Hi there,
And welcome to release and regulation of the nervous system number two.
So this practice is intended for you to have another option for release and down regulation for nervous system support.
So we'll use discharge and movement to help release and let go of the stress that you might be carrying from your day.
So when we have a stressful situation or event in our life,
Our hormones respond from the adrenals.
The adrenals will respond with the hormone cortisol and adrenaline to pump our body full of the activation chemicals,
Cortisol,
Adrenals,
That hormone that help us fight or flee a dangerous situation.
And so most of the time in our life,
Our stressors these days aren't dangerous or threatening in any way.
However,
Adrenaline and cortisol still works the same way in our body when we're under stress.
So it's imperative that we begin to move that flight or flee energy out of the body through the body.
So we're going to practice that today as well as down regulation.
So we're going to practice using a body scan to bring that activation down as well.
But it's a good place to start with moving that active energy out through the body.
So we carry lots of stress throughout the day.
And if we don't move that stress out every single day,
It carries over from one day to the other,
To the other,
To the other.
It's kind of like planting a brand new garden over weeds and rocks and debris.
If we're not consistently taking that stress that lives in our body,
The stress hormones,
And helping them metabolize and mobilize out of the body,
Then we're essentially planting a brand new garden on weeds and rocks and debris.
So we want to clear all of that out first before we plant the brand new garden.
So we're going to go ahead and get started.
And you can do this practice sitting.
You can do this practice standing.
You can do this practice lying down.
However you are in this moment,
I want you to feel the support underneath you.
I want you to just start by noticing what happens if you begin to relax your muscles,
Your joints,
Your fascia,
Your bones.
And just beginning to notice if there's any tightness,
Tension,
Or bracing still in the body.
Once you consciously begin to relax,
Just noticing where you might still have some bracing,
Tightening,
Or tension.
And we're not trying to change anything.
You're just noticing.
And then begin looking around your space to help orient you to what's around you,
Gently moving your eyes,
Your head,
Just taking in your space around you.
Maybe there's something nice,
A plant,
Or your favorite piece of artwork.
Maybe there's a window.
You gaze out your window to see the trees,
Or your garden,
The sky.
Just take a moment here to orient to your surroundings.
And I invite you now to just begin moving gently.
Maybe you give yourself a nice big hug and begin to rock side to side or shake your head.
Shift your weight.
And if movement feels not appropriate or in alignment for you right now,
And you prefer stillness,
That's OK.
Nothing wrong with that.
You can still find some rhythm and movement in your breath,
Finding a nice,
Big,
Deep inhale and exhale,
And just noticing the parts of your body that move with each inhale and each exhale.
And if you'd like to continue this breath,
Just keep the rhythm of the breath going.
Maybe you say to yourself,
Inhale.
Exhale.
And if you feel ready to move some charge,
You can begin to take that rocking or that swaying or that shifting from side to side.
Make that rocking,
Swaying,
Or shifting from side to side.
A little faster.
You can take that hug you're giving yourself and begin to gently squeeze your upper arms as you rock,
Sway,
Or shift from side to side.
Squeezing your upper body,
Your forearms.
Maybe even bring your palms to touch.
Push your palms together,
Creating some activation in your upper body,
Feeling that tense and tightening up of the biceps,
Forearms.
Maybe you continue to squeeze your low back,
Your adrenals,
Your kidneys.
Maybe you squeeze gently your torso and abdomen,
Your low belly,
Your hips.
Maybe you squeeze your upper legs.
And if you stopped the swaying,
The rocking,
The shifting from side to side,
Maybe you bring that back in while you squeeze different parts of your body.
And we'll move from the squeezing to the tapping,
Starting at the top of the head,
Just tapping gently top of the head,
Down the face,
Down the throat,
And the shoulders,
Tapping your heart,
Your torso,
Below the belly button,
Tapping your hips or your upper thigh.
Maybe you tap your adrenals and your kidneys.
Once again,
You can continue to kind of sway or rock or shift your weight side to side.
As you're tapping.
Or you can decide to remain still and just tap while you're still.
And then from here,
You might choose to shake your upper body if it feels appropriate for you.
You might even shake your lower body.
Releasing,
Letting go of any accumulated fight or flee energy in the body.
Remembering that the energy of fight and flee wants movement to be released.
A survival pattern was designed to get you moving,
To help you run or flee or to fight from a threat.
So that's a lot of energy that gets stored in the body.
So you can shake,
Tap.
Maybe you flick or fling,
Wipe your body down to release.
All that energy stored in the body wants to be released.
It wants to be mobilized and moved.
Maybe you use your sound,
Taking a nice big deep inhale and sighing it out.
Maybe you make a ah sound or any other sound.
Breathe through as a release,
As a let go.
I'm going to give you just one minute of silence for you to explore,
For you to play with,
For you to be curious about how your body might want to release this energy,
This stress in the body.
You can use any of the discharge practices I described.
Or if you have some other way your body wants to move,
Maybe a different stretch or maybe a twist.
All of that is welcome.
Just following how your body might want to release and let go.
If you do,
Have a seat or lie down for a body scan down regulation practice.
And if you feel like you would like some more discharge,
Some more movement,
Feel free to pause this audio.
And if you feel ready,
Just making your way to a seat or lying down.
We'll do a scan of the body from the top of the head all the way to the toes.
Starting with the very tip top of the head and just noticing what you notice about your body,
About your head.
Down the forehead and back of the head.
Softening the forehead.
Moving down the sinuses.
Chin relaxing.
Letting go.
Moving down the back of the neck and the throat.
Melting the back of your head,
Neck into your support.
Moving down your shoulders.
All the way down your arms.
Pressing your upper body into the supports behind you.
Relaxing your fingers.
Your solar plexus above the belly button and mid back.
Your low back,
Your belly below the belly button.
All gets to soften,
To surrender.
Moving now down the hips and the pelvis.
All the way down.
Relaxing.
Melting,
Pressing.
Surrendering.
The calves,
The shins.
Your feet.
Each one of your toes.
Relax.
Not looking for perfection.
Just noticing areas of your body that feel a little softer.
And maybe you notice parts of your body that are tense or tight,
In pain.
And that's okay.
We can honor those parts.
And we can also come back to the parts of us that we're able to soften.
Maybe you feel many parts of your body that feel relaxed and calm.
Maybe there's just one.
Maybe you're able to soften parts of you a hundred percent.
Maybe there's parts of you you can only soften five percent or ten percent.
Or not at all.
And all of that is okay.
Just pendulating back and forth between the parts of you that are.
.
.
Parts of you that are softened and feel okay and feel safe.
And the parts of you that might feel a little tense.
And then coming back to the top of the head.
And just doing one more scan on your own.
Going as fast or as slow as you would like.
And have about a minute here again.
With just silence.
To scan.
To notice.
To be with the parts of you that are able to surrender and feel relaxed.
Parts of you that are able to press into the supports behind you.
And feel free to come back to this practice again and again to help you release and let go.
And find that inner peace and calm.
Thank you for showing up.
