Trauma is held in the body.
It's held in the body as energy that's been constricted.
If we can work with this energy in a healthy way we can allow it to be freed and so it doesn't get buried in the body.
But we need to go through a process of embodiment and deepening into our inner world to be able to be conscious and aware of these energies.
We're all disembodied to one extent or the other.
But trauma can cause us to become disembodied.
This connection is always there,
You're never without it.
It's just that sometimes it gets covered up by all the wounding and stuff we have going on in our heads.
First of all,
It's essential that we allow ourselves to feel relaxed and grounded.
It might seem like a simple step but surprisingly important.
There is a very intimate interconnection between relaxation and healing and it creates a very supportive and nourishing ground to hold our experience with.
Relaxing and grounding is an essential part of our journey of deepening into our meditation and deepening into our experience of self-exploration.
So in this meditation I'll guide you into deeply grounded relaxation where you can begin to feel steady and safe within your body.
Let's start by first finding yourself somewhere comfortable to sit.
It's good to have your back straight and tall so that you feel fresh and alive.
But allow your body to be flexible and soft and have movement to it.
Once you're comfortable,
Gently bring your awareness to your breath within your body.
The feelings and sensations of the breath in and out of your nostrils and throat.
The feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
So let's do a few deeper,
Slower breaths together to harmonize us into a similar rhythm.
So take a nice full deep breath in through your nose and then breathe out very slowly through your mouth as if you're breathing out through a fine straw.
Long and slow.
Really feeling your body relax as you do that.
And then again a full deep breath in through your nose and then breathe out slowly through the mouth as if you're breathing out through a fine straw.
Feeling your body relax as you breathe out.
And then one more time a deep breath in through your nose and then a long slow breath out through the mouth allowing your body to fully relax.
And now just rest your awareness on your natural breath.
On the feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
When you notice you're distracted,
As you notice you've drifted just see if you can let it be,
Let it go and gently bring your awareness back to your breath and into feelings and sensations within the body.
Thoughts will arise,
Move through and evaporate all on their own.
So it's best to just leave them to be as they are.
Let them go where they need to go and rather put your awareness into your body.
You can let everything else go.
So spend a little while really allowing yourself to relax on the breath and as you find yourself distracted,
Just notice it just notice it,
Let the struggle go and gently come back to the breath within your body.
Shift your awareness slightly to become aware of your out-breath as a relaxing and settling breath.
And as you breathe out,
Really follow the breath down and allow it to guide you into a relaxed,
Rested body.
Breath by breath.
Now put your awareness onto the ground of your body.
Feel the sensations of the ground or the chair pushing up from below you.
The earth supporting you.
Feel the pressure on your legs,
Your bottom,
Your pelvic floor.
Notice the feeling of the weight of your legs or your body resting on the ground,
Supported.
And as you feel that holding support from the ground see if you can really allow your whole body to relax down deeply into that ground.
Breath by breath.
And then again,
When you're distracted don't worry,
Just leave it to be as it is and gently bring your awareness back to the breath back into the body and then allow yourself to melt back down into the support of the ground again.
There's nothing else you need to do.
And when you're distracted,
You might notice that there's a sense of holding or contraction in your body.
If you notice it,
Just let it soften and relax and open.
And then gently again bring your awareness back to your breath back into the body resting deeply into the ground.
As you rest here notice if there's something pleasant about being relaxed and grounded in your body.
You may even notice a subtle feeling of joy or maybe not.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
Just notice how you feel and see if you can give it space to be just as it is.
Continuously noticing when you're distracting allowing it to be and gently bring your awareness back to your breath and back into a relaxed body resting into the ground.
As we bring this meditation to a close notice how you feel.
Do you feel steadier?
Do you feel a bit more grounded?
The more you practice,
The easier you will find it to feel relaxed and grounded.
And remember to bring a sense of ease and a sense of enjoyment to it so that it's inspiring for you and so that you can begin to really trust the process and let go into the experience.
This meditation was from my course Return to Joy Healing from Trauma where I take you through the steps that I found were truly beneficial and rewarding in my 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.
