Pendulation Practice For Emotional Resilience

Discover the power of pendulation with this guided audio practice designed to nurture your nervous system and build emotional resilience. Pendulation, a key somatic technique, involves gently shifting your awareness between sensations of tension and ease within the body. This rhythmic back-and-forth helps release stored tension, calm the nervous system, and create a sense of inner balance.

As you engage in this practice, you'll learn to navigate challenging emotions with greater ease and develop a deeper connection to your body's natural ability to self-regulate. Embrace the journey toward healing and wholeness, one gentle shift at a time.

Transcript

Let's explore an easy pendulation exercise.

Pendulation is a technique that is used in therapy that was developed by Dr.

Peter Levine and it's exactly what it sounds like.

Pendulation,

An oscillation between two things.

In this case between tension and ease.

Now we could look at these two places in the physical body.

Tension somewhere in the body and easeful places somewhere in the body.

But we could also think of it in terms of emotion.

Tension in emotion could be a semi-triggered state or the sensation of beginning to feel triggered and easeful could be more like a happy or contented state.

So learning to oscillate to intentionally feel tension and move from this place into a sensation of ease is a tool that helps us learn emotional resilience.

It helps us understand that being in discomfort in some way is okay and that there are many points,

A scale,

Along the way between this feeling of tension all the way to a place of feeling open and that you are empowered to move from one place fluidly to the other.

It should be noted that in those times of tension or discomfort is also the gem of learning.

If we resist tension immediately and just run away from it,

Deny it,

Get away,

Push it down,

Whatever it is,

We deny ourselves the opportunity to learn so much more about ourselves.

So perhaps in our learning pendulation or that self empowerment of oscillating between these two places,

We can also perhaps slow down a little bit before turning away from the tension.

Just pause and bring some curiosity and see what it's about and from that place our self empowerment grows.

When we can sit in our discomfort in those places that we want to resist,

There is so much learning and growth that can happen here.

And in this place we can then expand further and further with our feeling or sense of empowerment.

So it can even come to the place where we're not afraid of discomfort anymore or feeling triggered anymore because we know that no matter what,

We can handle it.

No matter what emotion we feel,

We can feel it and move through it.

This is a very powerful place to be and we get there by learning to be comfortable in the uncomfortable.

So let's give a little practice of pendulation together right now.

The physical state is a direct reflection of our emotional state.

We could begin by just sensing into the body.

So you could do this seated or laying down or even standing if that feels right for you.

Always understanding that you are the expert of you and your needs.

So if you need to pause or step away or do something different,

That's okay.

Please follow your own instinct and what you need is the right thing for you.

So beginning in whatever position you're choosing to begin in and just bringing the awareness into the physical body.

Initially,

We are going to look for those areas of easefulness and openness,

Any place within your body that feels very comfortable,

Relaxed,

Light,

Loose.

This is different than a place that you feel disconnected from.

We don't want that.

We want you to find all the places that feel just comfortable and easy.

So perhaps if I direct you to bring your attention to the palms of your hands,

Perhaps the palms of your hands are very comfortable and easy feeling right now.

And look for at least two or three places,

Perhaps the soles of your feet,

Perhaps the palms of the hands.

And if it's difficult,

If you have a lot of tension,

Then finding just one place is enough.

This is going to be your anchor,

The place that you can return to,

To find comfort.

So looking for that place,

Perhaps it's between your eyebrows,

Perhaps it's the roof of your mouth or the earlobes.

Look for the places that feel very easy and open.

And while you're doing this,

Just notice the quality of your breath.

Are you holding your breath?

Does this practice in itself bring some resistance or some level of vulnerability or discomfort?

It's okay if you feel this way and you're safe.

So now that you have found at least one place that feels very open and easeful,

Now we have the anchor to return to.

So now we can look to the body for the places that might feel some tension,

Discomfort or pain.

Allow yourself to visit these places with curiosity,

Without judgment,

Just looking for it.

You're investigating,

You're taking an assessment of yourself,

Of your physical state.

For some,

There may be tension held chronically in the neck or the low back,

Perhaps in the jaw,

Anywhere else.

And when you find the place that feels like some discomfort is living there,

Just allow yourself to sit in it,

Explore it.

Don't get caught up in why it's there or that it shouldn't be there or what's this about.

Just notice it as though you're looking at a painting in a museum.

Perhaps you could notice if this area of tightness or discomfort or pain could have a color or a shape.

Does it have a temperature?

