Welcome,
Dear soul,
To number 5 of the Nervous System Regulation series.
Today we look at restoring the calm baseline,
Supporting the nervous system in remembering its natural calm and returning there with ease.
Find a comfortable position where your body can rest fully,
Laying down or comfortably seated,
Supported,
Held with nothing you need to do,
Letting your eyes close softly or lower your gaze.
Before we guide anything,
Take a moment to notice that you have arrived.
You are here and in this moment.
There is nowhere else to be right now.
Take a slow breath in through the nose,
And a long unforced breath through the mouth,
Again inhaling slowly and gently,
And exhaling,
Releasing fully.
With each inhale,
Breathing in calm,
With each exhale,
The body begins to receive a simple message,
This moment is safe.
You are not trying to relax,
You are simply allowing the nervous system to remember what calm feels like.
Begin now by noticing the weight of your body,
How gravity is holding you,
How the surface beneath you is doing the work for you.
You do not need to hold yourself up.
Notice the head being supported by the neck,
The shoulders,
No effort needed,
Mother Earth herself is holding you.
You are breathing in and breathing out.
As the breath settles into a natural rhythm,
Imagine a gentle settling spreading downwards from the crown of your head down through your face,
The forehead smooths,
The eyes rest gently in their sockets,
The jaw unclenches without instruction,
Nothing is forced,
It simply becomes unnecessary to hold.
Allow that settling to move into the shoulders,
Down the arms,
Into the hands.
As the hands soften,
The fingers rest,
The body no longer needs to be ready.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Bringing your awareness to the centre of your body,
Awareness of the chest rising and falling,
Your heart beating steadily within,
Without any need of your attention,
The belly moving freely with the breath,
This area often stays tense just because it believes it must.
You can offer it reassurance now,
Silently inward,
Say to your body,
You don't need to stay on alert.
Let the body hear that,
Not as just words,
But as permission,
Allow the settling to move further down,
Through the hips,
The thighs,
The knees,
Muscles that work hard every day,
They can rest now,
The calves soften,
The ankles loosen,
The feet grow heavy,
You may notice that as the body settles,
The mind follows naturally,
Thoughts slow,
Pauses appear,
You are not pushing the mind into quiet,
You are letting the body lead,
This is how the calm baseline returns,
By breathing in and breathing out,
Now imagine that beneath everything,
Beneath the thoughts,
Beneath the sensations,
Beneath emotion,
There is a steady grounded state,
A place inside you that is naturally regulated,
This is not something you need to create,
It has always been there,
Stress may have pulled you away from it,
But it was never lost,
Rest your awareness here,
As if settling into a warm stable ground inside the body,
Silently say inwardly,
Calm is my baseline,
That's right,
Calm is your baseline,
Let that be absorbed slowly,
Say again,
Calm is my baseline,
That's right,
Calm is your baseline,
Notice that calm does not mean numb,
It does not mean disconnected,
It means balanced,
Available,
Responsive,
You are still aware,
Still present,
Just no longer bracing,
The nervous system learns through experience,
And right now it is experiencing safety,
Safety without collapse,
Safety with ease,
Safety without effort,
Stay here for several breaths,
In through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
Breathing,
Nothing to think about,
Nothing to prepare for,
Just breathing,
Just regulating,
Just resting in this recalibrated state,
If your mind wanders,
That's ok,
Each time you return to sensation,
To breath,
Each time to support,
The baseline strengthens,
Before we begin to return,
One final inward reminder,
Repeat this in your mind,
My nervous system knows how to return to balance,
That's right,
Your nervous system knows how to return to balance,
When you are ready,
Begin to notice the room again,
The air on your skin,
The sounds around you,
Gently bringing movement into your fingers and toes,
And when it feels right,
Opening the eyes softly,
Today you have established a calm baseline within you,
Carry this sense of calm into your day,
Not as something fragile,
But as something you can return to again and again,
Blessings to you dear soul on your journey,
Let your calm grow every day,
Namaste.
