Hi there and welcome.
I'm Katie,
Aka Freebird Meditations here on Insight Timer.
So I am a licensed therapist,
A somatic practitioner trained in somatic experiencing,
And also a mindfulness meditation teacher.
And today,
Welcome to my office.
I am actually sitting in the client's chair,
And this is a place where I practice many somatic skills with folks that are Struggling with all kinds of things.
And often we work within the moment practices and I'm going to share one of those practices with you today.
It's called leaning into what supports you.
I like this practice because,
Like I noted,
It's something we can do in the moment,
But it's a way to really get in contact with the felt experience of what supports us.
Not what we think in our head and all the things that we know,
But what actually happens in the body as a sensation,
As a felt experience.
It's a little bit different than the story.
It's what's happening in the body.
So if you're ready.
Practice this with me.
I'd like to invite you to find a position that best supports your body.
And I will be doing the same with you.
In somatic work,
We often spend some time kind of slowing down.
Because we're working with very subtle sensations within our nervous system.
And if we're going too fast,
We might miss those.
And as you start to get comfortable.
In your seat,
Maybe you're in a chair or maybe you're lying down or somewhere in between.
See if you can just notice what it's like to be in a body or have a body.
Maybe being a body in a space.
Maybe just kind of checking your state right now.
Noticing how you're breathing.
And that doesn't mean you have to breathe a certain way.
Or take a deep breath if that doesn't feel right.
But just noticing what it's like to have a breath.
Maybe that's breathing you.
In this moment.
And maybe also noticing what it's like to Have your body being supported.
Or the contact points meet whatever's holding you.
And being mindful to try to not go into story,
We often do that quickly,
But just coming back to that felt experience.
What's happening?
And sigh.
And maybe doing a brief and gentle body scan.
Just kind of letting your awareness go throughout your body,
Noticing what's there.
Maybe there's some tension.
Maybe there's some holding.
But without trying to force it to relax or force it to go away.
Maybe you can invite a breath into here.
And through that area.
This is the breath,
The gentle invitation.
Hey,
It's okay to soften a little.
Even if it's just for this moment.
And I also like to invite a little bit of movement too,
If that's something.
That wants to happen.
I got this chair that can sway.
Sometimes we might sway back and forth.
So if that's something that feels nourishing to your nervous system and your body right now,
You're welcome to do that too.
Or maybe the body wants to stay still.
Which is perfectly fine as well.
And you're welcome to bring awareness to any other sensations,
Maybe tactile sensations,
What you can feel.
The air on your skin.
Pillow behind your back.
A texture of fabric on your body.
Are her feet on the floor?
And you're also welcome to.
Simply orient to your space for a moment,
Something we do a lot in somatic experiencing.
Just orienting through vision.
Seeing where your attention naturally wants to land.
Maybe on something pleasant or neutral taking in shape and colors and.
All the visual input information.
Likewise,
We can attune to sound.
What we can hear.
Ambient sound,
Sound in our room,
Sound outside.
And again,
We have tactile sensations and we have taste and we have touch,
Maybe taking a sip of water.
Taking a moment to just notice if there's any smells.
Or any other physiological sensory information that's available to you.
That in this moment,
Is supportive or neutral.
Or just offers a little something to your system that helps you say,
Ah.
I can be with us.
I can be with this at least in this moment.
Maybe taking one more nice breath in and a nice slow exhale out if that feels right for you.
Our breath is often linked to our physiology and our state.
And we can use it as support.
And so when you're ready.
I'd like to invite a little inquiry.
For this practice of meditation.
Recognizing and leaning into what supports you.
We are gonna work our way through people.
And places.
And things.
That we can connect to,
That we can call up.
That offer that same bit of nourishment.
That ease,
That settling to our nervous system.
Not just by thinking about it,
By getting curious about what's going on inside.
So I'm going to invite you to start first with a.
A person or a relationship.
And this could be a friend,
A partner,
Someone you know,
Maybe even a mentor.
Or if that doesn't bring anything to mind,
We also have pets.
Animals.
A relationship of some sort.
That's supportive for you.
We also have groups as well,
Certain supportive groups.
But as you call that to mind,
As you bring that into awareness in your consciousness.
See if you can notice.
What do you feel inside?
Where do you feel that support?
What inside of you is able to soften or relax or find some ease or maybe even feels a little,
A little percolation of joy?
Love,
Comfort.
Maybe the breath starts to slow down.
Maybe there's a warmth in the chest or maybe there's something totally different for you.
Let's see if you can let your body experience that.
Have that experience.
Let it enjoy that for a moment.
