What 20 Minutes of Focusing Did for Me

This is my body card from a focusing session I did this week. Let me tell you what happened.

I Work with Focusing Partners Every Week

A focusing partner is someone who holds space for you, guides you gently, and reflects your words back to you. They're there to witness and support—not to fix you or give advice.

Here's the thing: I didn't come to this session with a problem or an agenda. That's what makes focusing different.

My Focusing Partner Led Me Through 6 Steps:

1. Clearing space - Setting aside the noise and making room to notice what's really there
2. Finding a felt sense - Tuning into a sensation or feeling in your body
3. Getting a handle - Finding a word or image that matches that felt sense
4. Resonating - Checking if that word or image feels right
5. Asking - Gently asking the felt sense what it needs or wants you to know
6. Welcoming - Staying open to whatever comes, without judgment

Here's What Happened in My Body

Through this 20-minute process, something internal showed up that needed attention.

I noticed tightness and rigidity in my neck—specifically the back of my neck on both sides, parallel with my ears.

An image came: a halo. One of those metal apparatuses that supports a broken neck while someone is recovering.

"Halo" became my handle—the word that represented the experience.

The Shift

As I sat with this, something shifted.

I noticed a different kind of halo above my head. In fact, many halos stacking upward toward heaven. As I imagined this, I felt lifted. Supported. Out of pain.

Then my body started moving side to side.

The halos transformed into hula hoop-type circles around my body. Tears started welling up.

And then the deeper handle came:

"I can take up space."

I realized my body didn't have to be stiff and upright, contracted and careful. I could move. I could open up. I could take up space in this world.

It was profound. Life-changing.

In just 20 minutes, I am changed. Now I know I am free.

This Is What Focusing Does

It helps you find what's asking for attention—even when you don't know what that is yet. It creates space for your body to speak and for you to finally hear it.

At the end of each session, I fill out a body card (you can see mine at the top). It gives me a visual map of what happened—a way to remember and honor the shift.

Want to Experience This for Yourself?

Two ways to explore focusing:

1. Work with me in a focusing session - Book a free 20-minute consultation here: LINK
2. Read the book - Focusing by Dr. Eugene Gendlin (1978) teaches you how to do this practice on your own or with a partner. 

Either way, this work will change you.

If you've been carrying something heavy and don't even know what it is yet—this is how you find it. And release it.