Embodiment To Empowerment Practice: Narcissistic Caregivers

This embodiment to empowerment practice is a guided journey that blends compassionate phrases with gentle, intentional movement to help process and integrate stuck childhood trauma related to unstable or narcissistic caregivers. Through mindful breath, compassionate phrases and embodied practices, this recording supports nervous system regulation, self-compassion, and deep healing.

Reconnect with your body, release stored emotions, and step into your innate strength with tenderness and care.

Transcript

Welcome to this short practice of movement and compassionate phrasing geared towards children who had narcissistic caregivers or unstable caregivers.

Our subconscious mind creates our identity and the things that we hear or feel from those primary caregivers up to about age 10 forms the foundation of who we think that we are and also how we speak to ourselves.

Many of us have gone into adulthood believing beliefs and continuing thoughts that simply are not true and definitely worth exploring and bringing awareness to.

Trauma does not have language.

It is felt viscerally in the body and this is why movement is so important as part of the trauma healing journey.

Learning to bring awareness to sensation in the physical body of when our emotions are triggered allows the brain to organize these feelings and emotions and this is the beginning of that healing journey of self-awareness embodiment to empowerment.

I'd like to remind you that you are the expert of you and if anything we do here in this practice begins to feel a little too triggering or a little too intense,

Please take care of yourself and honor your body and what it needs.

If you need to step away and breathe deeply or return to this practice another time,

Please take care of yourself and do this.

So just beginning by bringing some awareness into the physical state,

The physical body.

If it feels okay to stand up,

Preferably with shoes off,

You can also do this from seated,

But if you're standing just notice the connection between your feet and the floor or the surface beneath you.

Bring your awareness down to the soles of your feet.

Can you notice the firmness of that surface?

Can you notice if your feet are warmer or cooler than that surface?

And then just coming up the body,

Keeping awareness to the places that feel perhaps a little extra tension or discomfort and also looking for areas that feel a little bit like they're offline,

Like dead zones.

The body often will disconnect when it has experienced trauma as a way of coping.

The problem is that we may continue this throughout our lives without even realizing it.

So bringing our attention into our body and doing a little inventory of what your state of being is at this time is very valuable.

So just moving up the legs,

Noticing the calves,

The knees,

The upper leg,

And into the hips.

Is there any tension,

Discomfort,

Or numbness between the soles of your feet up to your hips?

We're bringing compassionate curiosity to whatever we find here.

There's no right or wrong.

This is simply observation.

And let's move our attention to the low back,

Noticing if there's any tension or tightness here.

Coming up the spine to the shoulder blades and the shoulders.

And coming around to the front of the torso,

Into the chest,

The belly,

The lungs.

Again,

Just observing what you may find in these areas.

Coming down from the shoulders into the hands.

The palms of the hands.

Can you notice any changes or differences in temperature between your hands and the rest of your body?

Then coming up the neck and jaw.

Just notice where your tongue naturally rests.

Is it more to the top of your mouth,

The roof of your mouth?

Or resting in the bottom of your mouth?

Noticing any tightness or tension around your mouth,

Your cheeks,

Your eyes,

And coming up to the top of the head.

See if you can bring your awareness to your whole body and the space that it takes up.

Without looking down at your feet,

Can you bring your awareness of the space or the distance from your feet to the top of your head?

Do you feel small in your space or do you feel that you are taking up the space?

Again,

There's no right or wrong,

Simply observation here.

And now let's turn a little bit inward and notice,

If we can,

The rate of our heartbeat or the quality of the breath.

Can you bring your awareness or your attention to how deeply into the body does your breath go?

Perhaps it's deep down into your diaphragm or your belly,

Or perhaps it's higher up around your upper chest or collarbone.

Notice if it feels difficult to take a deep breath,

Or notice if you hold your breath.

And just notice if there's any other sensation,

Such as butterflies in the tummy,

Maybe tightness in the chest,

Or throat,

Or none of these.

Again,

We're simply assessing,

Seeing where you're starting from.

And now turning your attention to a little bit of intentional breath.

See if you can breathe into your body a little bit lower than wherever you naturally do,

Just a tiny bit more.

Imagine expanding,

Moving your ribs apart,

Creating space to take in just a little more breath.

And then exhaling and perhaps extending or slowing your exhale down.

This is an easy way to access regulation of the nervous system.

