Hi,
And welcome to tracking stress all the way to settling.
So I want you to find a comfortable place either lying down or sitting.
And I want you to start this practice by looking around your room,
Looking around your space.
Finding places outside of you in your environment that feel okay,
Neutral,
Good,
Safe.
Maybe it's your favorite plant,
The tree outside your window,
The cat sitting on your lap.
Take a few moments to resource yourself.
Maybe you grab a blanket,
Turn down the lights,
Grab a sip of water.
And come back to what feels safe or okay or good in this moment.
Yes,
There's some charge,
There's some stress.
And just see if you can look around,
Notice.
Are there places,
Things in your environment that help you feel a sense of support?
So before we start tracking the stress and moving from stress to settled,
We have to find a sense of safety.
So find that place for you.
And you might even begin to notice how your body is.
And finding some easeful,
Relaxed or open places in your body.
And placing a hand on that place.
And if you can't find sensation in your body that feels okay or neutral or good,
There's nothing wrong with that.
Just come back to what feels okay in your environment.
Your favorite picture on the wall.
Maybe you notice the colors of the walls.
And when you're ready,
I want you to notice where you're feeling a tolerable amount of sensation in your body.
So I want you to start feeling now some sensations that might be considered tensed or uncomfortable.
Or activated or pressure.
And I want you to place your hand on this place so you can keep one hand on the place that feels open and okay.
And place the other hand on this place that might feel uncomfortable or tension or pressure.
And I want you to be with that uncomfortable place for several breaths.
And what does that sensation feel like?
Notice the texture,
The shapes,
The colors.
The emotions or feelings or images.
And stay with the sensation without disassociating or the urge to move away.
Maybe you start to notice some distractions or some behaviors.
Some ways that you've learned to cope with this stress.
And just accepting whatever it is you're experiencing about your stress.
The behaviors,
The coping strategies.
And the sensations.
Just coming into relationship with how you are in this moment.
And once again,
Staying with the sensations the best you can for a few breaths.
And always knowing you have that place of okayness either in your environment,
That safety,
Somewhere in your body or around you.
You can always come back to in those moments where you feel the distractions,
The coping mechanisms,
The numbness.
And always come back to the okayness around you or in you.
A few more moments here.
Just be with what is.
And after feeling this charge in your body,
I want you to ask your body,
How does this charge want to express itself?
Maybe it wants to cry or yell or shake.
Maybe your arms want to punch the air.
You want to go into a temper tantrum.
Maybe you want to make some sounds with your mouth,
With your voice.
Some sighs.
Just pausing for a moment and listening to how your body wants to express itself in this moment.
How does it want to express the charge,
The activation,
The pressure?
A few more moments here.
And even if your body can't physically express,
That's okay.
Just noticing how it might want to express.
And if you're in a state of expression,
Feel free to keep going.
And when you feel ready,
Just pausing for a moment and just noticing.
If anything about your experience,
Your sensations,
Your activation,
Any of that has shifted.
Maybe some of your muscle tension has softened.
And maybe not,
And that's okay.
And so asking again,
How might the body want to express in this moment?
And listening and responding to how the body wants to be in this moment.
Maybe it wants to curl into a ball.
Maybe it wants to hug,
Hug your upper body.
Dropping in for another moment here.
Checking in,
How's the activation,
The charge in your body happening with your bracing or your muscle tension?
There's no expectation for the body to change in any way.
Just inviting and unloading and a releasing of what you're carrying.
So maybe you take one more opportunity to invite the body to let go,
To release,
To soften,
To express.
And coming back now to your breath.
Noticing what you notice about how you are in this moment.
And maybe you feel 1% more settled or 100% more settled.
Or maybe 50%.
Maybe there is just one tiny part of you that was able to soften and that's great.
And maybe your body is asking for more release,
More discharge,
More unloading and that's perfect.
Keep honoring what your body needs and going through this process of how am I in this moment?
What might the body need?
And if any of it gets overwhelming or too much,
You always come back to what feels safe and okay.
Those little glimmers of okayness around you or in you.
Put the hand on the places that feel open in your body.
You can open your eyes and notice the things around you that bring you comfort.
Now as we close this practice together,
I invite you to keep practicing.
Keep noticing what you notice about your experience in your body.
And how your body might want to express to release,
To let go.
To help you bring an unloading and sense of settled feelings.
Let's take three deep breaths together.
