How to Find Joy

38. From Helpless to Powerful (A Guided Practice)

• June Suepunpuck • Season 2 • Episode 38

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In this episode of the How to Find Joy podcast, host June Suepunpuck discusses the importance of acknowledging and processing heavy emotions in order to reclaim joy. She shares her personal struggles and emphasizes that joy is essential, especially during difficult times. The episode includes a guided breathing exercise aimed at helping listeners connect with their feelings and release emotional burdens. June also introduces the concept of the 'joy rebellion,' encouraging listeners to embrace their emotions and find empowerment even in challenging circumstances.

Takeaways

  • Joy matters more now than ever.
  • We cannot avoid or repress our feelings.
  • When we avoid these feelings, they trap us.
  • The release of feelings creates space for joy.
  • Breathing exercises can help honor our feelings.
  • Emotions need space to move and be expressed.
  • We choose to feel and breathe through the mess.
  • Empowerment comes from acknowledging our emotions.
  • The joy rebellion is about not waiting for perfection.
  • Community support is vital in finding joy.

Things Referenced

Join the Joy Rebellion community and leave a comment about this episode here.

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June Suepunpuck (00:02.255)
Welcome to the How to Find Joy podcast. If you are currently feeling unhappy, overwhelmed, stuck in a rut, or simply need a boost of hope, you've come to the right place. I'm your host, June Supanpuk, also known as Joy Guy June, and I'm here to give you honest conversations on how to find joy through this messy thing called life. My intention is to share practical tips on how to get back on the path towards joy.

show you examples of what that could look like for you, and help you feel more inspired and connected to your own definition of success, power, and true happiness. If you're ready to learn what's possible, the How to Find Joy podcast is here for you. So let's get this pod started. Woohoo!

June Suepunpuck (00:54.606)
everyone and I just want to say thank you for your patience as this is a late episode. I want to admit that I have definitely been struggling this week because of everything that is going on in the world and also what is happening in my own life and just really recognizing that doing anything right now feels really hard.

And if the world feels heavy for you right now, you are not alone. I am right there with you feeling sad or stuck or wondering what the heck is even the point. But after my weekend of honoring everything that I'm feeling, which is just a translation of not wanting to get out of bed, curling up in front of the TV and just numbing out.

I do want to say that today I do feel better and here is what I know. I feel like joy doesn't matter less in times like these. I personally believe that joy matters more now than ever. Because when we can stay informed about the atrocities happening in the world without collapsing into hopelessness, which is absolutely

default if you are a sensitive person in any way shape or form. This is though where we can actually make a difference if we do not collapse into the hopelessness. That I believe is where our power lives. And the only way to not get paralyzed in my opinion is to give presence to our feelings instead of numbing them out. Granted there is a time and a place I will be the first to say it that

You may numb out in any way, or form in order to survive, but here at How to Find Joy, I want us to not just survive life, I want us to thrive in life. And in order to do that, I truly believe that we cannot avoid or repress our feelings because joy is a feeling and if we repress our feelings that are bad, we're also probably going to repress the good stuff too. So...

June Suepunpuck (03:22.157)
When we avoid these feelings or oppress our feelings, they trap us. And this weekend, I felt trapped. I felt so stuck in this endless loop of hopelessness and fear and anxiety and stress and just, I don't wanna, why? Like, why am I raising a child in this world? Like, why am I here in this world? Like, what is the point? And...

I feel like when I finally was able to breathe into and honor my feelings, because there was a point where I was also kind of toxically distracting myself, when I actually though allowed myself to move through my feelings to be released. And that release is exactly actually what created space for my joy to return and for me to like feel some of that lightness that I've been craving again. And so

I wanted to share this exercise that I did today and also mantra that has been really helping me to anchor back into my body, remind myself what is the freaking point of all of this and that joy actually has a place in my life right now, even when joy is not accessible for others. And I truly believe that to make a difference in this world, we really have to

reclaim our power, remind ourselves of our autonomy because that is the way that we can support ourselves and lead ourselves back to a really powerful, amazing, joy-filled life and perhaps that joy can also support someone else. So when you're ready, we're gonna do this exercise now together and hopefully we can...

easily come back to this exercise, right? Again and again when life feels too hard or you cannot tap into your joy. So if you are not driving right now, go ahead, close your eyes, allow yourself to either be in bed or take a seat and just allow yourself to feel where your body is right now.

June Suepunpuck (05:42.562)
If it's seated, can you feel the chair underneath you? If you're laying down, can you feel the bed, the sofa, the cushions? Just tune in to your body. We think so much throughout the day. We are hijacked by our thoughts and our mind. So let's not dissociate anymore and come back.

