Here is one biblically rooted, nervous system practice that many Christian women overlook on their holistic health journey:
Lamenting.
Lamenting is a heartfelt expression that allows us to pour out our felt sense of pain, grief, and anguish + find relief.
In biblical times, lamenting often looked like a physical act of tearing clothing + wearing sack cloth and ashes. It also looked like writing or crying out raw vulnerable + honest words before God, and then turning to praise.
Today many of us internalize our pain instead of express it. We are really good at turning to praise, but often bypass our felt sense of pain. Bypassing + internalizing our pain instead of expressing it, may lead to a chronically stressed body and can often worsen:
Hormone imbalances
Sleep Disturbances
Heart disease
Anxiety + depression
Immune function
and more
I am not saying we should bring back sack cloth + ashes, but I do believe it is so important to cultivate practices that honor our mind, body, + spirit connection, and lamenting happens to do this.
The tricky thing is, it takes vulnerability + courage to step out of hiding from God and admit when we are hurting.
But often when we step out of hiding, release the white knuckle grip we have on our pain, + choose to lay the truth out before His feet, He is able to get to work mending our broken hearts (Psalm 34:18) + giving us a felt sense of peace + relief (Philippians 4:7).
Interested in trying it out?
Here are 7 prompts to help you engage in this practice:
Choose your experience + write it out.
Pause to notice + name where you feel it in your body (tightness in your shoulders, shortness of breath, dry mouth, etc).
Address God + review His Faithfulness in the past.
Write your complaint + retell your story of pain.
Write a confession of sin or a claim of innocence.
Write a request for help.
Turn to praise + write a statement of trust in God.
Biblical examples of individual laments for reference:
Psalm 6
Psalm 69
Psalm 13
Psalm 22
Psalm 130
Want to learn more practices that help honor your God designed mind, body, + spirit connection, through a biblical lens?
Join us inside Aligned + Renewed!
