Welcome to From Stress to Vitality.
A journey back to your energy.
So just give your body the opportunity to remember something it already knows.
How to move on from holding on.
And into letting go.
From depletion into energy.
From simply getting through the day into feeling a little more alive.
Because stress and vitality are much more closely connected than we sometimes realize.
When we are under stress,
The body mobilizes energy to help us respond.
So our breathing can become quicker,
Muscles prepare for action,
Our attention narrows and the whole system becomes more alert.
And this response is useful.
But when stress keeps running in the background,
When we move from one thing to another without completing that cycle,
All that mobilization can begin to feel less like energy and more like tension,
Restlessness.
Tiredness.
And that strange feeling of being both tired and wired.
So we're going to work with that energy differently.
Not going to fight those stress levels but we're going to help some of that held energy to move.
And then just see what is waiting underneath.
So wherever you are,
Just notice yourself right now.
You,
This body,
This breath,
This moment.
Just ask yourself quietly,
How alive do I feel right now?
Just notice.
And now let's begin the journey.
So,
Rather than becoming completely still,
Just begin with a little movement.
Roll your shoulders up,
Slowly,
Backwards.
And down.
Slowly up.
Backwards and down.
And once more slowly rolling your shoulders backwards.
Let your arms loosen.
Move your fingers.
And maybe gently just turn your head from one side to the other.
Give your hands and wrists a little shake.
Nothing graceful here,
But just movement.
It's as if you are shaking off the residue of your day.
Shaking off maybe the conversation that is still going around in your head.
Those things that you need to remember.
The rushing.
The what next.
Just let some of it move out through your hands.
Now slowly breathe in through your nose.
And breathe out through your mouth with a sigh.
Again,
Breathing in.
Just let your exhale have sound if it wants to with a good sigh.
Just letting go.
Good.
And now just notice something.
You haven't had to become perfectly calm,
But you've simply interrupted the pattern.
And that is where change can begin.
From stress energy to living energy.
So just allow your movements to settle now.
Find your comfy space and feel the ground beneath you.
And take a comfortable breath in through your nose.
And this time think space,
Our breathing in space.
And breathe out pressure.
Inhale space and spaciousness.
Exhale pressure.
One more time.
Inhale.
Feel that spaciousness.
And exhale pressure.
Letting go.
Just notice where your breath wants to go when you give it room.
Maybe it goes a little lower into your abdomen.
A little wider.
You can feel your ribs beginning to move more freely.
Stress really tends to narrow us.
It narrows our breath,
Our attention.
Sometimes even our sense of possibility.
So we're going to do the opposite,
We're going to expand.
So on your next inhale,
Gently open your hands,
Spread your fingers,
Draw your shoulders slightly back and allow your chest to open.
And as you exhale,
Release.
So let's try that together now.
Inhale,
Hands and fingers opening.
Ribs and chest stretching.
Exhale and just let your body soften.
Once more,
Opening to the breath,
Opening to the body,
Opening to a little more light.
And then just let it go.
So can you feel the difference between being relaxed and being alive.
There can be softness and energy.
Calm and brightness.
Grounding and vitality.
So now just bring your attention to your feet and just feel them.
Feel your toes.
Just see your soles of your feet waking up.
Bring awareness into your legs.
Now,
Your awareness flows into your hips,
Your belly,
Your chest,
Your hands,
Your back,
Your face almost as though you are switching the lights back on,
One room at a time.
Hips.
Belly,
Heart,
Hands,
Back.
Face.
Here I am.
Now take a fuller breath.
A satisfying breath.
And just let it go.
As you breathe in just feel your body subtly rise and breathe out but remain awake.
This time,
As you breathe in,
Quietly think I receive.
And as you breathe out.
I release.
Inhale.
Receive.
Exhale release.
Just notice the difference.
We are no longer just simply emptying,
But we are receiving too.
And that's your breath,
Your space,
Your energy,
Your life.
Just remember what vitality feels like.
Now just remember something.
Just remember a moment when you felt genuinely alive.
Maybe you were walking somewhere beautiful,
Standing beside the sea,
Laughing until you couldn't stop.
Dancing to your favorite music,
Creating something just for you.
Swimming.
Stretching.
Feeling the sun or the breeze against your face.
With someone that you love.
Or maybe you were just wonderfully content.
Just let one small moment find you.
Don't just watch it like a photograph,
Remember how it felt inside your body.
Where did you feel that aliveness?
Or sit in your heart.
Your belly,
Your face,
Your whole body.
Maybe there was warmth,
Expansion,
Excitement.
Freedom,
Ease or a beautiful spa.
So stay with the sensation rather than the story because that feeling did not belong to the place or the weather or the day.
But it happened within you.
And your body really does know vitality.
And now.
You are feeling more into it and you are feeling the echo of it.
So let yourself feel that.
There's no need to make it bigger but just recognize it.
There you are.
So turn up your aliveness.
Let's just gently turn the dial up.
Just a little.
So just sit a touch taller.
Let your chest be open.
Allow the corners of your mouth to lift.
Relax all of your facial muscles.
Take a fresh breath in.
And a beautiful,
Freeing breath out.
Breathing in.
Feel your body.
And breathing out.
Just letting the energy move.
A beautiful,
Bright breath in.
And release.
And just ask yourself again,
How alive do I feel right now?
Maybe something feels warmer,
Clearer,
Lighter.
Will you feel more present?
And that counts.
Because vitality doesn't need to arrive as a great rush of energy.
Vitality can whisper.
I'd like to go for a walk outside.
I'd like to move.
I'd like to create.
I'd like to laugh out loud.
I really want to participate in my life.
Listen for what you want and take it with you.
Wonderful.
Now just think of one small thing that you can do after this practice that would support the feeling moving from stress into your vitality.
Maybe just opening a window.
Stepping outside.
A gentle stretch.
And a little exercise.
Putting on your favourite song.
Walking around your garden.
Holding someone who makes you smile.
Do something creative.
Just one small action that says I am choosing life over autopilot.
Take a deep breath in.
Feel your feet,
Your hands.
Sense your heart beating.
Just feel the extraordinary living body that is carrying you through this day.
Breathing out.
Let yourself arrive not at perfect calm.
But perhaps even better.
Because now you are more present,
You are open.
And you have reached into your vitality.
So just affirm quietly to yourself.
I welcome my energy back.
And I meet this day with vitality.
And just breathe those words deep into your heart.
Take that feeling with you.
Roll your shoulders once more.
Just shake your hand.
Slowly open your eyes and when you're ready Just go and meet the rest of your beautiful day.
You don't need to rush back into it.
But just step into it because now you are a little lighter.
A little brighter.
Wonderfully alive.
And you have found your vitality again.
Namaste my friend.
