relating and aligning with her body’s cycles. Our conversation explores the shape of playful possibilities and the experiences we’ve had listening to wisdom through our bodies.
Listen on the podcast here:
Here’s some of what we explore:
- Vix’s journey of recovering from perfectionism
- How to (kindly) lean into your edge by practicing the body of play and curiosity
- The two ways of being with uncertainty
- Aligning with your internal cycles to honor yourself and your commitments
Permission to Be You
The antidote to perfectionism can be found in the embodiment of play and curiosity. Vix shares that learning something new means going to the edge of her comfort zone, which can challenge the perfectionist need to “be the best.” She uses embodied practices to go beyond the conceptual understanding of choice to open up space for discovery through authentic relating, yin yoga, and hula hoop.
The embodiment of uncertainty can be experienced in two ways:
- Tight, controlling, needing to figure it out — a stressed body
- Possibilities, adventure, excitement – a soft, receptive, adaptable body
“Uncertainty is the other side of the coin where all the possibilities, adventure and excitement lies.” – Vix Anderton
The unknown isn’t scary until we tell a story about it. We can imagine a fearful future or create pressure by telling ourselves that we should know. Until we think of it unpleasantly, uncertainty simply means, “I don’t know.” There’s nothing inherently frightening about the unknown.
“The only way we know what’s going on is through the body and all of our senses” – Vix Anderton
Our thoughts and emotional experiences move together and form a shape in the body. In somatic practices, you can put your body into different shapes to have a different experience of the world. Vix has used this to find more authentic ways of being which open up the ability to choose a desired response rather than a habitual one.
“The more ways of being me that feel authentic and in integrity, that gives me choice.” – Vix Anderton
Allowing all your experiences means authenticity and permission to be yourself, however that may look. Vix finds embodied practices and honoring cyclical rhythms incredibly helpful because they provide a map or framework, while still inviting a deeply intuitive experience of showing up in the moment.
Paying attention to cycles means we can go with them, rather than struggling against them. It’s accepting reality as it is and recognizing what we can do within that. This allows for an ease in life. We can drop assumptions about our cycles yet embrace the wisdom in noticing trends.
Vix offers two questions for growth:
- What is a 1% shift to bring me into more alignment?
- What wisdom is available to me in this place?
“How am I in this moment and, given where I am, what do I need to show up the way I want to?” – Vix Anderton
There is intelligence within all the cycles. This aliveness powers everything and we can trust it to always be present.
You are already whole and absolutely enough. Yes, there may be skills to acquire or things to do, but you are absolutely whole as the messy, flawed, brilliant human you are.
Meet Vix Anderton, Coach, Facilitator & Mentor
Vix Anderton is a trauma-informed certified somatic coach, authentic relating facilitator and menstrualilty mentor. Her work is grounded in nervous system resourcing and regulation to help people connect to the medicine of their rhythms and cycles. She is committed to helping people to embody their innate wisdom and power, reconnecting them with their natural flow, intelligence and creativity.
She is an advocate for using the principles of embodiment, cyclical living and authentic relating to help rebel perfectionists manage their energy and emotions to bravely build more sustainable and authentic ways of being. She is the author of Enough: An Imperfect Antidote to Perfectionism.
Connect with Vix
Website: https://vixanderton.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/vix_anderton
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vixanderton
Enough: An Imperfect Antidote to Perfectionism by Vix Anderton: https://vixanderton.com/enough-book
Download free resources from Vix: https://vixanderton.com/tiny-courses-shop/e-books
Subscribe for new podcast updates: https://theawakenedbusiness.com/wildspire