And you may feel a calming or an anchoring,

A grounding sensation.

If you don't,

That's okay.

So combine the awareness of your breath and the awareness of your feet making contact with the floor.

And just breathe,

Inhale and exhale.

And here I invite you,

If it's okay and it feels safe for you to do so,

To make some large sweeping gestures with your arms,

With your body in general.

Maybe it's circling your hips in the biggest circle you can make.

Maybe it's sweeping your arms up to the ceiling and down to the ground in a forward fold.

Maybe it's swinging your arms side to side,

Twisting the body at the waist a little,

Or something else altogether.

Follow what your body is requesting of you and move in that way to bring some fluid and flow and grace,

Extension and expansion into your body.

Breathing as deeply as you can.

And then whatever speed that you are making these movements,

Slow them down.

Slow them about halfway speed.

And notice how this may change your awareness and your perception of your body.

Notice it may bring about a sense of deeper connection to your body or a centering and grounding feeling.

And then just come back to standing normally.

And explore shifting the weight in your feet from side to side.

And forward and back.

And then see if you can find a perfectly balanced placement of your weight in your feet.

Notice how it may change if you soften your knee or straighten your leg,

Or if you tilt or tuck your pelvis.

Or if you curl your shoulders or take your shoulders back.

And where is your head over your neck?

Just noticing your body.

This is called proprioception,

Awareness of where your body is in space.

Interoception is noticing that internal state.

So noticing your heart rate or your emotional state.

Noticing if any sensations or feelings of a trigger or an intensity in emotion rising.

It's okay to feel.

We're exploring this safely.

And ultimately,

Your true empowerment will come when you can feel any feeling and know that you can manage it with the tools that you have.

This is where true empowerment comes,

Where you are in charge and you have created emotional resilience.

Come back to stillness.

And if it feels okay to do so,

Place a hand or both hands on your heart,

Or a hand on your heart and a hand just above your belly button in the solar plexus area.

This is our chakra center of personal power.

And so having a hand here and in our heart is a beautiful combination.

Of repair and restoration.

And just notice if just by placing your hands on your body,

If this changes anything with your emotional state.

Open your arms wide and give yourself a hug.

Wrap your arms around yourself.

And open wide and one more time.

And then you can sit down and find a comfortable position,

Sitting or laying.

If you have a lot of energy in your body,

Feel free to stay standing.

And from standing,

You may want to rock or sway.

Again,

Listen to what your body needs here.

And whatever you hear as the guidance is right for you.

Trust that.

I'm going to repeat some compassionate phrases.

These are intended to be phrases that some of these phrases may be something that you needed to hear as a child.

And if they were,

They may bring up some emotional response in you.

Again,

Please allow these feelings,

Unless it's a big,

Triggering,

Intense feeling.

But if it's not big and intense,

Allow the feeling to come.

If tears come,

Then this is a release.

And this is something you needed to hear.

I will say each phrase two times.

You can either just listen to the phrase and notice any sensation in your body or a change in emotion.

Or you can also repeat the phrase exactly as I say it using the you statement.

And the reason we do this is it allows a little bit of space between you and that emotion.

So if I say,

I'm so sorry this happened to you,

You would also say out loud,

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

And if you hear the phrase and there's no reaction at all,

That simply means it wasn't for you.

I would recommend getting into a comfortable position that you feel safe in.

So perhaps wrapping a nice warm blanket around yourself or hugging yourself.

Or even if you have a hoodie,

Putting the hood over your head,

Whatever feels like a safe space for you.

I'm so sorry they made you feel that you couldn't ask for what you needed.

I'm so sorry they made you feel that you couldn't ask for what you needed.

I'm so sorry no one ever asked you what you needed.

I'm so sorry no one ever asked you what you needed.

I hold space for that part of you that could never be good enough and was always criticized and judged.

I hold space for that part of you that could never be good enough and was always criticized and judged.

I see you in that part of you that felt so lonely in your pain.

I see you in that part of you that felt so lonely in your pain.

I hold space for that part of you that doesn't feel worthy of love and happiness.

I hold space for that part of you that doesn't feel worthy of love or happiness.

I offer love and compassion to that part of you who is still so sad and doesn't know how to change it.

I offer love and compassion to that part of you who is still so sad and doesn't know how to change it.

I'm so sorry the environment you grew up in was so unstable and chaotic.