Does it feel warmer in this place or cooler?

So just notice using your senses what this place might look like or feel like.

And now we're going to intentionally pendulate,

We're going to oscillate.

So now we're going to move from that place of discomfort back over to that place of ease and openness and lightness.

And notice if you were able to give the uncomfortable place a color,

Shape or temperature,

Let's see if you can now give the same kind of definitions or descriptions to this easeful place.

Notice how it feels to be able to move into the easeful place.

That this opportunity,

This option for your ability to move between the two places exists,

That you have the power to change from one to the other.

And what we're looking to do here is to spend enough time in the easeful place that you feel as though the nervous system or the body in itself or your state of being in general feels calm and content again,

Regulated.

So when you come to that state of being or as close to it as possible,

I invite you to move back and draw your attention and awareness back to the place or places that there is the tension and discomfort.

Again,

With a loving and curious eye and observation.

We don't need to figure out exactly why the areas of tension are there just yet.

But understand that any tension in your body is directly related to the emotional state.

And so in the future,

When you feel ready to look a little deeper,

This is an excellent resource.

The body and sensation are an excellent resource for us to go into a little more of an investigation of what might be going on with our emotional state as well.

So coming back into the area of tension,

Noticing if the shape or color or temperature of it has changed at all.

Sometimes just by bringing our awareness and also by showing the brain the area of ease,

These areas of tension may just on their own naturally begin to subside or at least get a little smaller.

If this doesn't happen for you,

There's nothing wrong.

You haven't done it incorrectly.

So moving back again into that place of ease and openness,

Recognizing this place as an anchor,

A place to ground yourself,

To feel some stillness,

To recognize that your body can hold both tension and ease and that you have the power to move between the two places.

We could go a little further and create our own tension.

So let's shift our focus to our hands and just make a fist as tightly or loosely as you wish,

But make a fist and notice that you have created the tension here in this place.

Notice how it may feel not just in the hands,

But also down into the forearms,

Maybe even into the chest or the back or the neck,

Maybe even into the emotional state.

Perhaps making a fist stirs up or triggers some sort of emotional response.

So just notice what there is to notice just by creating your own tension.

And now I invite you to open your hands,

Open them with the hands flat and the palms revealed,

The fingers spread.

And notice if there's any difference,

If there's any shift anywhere else in your body or your emotional state,

Just by the opening of your hands.

So here you have created the physical state of tension and release or ease.

And notice how this feels.

Go ahead and investigate and close your hands again.

Go between these two states for a moment and see how you feel noticing your breath,

Noticing your thoughts,

Emotions or any other sensations that may occur.

And then just letting that exploration go.

Take a nice breath.

Let it go.

And let's create a little bit of tension with our breath.

So let's pendulate with our breath.

I invite you to intentionally take a nice big breath,

Expanding your lungs wherever a big breath is for you.

Try to go deeper than where you normally go.

So this is your place of ease.

Inhaling,

Exhaling with an open mouth if you wish.

And just feel how that feels in the body.

And then we're going to explore intentionally shortening the breath.

So making the breath a lot more shallow.

So maybe that bigger breath was at least to the mid rib or lower.

Let's try a breath that's very shallow,

Even just at the base of your throat or into the collarbone area.

Just a very small,

Shallow breath.

Or you could even explore holding your breath a little bit if that feels safe for you to explore.

So again,

Noticing anything else that comes with this intentional creation of tension.

And then let's move back into that bigger,

Fuller breath.

Really trying to expand and take in as much as you can,

And then release and let go.

Notice the difference between these two kinds of breath.

Now if you are a breath holder,

Or a shallow breather,

You can perhaps notice a little more clearly the change in the state of being between a bigger breath and a smaller breath.

And recognize that this might be an area to begin to bring awareness and bigger breath as part of your practice.

So go ahead and just continue to explore between a few really nice,

Full,

Robust,

Easeful breaths.

And returning to the very restricted,

Limited breath.

Noticing that both places are okay for you to exist,

And that there are many places between one and the other.

And that you have the control to change this.

And you can just let that go,

Come back to whatever your natural breath is.

Okay,

And we'll do one last exploration,

This time touching on emotion,

Our emotional state,

And oscillating or pendulating between a thought or emotion that feels really good and light and easy,

And one that is slightly triggering.

So we're looking for a memory or something that irritates you,

That is not a big trigger that won't take you off track,

But just something that might be frustrating or annoying,

As well as something that makes you feel really good or light and easy or happy.

