Welcome to this somatic mapping practice.
Choose a moment when you're alone,
When you're not rushed and can simply settle into your body.
I tend to find with my clients that morning or evening works particularly well.
So find a space where you can lay down or sit comfortably with support behind your back as you'll be here for quite a bit of time.
Feel free to have a blanket or bolsters nearby for any added or extra comfort and take a couple moments to really fidget,
Shift your muscles,
Adjust in any way that you need so that you can truly find a position that's comfortable for you.
You can either do this with this recording or should you choose to do this on your own?
You can play some gentle music,
You might even light a candle or bring in something that also helps you feel grounded.
How we're going to begin this experience is once you're comfortable fidgeting,
Getting any little movements out of the way,
Just start to find yourself settling even deeper into your posture and position.
I'll start by taking a really nice long inhale through your nose,
Really feeling your body expand with the breath.
And as you exhale,
Make any sound that feels natural and organic to you.
So this might be a kind of sigh,
It might be silent at first or it might be something a bit more guttural.
With your next inhale,
Do the same thing,
Really feel your body creating space in your spine,
In your vertebrae.
And as you exhale,
Any sound or sigh that feels organic and natural for the moment.
Do this for three more breaths.
And as you breathe,
Really let every breath be an invitation into your inner world,
Something I like to call our inner landscape.
The space in our bodies that we never get to see,
Just bringing peace to all those parts of yourself.
Again,
No rushing,
Just simply feeling yourself arrive.
Now go ahead and place your hands on your body.
You may place a hand on your jaw or your throat,
Your belly,
Your solar plexus.
If anywhere is feeling particularly activated in this moment,
Feel free to place your hands there.
And internally,
Go ahead and say to your body,
Hey body,
I'm here just to listen.
I'm not here to fix anything or do anything,
Just be here with you.
You may even start to notice as you say that to yourself that your body starts to shift in sensation.
Maybe it becomes more open,
A little more easeful.
Or it might not.
And again,
That's okay.
Again,
We're just here to listen,
Not to fix anything.
And so pause in this moment and notice any shift in sensation of your body,
No matter how small.
Continuing to breathe in a way that feels natural.
Now I'm going to ask you to recall a recent moment of contraction.
Not going too deep,
But just recalling the memory.
Without overthinking,
Just let your body bring forward what you felt and where you felt it.
This might be a gut sensation.
This could be constriction in your throat.
This might actually be a tensing of your muscles,
Or what we call bracing.
And again,
You don't need to retell the story,
Just feel into what naturally emerges in your body.
Go ahead and place your hands on the activated part of your body and just breathe with it here.
Noticing the sensations that arise.
Maybe there's images,
Emotions,
Or even just a simple word.
And really stay with it.
And feel free to name what you feel,
Either out loud or internally within yourself.
Start to notice if the sensations have a particular texture.
Does it feel dense?
Does it feel pulsing?
Crawling?
Does it feel tight?
Does it feel like air or clouds?
Notice if the sensation is moving,
Or if it's sitting in the same place.
Notice if it's shifting from one energy to another energy,
From one texture to another.
If it feels sharp or dull.
And then start to notice where on your body you're feeling sensation.
Is it your heart center?
Deep in your gut?
Tightness of your chest?
The back of your throat?
And so internally or out loud,
I invite you to say to the sensation,
I see you.
Thank you for showing me.
You don't have to change.
I'm right here with you.
And simply begin to notice how your body responds.
Does anything shift?
Does the sensation start to spread out or dissipate?
Does it soften around the edges?
Does it feel more light?
And you might not notice anything,
And that's okay too.
So just taking a beat to just breathe with whatever sensations are present in your body in this moment.
Now starting to go into where you feel the most sensation.
I invite you to ask internally or out loud this question to that part of you.
What are you afraid will happen if I fully express what I feel?
Take a moment to notice if the sensations begin to change in any way.
If any emotions start to arise to the surface and noticing what that part of you has to say in response.
What are you afraid will happen if I fully express what I feel?
If you notice your body contracting,
Tightness in the throat,
That's okay.
Just notice and just be with that.
Allowing it to be in the room.
Allowing it to be both seen and felt.
And whether or not that part of you reveals what it is afraid of or anything that's attached to it,
Just simply listen from this place of the sacred witness.
Saying again to the sensation,
Thank you,
I see you.
I'm right here with you.
And as you let it know of your presence,
Again,
Begin to notice what shifts.
Keeping yourself slow and present with anything that begins to occur.
Final question to ask yourself and that part of yourself is what would I love to be true instead?
What would I love to be true instead?
As you conceptualize that,
Really visualize and begin to feel into this new possibility inside your body.
Does anything soften?
Does anything begin to melt away or lighten?
Just beginning to notice how a potentially different or completely different reality begins to feel.
What would I love to be true instead?
How would this new reality feel in my body?
Whenever sensations begin to come alive,
Just take a moment to breathe nice and deep.
Feeling that energy expand into other areas of your body if possible.
And as you exhale,
Soften your nervous system and really let the wisdom of that experience land into every cell of your body.
Take another really nourishing inhale,
Filling your body with this new reality.
And as you exhale,
Feel it solidifying deep within your cells.
Breath,
Really nourish your spirit,
Nourish your body.
And you can exhale or sigh it out.
With some internalized sense of gratitude,
Offer thanks to your body for everything that is revealed to you in this session.
You may notice that it thanks you in return.
You may notice that it offers a sensation,
Again,
Just witnessing and deep appreciation for this language that so often goes unnoticed.
Take a nice breath,
Maybe start to wiggle your toes or your fingers.
The invitation is just to slowly let your body begin to move instinctively.
So just noticing,
Does your body want to stretch?
Maybe your throat wants to be stroked.
Just moving the energy.
Maybe you're craving some yin-like spinal movement.
This could be some cat-cow or some gentle hip circles.
Some slow rolling of your head and your neck.
It might be that you want to release some groans or some sighs,
Some vocal expression.
Let this experience be unapologetically yours.
And so to close this session out,
And please continue the movement as long as you like after this experience.
Really listening to the cues of your body and what would make your body feel so,
So good.
Go ahead and place your hands back on your body,
Your heart space,
Your belly space,
Or anywhere that you experience sensation today.
And whisper this to yourself.
I can be loyal to myself and still be loved.
I can be loyal to myself and still be loved.
Take three final breaths.
Again,
Feeling this wisdom settle into your bones.
The core of your being.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you in this moment of wisdom,
Insight,
Into deeper understanding of yourself.
My name is Tiffany Mertens at Mystic Mentorship,
And I'm wishing you a beautifully regulated,
Deeply attuned and connected rest of your day.