I'm so sorry the environment you grew up in was so unstable and chaotic.

I'm so sorry you were treated differently than the others.

I'm so sorry you were treated differently than the others.

I hold space for that part of you that still feels such deep grief over the childhood you never had.

I hold space for that part of you that still feels such deep grief over the childhood you never had.

Take a deep breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Let's do that again.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Allow whatever emotion is there to exist.

Acknowledge this feeling.

Acknowledge it.

Allow it.

Oftentimes when we come from childhood trauma,

We weren't ever allowed to express our emotions.

And so we become adults who push away,

Run away,

Numb any negative emotion.

But the truth is there's no real negative emotion.

And so allow yourself the love and compassion to feel whatever you are feeling without pushing it.

Just thank it for being there.

Feel it for a moment.

Notice where you're feeling it and how it feels.

And name it out loud.

My throat feels tight.

I feel like I'm choking.

I want to cry.

My chest is so heavy.

I feel nauseous.

Whatever you were feeling,

Name it out loud.

And then let's stand up together and move this through now.

We need to move in order for the brain to organize.

So standing up,

Standing in our place,

Feel the connection of the floor holding and supporting you.

If you're choosing to sit,

Notice the connection of the floor under your feet and the chair or whatever surface you are on,

Supporting and holding your body.

Notice these sensations.

Notice the connection between your body and that surface.

And then move in whatever way your body is asking for.

Perhaps this has created a lot of nervous or anxious energy.

So feel free to hop or shake or dance in some way.

You could make some big,

Powerful gestures like a warrior pose.

Or a Superman pose.

You could just raise your arms up to the ceiling and look up.

But move your body in some way to release that tension.

Move in a way that moves that sensation through.

Perhaps it's breathing in and exhaling with a forceful ha sound.

Or some other sound.

Maybe it's punching a pillow.

Whatever you need to do here is right for you.

I also recommend if you like to journal,

To journal after this practice and just allow whatever comes to be written without judgment or criticism.

Just to allow a little further processing for yourself.

If this is one way that you like to manage when you have big emotions.

So moving the body in some big gestures.

Taking up your space.

And then pause.

Feeling the balance of your body and your feet as we did in the beginning.

Let's inhale and scoop the air from the floor upwards.

Inhaling bringing the breath up the front of the body.

Up to our head.

And as though washing over the back of our head.

Allowing the exhale to come down the back of the body.

And all the way out through our feet and into the floor.

As though scooping in the front any of these negative or uncomfortable emotions.

Scooping them up.

Tossing them over your head.

And allowing them to rinse down the back of your body.

And out through your feet into the floor beneath you.

Releasing and letting go.

Scooping up.

Inhale up the front of the body.

And then washing over the head and releasing down the back of the body with the exhale.

Place both hands on your heart.

You could gently tap here if that feels okay.

Or just perhaps rub in a small circle over where your heart is.

Or simply hold both hands over your heart.

And if it feels okay to close your eyes go ahead and do that.

If not that's okay.

The hands are on the heart.

And feel the radiating love coming from your heart.

Expanding throughout your body.

You could open your arms wide and give yourself a hug again.

You could also explore rubbing the hands together so that they're warm.

And then cupping around the eyes.

All of these are tools to calm and regulate the nervous system.

Here's your empowerment.

Feeling the feeling.

And finding your way back to balance.

Inhale deeply.

Exhale let go.

Feeling yourself expanding into your body.

Taking your space.

If your throat feels tight make a sound.

Any kind of sound that feels right.

Maybe growl.

Maybe yell.

Maybe sing.

If your chest or your heart feel tight open your arms wide.

And imagine expanding in this area.

Allowing space.

If your belly feels nauseous or full of butterflies.

Perhaps a gentle forward fold.

And standing up again slowly.

Raising your arms to the ceiling.

Creating space in these places.

And filling them with light and love and expansion.

Return to this practice whenever you need it my friends.

You have done wonderful work here.

It's okay to be uncomfortable in the process.

Because in the discomfort of the process.

We also learn resilience.

These emotions cannot hurt you.

So take good care of yourselves.

Bring love and self-compassion into your heart.

Into your body.

And into whatever emotions or feelings come to you.

These are all messages.

And part of your healing journey.

So take good care my friends.

Reviews

All your meditations are heartfelt touching ♥️ thank you so much dear Julie ♥️