It's okay to enjoy that sensation for a moment.
And just noticing those physiological states.
And maybe breathing once again into and through them.
And now when you're ready,
Let's move on to places.
Certain environments that are nourishing,
Are supportive,
That you love,
That bring you a sense of joy or ease or connection.
Maybe it's your favorite room or a certain place that you like to visit.
And as you connect with that,
It's the same process.
What do you start to notice inside?
Can we get curious about that?
How our body is receiving that information.
How it's having that felt.
Experience of like.
Oh yeah.
When I connect to that thing mentally in my mind,
I feel something happening in my body.
Maybe a slowing down.
Or a settling,
Or again,
Maybe a little percolation of spark,
Lightness,
Joy.
And again,
We slow down and we get curious because we don't want to miss these.
When we're struggling,
When we're in the throes of anxiety,
Things are moving so fast and we don't have that moment really.
Lean into that sensation to experience that sensation of oh,
Yeah,
This is settling in my system.
This is supportive.
So let yourself enjoy it,
At least for this moment.
And again,
Breathing into and through that.
Notice if that sensation grows,
Or maybe it stays the same,
Or maybe it dissipates,
Maybe it does something entirely different.
And we're just noticing.
Just being with.
What is?
And so.
Starting to move forward a little bit now.
We did people.
We did places and environments.
And now we're going to do things.
This can involve so much.
But it can be very tangible things or it can be kind of an idea of things that support us.
This could be.
Hobbies?
Activities.
It can be literally certain things that we can hold and touch.
For me,
It's the plants and my garden.
Touching the air.
Being in water.
Laying on my floor,
The carpet.
But for you,
It might be something else.
Let's see if you can bring that into conscious awareness.
And again,
Going to the body,
Ask your body.
How does it know that this is supportive,
That this feels good,
That my nervous system,
That your nervous system can say,
Huh.
This is good.
Little drops of support.
Infusing into your nervous system.
Might it be known?
Let yourself have this experience.
Give yourself permission.
To let support in.
Just as an idea.
As a thought experience.
As I often say,
Even if it's the tiniest bit.
It doesn't have to be grand and extraordinary.
It can be just a little bit.
In fact,
In nervous system work,
Subtlety.
Little bits at a time is quite substantial.
Especially if we work with them over time.
Okay,
They start to.
Reorganize our nervous system bit by bit.
We can't just push a button and reset it.
And so again,
Connecting to that and breathing through,
Offering a breath with this experience.
I'm starting to.
.
.
Wind this down,
This particular practice,
Into your heart.
This noticing of the people and the places and the things.
Just coming back to noticing your state now.
Just an overall kind of check-in.
Noticing maybe if there's any little shifts that occurred.
Maybe there's a sense of slowing down,
Our openness,
Our lightness.
Maybe there's a sensation in the hands.
Maybe you feel more present in your seat.
Or maybe it's something else.
All of us are likely having.
All kinds of different experiences.
And that's the beauty of this work.
Mm-hmm.
So.
Starting to move now to the end,
Maybe taking one more breath in.
Letting it out and yeah just as we do orienting back to your space knowing sensing that you are a body.
Having an experience.
In this moment now.
That which might have been different than before.
And may be different than the next to come.
But you've spent a good.
15 or so minutes.
Leaning into what supports you,
What nurtures you,
What allows you to have a felt experience of something that that nurtures you,
That supports you,
That helps you,
That helps your nervous system downregulate,
Find ease,
Find comfort.
That is so important when we're.
Working with anxiety or stress.
When we're experiencing challenges in our life.
It's very easy to.
Pay attention and recognize all of those things that are activating or when we don't feel at ease,
When we have all these uncomfortable sensations,
We very easily go to that.
So we're trying to teach our nervous system to start recognizing that,
Hey,
There's other stuff here.
You have other options.
You have other resources.
And they may be different any given day.
But again,
We're teaching your system to orient differently.
So you're welcome to come back to this practice,
But most of all,
I encourage you to take that out into the world.
And learn how to practice it on your own.
It's such a valuable tool to have in your toolbox as you Navigate this life.
So thank you so much for your willingness and your curiosity.
And sharing your time with me to engage in this beautiful practice.
If you feel called to share what you noticed in the.
Comments.
You're welcome to do so.
I love hearing what people notice.
So many discoveries.
So thank you very much.
I wish you well.
You know,
One last thing.
Question always is as you work with this practice.
Is asking your body,
How does it know?
Again,
We're very good at figuring it out in our minds.
This is a different kind of listening.
This is a different kind of language.
What's happening within?
Be well.
Thank you for engaging in this practice.
