As human beings our instinctive reaction to life experiences is to freeze or contract around them and this is especially true with the type of trauma.
This freezing and contracting leads to the energy process of our experiences and our feelings and emotions to be held or buried in the body.
It's actually a way of trying to protect yourself from further harm but it's not conducive to healing actually.
Trauma is held in the body as energy that's been constricted down.
If we can allow ourselves to become spacious and open and allow that energy to take its unfolding course we can work with this energy in a healthy way that allows it to be freed.
Sometimes it takes time.
It's like peeling an onion and we're not trying to get rid of or change the energy processes.
We're just seeing if we can be with them,
Allow them space and allow them to move how they actually need to move.
They naturally free themselves and dissolve away all on their own,
Bit by bit.
All processes of energy have a feeling component to them so as these energies are allowed space to come up,
Move and be liberated they can often bring with them uncomfortable feelings and emotions.
When this occurs we just need to see if we can be with those feelings and emotions,
Holding them with love and compassion and keep giving them space.
This isn't always easy to begin with but we can actually gradually feel a steadiness with it.
So let's try a meditation where I'll guide you gradually into the experience of your subtle body and see what you notice there.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position where your body can feel awake but relaxed.
Try to sit with your back nice and straight but please don't be rigid.
Allow a sense of movement and softness in your body.
Once you're comfortable bring your awareness in to the breath within your body.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the air coming in and out of your nostrils and your throat.
Notice the feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen expanding and contracting with each in-breath and each out-breath.
At any point you get distracted please don't worry.
When you notice you've drifted,
See if you can let go of the story of it and then gently bring your awareness back to your breath within your body and feel your body let go and melt down as you do that.
Keep doing that over and over and hold it with a sense of compassion Make a subtle shift by putting your awareness on the out-breath as a resting and settling breath and allow yourself to follow the out-breath down into relaxation within your body.
If you notice any holding or contraction anywhere in your body just gently allow it to soften and relax and then gently come back to your out-breath and relax into feelings and sensations within your body again,
Breath by breath.
Now take your awareness down to the ground of your being,
To the sensations and feelings of the ground or the chair pushing up from below you and the feeling of it really supporting you as you relax.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the weight of your legs and where it meets that ground.
Feel that support and really allow your whole body to deeply relax into that supportive sense of ground.
And if you get distracted try not to judge yourself or push the thoughts away.
See if you can give them space and allow them to go where they need to go and then gently come back to your breath within your body,
Feeling your body relax deeply into the ground again.
Move your awareness up into feelings and sensations within the trunk of your body and just notice anything that is there.
Really give everything space to be as it is,
Let go and relax.
Hold a sense of compassion for yourself and really let go of any judgments or pushing away or holding.
Allow everything within freedom to move as it needs to move.
Allow your awareness now to expand out to the rest of your body,
Opening out to your arms,
Your neck,
Your head and back down into your legs.
Until you become aware of feelings and sensations within your whole body,
As you relax and breathe.
And as you rest there you could have a sense that your whole body is breathing,
Like your skin is permeable.
And let that breathing process soften the subtle holding that you have to your sense of form and gradually let yourself become more spacious and open.
But don't try too hard,
Just see if you can relax and allow yourself to be.
You may get a sense of the aliveness within your body and inner vitality.
And you may get a sense that this vitality has different tones,
Feelings and nuances to it.
Whatever you notice or don't notice,
Let everything just be as it is.
Quiet,
Present awareness.
If you notice yourself trying too hard or you're distracted,
You will probably notice holding or contraction within your body.
So again,
Gently let it go and then bring your awareness back to your breath.
Allow yourself to relax into your body again.
And allow yourself to open to spacious awareness.
As you relax and breathe,
As you rest in spaciousness,
Allowing whatever is there to be there and to move through as it needs to,
You might notice certain subtleties and nuances within,
Or processes of movement coming up.
You also might notice feelings and emotions coming up.
If you do,
See if you can give them space to move through.
There's no need to create stories around them.
Just see if you can notice the energy of it and allow it to move through.
And as you do that,
Relax your body and notice what you feel.
If you notice any tension in your body or kind of lifting up feeling out of the ground,
It's because somehow you've managed to get entangled with the processes needing to move through.
So just allow yourself to soften and relax and open again,
Giving everything space to move.
You can keep doing that for a little while,
Noticing what's coming up and wanting to move.
Relaxing your body and seeing if you can allow it to move how it needs to move and then noticing what you feel.
Whatever is there for you,
Hold it with a sense of compassion and as you relax deeply into the ground,
Give space for that energy to move how it needs to move.
There's nothing that needs to happen or that should happen.
Just notice whatever is there.
Keep allowing yourself to relax and allowing the space of open awareness.
If it feels too much,
You can come back to what resources you.
You can come back to the breath or back to the ground or your body or even gently open your eyes and look around.
You can also place your hand on your heart and hold it there if it feels nourishing for you.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
I want to remind you this healing process can take some time.
It may take time for some to deepen into the experience or may take time for others to free the held energies.
Please feel free to repeat this practice as many times as you need or come back to it if it feels enriching.
Healing is a journey that's often uncomfortable unfortunately but if you can find the courage to stay the road it leads you to a very peaceful and joyful place.
This meditation is from my course Return to Joy Healing from Trauma where I take you through the steps that I found were really beneficial and rewarding in my own journey of healing.
So please feel free to take a look.
The courses are a great space for you to take the journey step by step and reflect back at me so that I can deeply support you and go with you on the journey.
Thank you.