Unclench your jaw, relax your tongue, unfurl your brow, maybe drop your shoulders just a little bit lower. And if you need to, go ahead and just take one cleansing breath in a slow pace, hopefully a deep one, so that you can actually breathe in.

this life that you are living right now.

June Suepunpuck (06:47.94)
And when you're ready, we're gonna go ahead and take a deep breath in through your nose on the count of three. One, two, three, breathe in.

Hold.

and exhale slowly out your mouth for six, five, four, three, two, one.

Notice what feelings are present. Grief, sadness, anger, numbness. Try not to judge that feeling. Do not run from them. Just name them quietly to yourself. And in the next breath, we're going to honor that feeling. Okay? So breathe in again. Four, three.

Two, one, hold. Exhale slowly out your mouth for six, five, four, three, two, one. Now pause. Where do you feel this feeling in your body? Is it your chest, your heart, your stomach, your throat? Place your hand there.

June Suepunpuck (08:12.898)
and breathe gently into that space slowly.

June Suepunpuck (08:20.656)
kind of giving yourself that air, that permission to be here without trying to fix or change the feeling.

And of course, cry. Cry if you need to cry. Scream if you need to scream. Do whatever it is that feels best. But if you were numb like me over the weekend, it just might be silence. Might just be naming it and just sitting with it.

Remembering to take deep breaths, relaxing, doing everything so slowly and imagining that with each breath, your body gets a little lighter. Not because the pain is gone, but because it finally has somewhere to move.

Again, on the count of three together, let's breathe in. One, two, three, breathe in.

Hold and exhale, stress slowly. One, two, three, four, five, six.

June Suepunpuck (09:30.886)
Emote whatever it is that your body needs to release. Give it room. Give that feeling space. And this is the path towards joy. This is how you get your power back, facing what feels heavy instead of avoiding it. And on the other side is where joy can meet us again. This is something that I feel like is the easiest way when I cannot access

anything. When I am too tapped out, too exhausted, too cynical, this is how I can actually honor my joy, which is to really honor my feelings. Because as somebody who is used to being the strong one, repressing my emotions, not naming it, I love to stay in my mind. I love to use my mind to escape.

I love to use my mind to create solutions or try to do more. And oftentimes all my body is craving and needing is just to be. So this breathing technique to just breathe in, slow down your whole nervous system, name the feeling, and maybe try to emote whatever it is that your body needs to release, that is the presence that leads back towards joy.

even if you don't feel joy in that moment. That is not the point, by the way. You're not trying to do this because you're like, my God, this is the exercise you can do in order to feel joy right now. No, this is to honor the truth of your lived experience. And then eventually from the release and the freedom of that experience, you can feel your joy. And lately also, I've been using this mantra that my dear friend Eileen shared with me.

And I hope that it will help anchor you into your power again. And the mantra is this. I may feel helpless, but I am not powerless. Again, louder, say it with me. I may feel helpless, but I'm not powerless. And this last one, hand on your heart one last time, let it sink all the way in. I may feel helpless, but I'm not powerless.

June Suepunpuck (11:55.61)
And to me, this is what the joy rebellion is all about. This is why I feel like we need to start a movement where we're not waiting to feel good or feel joy when things are perfect. We don't abandon ourselves when things get messy. We choose to feel. We choose to breathe. We choose to move through the messy middle, even when it's hard. So I hope this exercise can help you through the rest of this eclipse season. And of course, I'd love to hear from you.

If you have not already, please head over to the JoyGaiJun sub stack, which will be linked in the show notes. And I'd love to hear your experience in the comments. Let's use this space to hold each other through the heaviness, to name our pain honestly, and to share ways we're finding joy on the other side of it. I think we're more powerful together, you know? So allow this space to be the community that is part of this podcast too.

June Suepunpuck (12:56.006)
If you love this episode and want more, there are a few ways to stay connected. You can explore more resources over at JoyGuideJune.com. That's where you'll always find the latest episodes, upcoming events, and ways to work with me. And if you want a community where you can be loved and to also see some of my more private journal essays.

You can join me on the Joy Guide June sub stack. That is also where you will find extra nuggets of wisdom inspired by each of our podcast episodes. And of course, if you're craving personal guidance, you can book a one-on-one joy guidance session with me. It is private, it is custom, and a space for you to get clear on what's next for you and your path to joy. So no matter how we stay connected, I am so glad you're here and I will see you next time.