Hi,
I am Diana Pereira,
Feldenkrais practitioner and somatic teacher.
Welcome.
Let's begin.
In a previous session,
We found support beneath us.
Through the ground.
Steady and patient,
Always there.
Today we turn into a different kind of support,
One that travels with you everywhere,
That requires nothing external.
That is available in the darkest and most overwhelming moments.
Your own hands.
Your own presence.
Yourself.
Holding yourself.
Long before we had words,
We had touch.
It's the earliest language that the nervous system learns.
The pressure of being held.
The warmth of the skin.
The signal that says you're not alone in this.
We know from decades of research that nurturing touch,
Including self-administered touch,
Can reduce cortisol.
The stress hormone and increase oxytocin.
The bonding karma.
Safety harmony.
But the body doesn't need that research to know that.
It has always known.
What many of us were never taught,
And sometimes quietly untaught,
Is that we can offer ourselves this kind of support.
That our own hands carry the same capacity for comfort that we so readily extend to others.
There's a part of you that knows how to tend.
You felt it when a friend was hurting.
When a child needed settling.
When an animal was frightened.
Something in you know exactly what to do.
Slow down.
Get close.
Be present.
Offer warmth.
That capacity doesn't switch off when you are the one that needs tending to.
Self-holding is a way of activating that inner caregiver intentionally,
Of saying with your own hands,
With your attention,
With your presence.
I see that you're struggling.
I'm here.
I'm not going anywhere.
For many people this feels strange at first,
Perhaps even uncomfortable.
If that's true for you,
I want you to know that strangeness is information,
It's not a reason to stop.
It simply means this is unfamiliar territory.
An unfamiliar territory is exactly where growth lives.
We're not trying to fix anything today.
Or not trying to make a feeling go away,
Or talk ourselves out of something,
Or perform self-care for an audience of one.
We're simply making contact.
With ourselves.
With whatever is present.
Saying,
This is here.
And I'm here with it.
And discovering what Presence itself can do.
That that is enough.
That being with something fully without resistance is its own form of relief.
Now let's practice together.
I'm going to ask you to get comfortable in whatever surface you're on,
Perhaps a chair,
Or lying on the floor or your bed.
Begin by closing your eyes and drawing your attention inwards.
Beginning to notice your sensations.
What is present?
How do you feel?
Do you feel calm?
Connected.
What needs tending to.
You can ask yourself that and see what comes up.
Sometimes right away an image or an insight.
Sometimes you have to wait for it.
Sometimes nothing at all comes up and that's okay too.
Simply ask the question.
What needs tending to.
In this moment.
Now let that go and observe your breathing.
See any movement of the breath inside your body.
The contact with the surface you're on.
And then bring one arm across your chest,
Perhaps the right arm,
The right hand over your shoulder.
And then the other hand under the opposite armpit.
So say the right hand is over the left shoulder.
And the left hand is under the right armpit and you cross your arms front of you this way,
Letting them drop on your chest.
The elbows kind of.
Together.
And begin to sense into this holding.
What does it feel like?
You can drop the weight of your arms and hands.
Find a comfortable grip for your hand.
Observe what happens when you feel held this way.
If there's resistance,
That's okay.
If you notice any change.
Your breath.
That's okay.
Now take your hands down,
Put them on your thighs,
Sort of the sides of your body.
Intend that you are learning something new today.
Allaho Akbar.
If you're lying down,
You can bend your knees,
Put your feet on the ground and now reverse the holding.
So put the other hand up.
If you first use the right hand,
Now use the left hand.
Over your chest.
Aimed at that opposite shoulder.
And now the right hand would be under your armpit.
You're holding yourself this way.
Sometimes we call this self-hug.
In family grace.
Notice what happens when you hold yourself in this non-habitual way.
Less dominant arm on top.
See if there's something a little less weird about it.
Or maybe it's more weird,
But you don't feel so much resistance.
And now in this position here your legs are bent You're holding yourself.
Begin to move yourself a little bit right and left.
You can use your hands to perhaps pull on your body a little bit.
And rock yourself side to side,
Letting your ribs move like a basket.
In the wind.
Letting your eyes move inside your sockets even if they are closed.
Letting your head turn.
Whatever breath wants to come up,
You allow it.
Don't hold your breath.
And let the gentle rocking and the holding begin.
Give you that internal sense of safety,
Of I am here,
I'm not going anywhere,
This is okay.
Maybe some emotions come up.
Maybe an old memory.
Maybe a yearning to be held that you're fully now present to and fulfilling.
So allow whatever comes up.
Know that you are contained.
In this practice.
I'm here for you.
Be with it for as long as you want to,
Maybe make the rocking a little smaller and slower at some point until you're more or less still.
Stay with that contact for a moment.
Observe it.
Feel it.
Now gently take your hands down.
Put them to the sides of your body or on your thighs.
Check in with yourself again.
What happened?
How do you feel?
Did anything change?
If you notice that you want to do this again,
Do it again on the other side with the dominant arm on top again.
And this time play a little bit with the rhythm.
Maybe make it a little smaller and faster.
Or you change the direction and instead of turning,
You can fold and flex a little bit.
Just introduce.
And nuance.
A variation,
A little change.
And see how your body integrates that.
How does it receive it?
Begin to realize that this practice of self-holding is yours.
To make something fun out of it,
To find it supportive,
To explore inside of it.
Play with the directions of the holding.
The rhythms the speed,
The size.
Looking for that place where the movement feels good to you.
It's not right or wrong.
It's not what I'm demonstrating,
It's truly what you're finding.
It feels good.
What you need in this moment.
Perhaps if you do this practice again tomorrow you'll find another variation of it.
Another rhythm,
Another direction of the movement.
Another speed of it.
Another size of it.
And every time the practice can change with you and can adapt to what you really need.
What's important.
That at some point you stop completely.
And rest.
Putting your arms down,
Your legs down.
And feel what's happening.
Observe,
Check in,
Collect information.
What is this doing internally?
How does it change the landscape of your thoughts,
Your emotions?
Does it feel easier now to feel held by yourself?
Can you recognize the power of your hands to offer you that support that you need sometimes?
Now let this all go,
All the thoughts to the side.
All the new information.
Fall away and simply be with this moment,
Yourself,
Your sensations,
The way that you the temperature of your body.
Any change in your breathing,
Your attention.
Any insights that came up for you.
And before you move on to the next thing,
Allow this to settle.
That it lands.
Taking all the information,
Perhaps journal a little bit.
Remember this practice.
Know that you can come back to it whenever you need it.
There will be more for you there.
It will be easier.
Deeper We're available.
Thank you so much for being here with me today.
It's an honor to practice with you.
I look forward to seeing you in the next video.
And in the meantime.
.
.
Much love.
