What is your “False-Self” protecting?
The late psychologist Dr. Donald Winnicott introduced the idea of the “False-Self” which he described as a personality façade people adopt to protect the vulnerability of their “True-Self”.
It’s most likely we have many False-Selves, but when I consider an over-arching one in my life, what comes to mind is how I spent most of it pretending to be UNAFFECTED*. As a SENSITIVE child, I was vulnerable to people who liked to push my buttons and I thought that if I appeared to not care they would stop, and/or I’d feel it less. My logic was reinforced by others who told me, “Why do you let them get to you so much?”, as if my feelings were the problem, not the button-pusher’s behaviors.
By attempting to block off feelings of anger, sadness, or hurt, I ended up blocking my entire emotional center. I cut off my ability to feel anything so that by my mid-20’s, after a lifetime of shaming myself for feeling feelings, I found myself in a state of apathy.
Luckily, I found yoga which offered me a safe space to consciously move back into a felt experience of my body and the emotions that it houses. Exploring my Shadow helped me identify the stories and circumstances that created my False-Self narrative so that I could understand why it worked well for me as a child but sabotaged me as an adult. Together, the two empowered me to safely embody my SENSITIVE True-Self which plays a pivotal role in my ability to experience my life.
Yoga and Shadow are not separate, but two important components of the same process for reintegration with the True-Self. Yoga invites a return to body and all of its senses and Shadow gives context for understanding the personal narratives that caused us to leave it.
Can you identify an over-arching False-Self in your life?
What part of you is it trying to protect?
In what ways is the False-Self working against you now?
What would it take for you to feel comfortable allowing your True-Self to exist openly?
If this resonates with you, I encourage you to join me in yoga this week. Embodiment takes consistency, patience, and time.
If you have questions about which yoga classes are the best fit for you, or are considering taking my Shadow Alchemy program, please feel free to book a FREE exploratory call with me. I would love to hear more about you and your journey and offer suggestions of how Liminal Space offerings can assist you.