So it could be a memory,

Or it could be just something in life,

Such as,

I feel really good and happy and content in the morning,

Sitting in the sunshine with my cup of coffee.

It could be as simple as that.

So collect your two thoughts or memories.

One is the slightly triggering or frustrating memory or thought,

And one is something that feels good.

We're going to start with the one that feels good.

So just take a moment and bring into your mind's eye every detail using every sense that you can for this memory or this thing that makes you feel good.

So again,

Noticing textures,

Shapes,

Colors,

Temperatures.

Notice how your body feels remembering or thinking about this thing.

Maybe it feels expansive or like freedom or light and easy.

Maybe it just feels like a moment of stillness.

So take in that thought,

That memory as fully as possible,

And notice how your body feels,

The state of your breath,

And this is your anchor.

This thought or memory is the anchor thought or memory that you will pendulate back to after we think of something that feels like it creates a little bit of tension.

So take in as many details through your senses of this thing as you possibly can to create the most beautiful,

Brilliant picture that you can return to.

And notice how this feels in your body,

In your physical state,

Just to think of this happy thought or memory.

Does it feel similar to when we opened our hands or when we looked for the easeful places in our body?

Take a nice breath.

And now let's explore with curious observation,

No judgment,

No criticism.

Let's explore the memory or thought that creates a little bit of a low-grade trigger in your activation of negative emotion.

If you sense that it's beginning to trigger you too much,

Then please go back to the anchor image or thought.

But let's just try to take in,

Just as equally,

We can explore this sensation of this uncomfortable thought or memory safely together.

And the way we do that is we know that it cannot harm us,

It cannot hurt us to think about it.

So let's just take a moment and again describe it,

Take it in with all the senses,

Noticing the shapes,

Colors,

Textures,

The temperature.

And notice what might be happening in your body,

In your physical body or your breath when you bring this more triggering thought or memory into your focus.

Notice if there is a feeling of resistance,

Of wanting to stop thinking about this thing and allow that feeling to live there.

Just pause for one more moment and then we're going to return,

We're going to oscillate back to your anchor memory or thought.

So go ahead and move back over to that lovely,

Delicious,

Happy,

Easeful,

Pleasant place that you started with.

Again taking in all of the colors,

Shapes,

Anything that your senses can take in.

Just enjoy it,

Savor it.

And recognize that perhaps already by returning to this more pleasant thought or memory,

Your physical state is changing again.

Here is the proof,

My friends,

That you are empowered.

You have the ability to take yourself away from a triggered situation into a regulated state simply by letting go of the negative and bringing your awareness,

Simply by returning to the open,

Spacious,

Easeful places,

Whether it be with an emotion or with a physical sensation.

You've done it.

You have shifted your state of being.

If it feels okay to do so,

Let's return to that thought or memory that makes us feel a little bit triggered and just notice if anything has changed about it when we return to it.

Perhaps notice if you're able to stay a little longer.

Perhaps there's a feeling of a little more safety in being with it or not and both are okay.

Notice your breath.

Notice that often when we're thinking or feeling an emotion that is triggering,

That our breath will also follow.

Our physical state will also follow.

So even though you're thinking or recalling something just in your mind,

Your body is following suit to the thought.

So by breathing a little deeper,

You can allow yourself a little bit of grace and space while you observe and sit in this tension or discomfort.

And now let's move on back to that easeful,

Open,

Wonderful memory or thought that feels so good to return to.

Noticing the difference,

But most of all,

Noticing your ability to control this.

This is emotional resilience,

My friends.

This is your superpower because we know that in life,

Things happen all around us.

We cannot change or control the external world around us.

We can't change or control things that have happened to us in the past that may keep us in a hypervigilant state with our nervous system.

But what we can control is our reaction,

The tools that we use to gain some resilience,

Some strength,

And the ability to move back and forth between the states of discomfort and comfort.

This is your superpower because this means that you are equipped to feel any emotion and manage it and still be okay.

So let's take a nice big breath together,

Breathing deeply.

You have done excellent work exploring pendulation,

The oscillation between intentionally feeling a little bit of discomfort and bringing into the mind and the body a sense of anchored or stillness or groundedness through something that feels easeful and open.

You've done it.

Great job.

Take another big breath.

Let it out.

I'm so proud of the work you've done.

Take good care of my friends.

Reviews

Thank you for a nice long guided pendulation exercise. I’ll be coming back to this a lot.