Hello everyone,
My name is Peggy Gokasian and I am a somatic guide,
Trauma-informed coach as well as a Reiki and yoga therapeutics practitioner.
And my work is around connecting deeper into our bodies,
Releasing trauma and stress,
And coming back to our calm center.
Because of my upbringing and cultural background,
I'm able to incorporate many aspects to the modalities of my work,
And I'm excited to be able to share day-by-day with you little snippets of how you can just connect to yourself a little deeper,
A little quieter,
Within the craziness and loudness of this busy world,
Coming back internally to our inner roots.
So today's guidance is going to be around a containment practice that I personally love doing and I've learned in a group setting class that I was in.
So part of creating safety within the body is activating the somatic awareness to letting our body feel more,
Hold more,
Our tolerance expands,
Our capacity to hold more depth and deeper emotional access in our relationships,
In our partnerships.
A flexible nervous system is really important to our well-being,
Considering all things in our life.
So today we're going to do a focus around this containment practice,
Which is a great practice to just come back to when maybe you've had a long day,
A busy day,
And you want to find your center again.
Maybe it's five minutes before you walk into dinner or before you meet with your children.
So we're going to start with finding a comfortable seat.
Letting the music and sounds fill up your body as you start to bring your gaze internally inward.
Let's start off with a deep exhale as we just let go.
Maybe inviting some sound.
Maybe roll your head around,
Maybe drop those shoulders,
Letting that jaw surrender and open with a little space between your lips and start to pay attention to your breath.
Completely shutting out that external world,
Focusing on your body,
Your energy sources.
And I want you to go ahead and start to breathe in long inhales through your nose.
And if you want to count to five while you're doing that,
Just to keep yourself on track,
You can go ahead and inhale for five,
Three,
Hold it at the top of your head for five,
Two,
Three,
And slowly exhale for five.
And then just surrender the breath.
Notice how the body feels from just that one little bit of practicing empty presence.
And what we get to do with this empty presence is fill it up with all that we want to invite in.
I like to go ahead and start with just placing my hand on my belly.
Go ahead and place,
Whether you want to place your right hand or your left hand,
Go ahead and cup that belly,
Bringing that activation to our safety source,
Which is our root chakra.
Start to visualize the color red.
And as you inhale,
Go ahead and fill up that hand with your belly.
And I like to think of it like a balloon just blowing up in my hand.
And bring that breath up to the chest and then slowly exhale as slow as you possibly can with your nose.
And sometimes you can also invite in a little tiny wave of movement.
If you feel called,
If you feel the invitation is there for you.
And for the next few little moments,
Go ahead and do that continuous five,
Five,
Five breath count.
As you inhale through the belly,
Blowing that air,
Expanding from the root all the way into the heart through the throat.
And then letting it all slide back down.
Sometimes I like to curve my spine as I inhale.
Open the chest,
Slightly rotate that neck back.
And then when I'm exhaling,
I'm kind of curving in that belly and cradling myself.
When you do two more rounds at your own pace,
Feeling your body.
And as you're moving through these cycles of breath,
Continue to listen to my voice and the sounds of the beats.
Awakening this inner wisdom and connection to the hidden parts of ourselves that most people don't get a chance to experience.
So with these practices together today,
We're bringing an aliveness back into our bodies.
We're bringing a presence.
And when you're ready,
Go ahead.
And we're going to start this containment practice,
Which is a really simple practice,
Especially when you feel unsafe in your body.
So go ahead and take that right hand and place it over the left shoulder.
And then with the left hand,
Just hug the outside of that right arm.
So it's a crisscross position.
And the whole point of this practice is to contain yourself in a very structural way where you feel loved and supported.
And continuing to release the body.
Into the arms of yourself.
So as you continue to just hold yourself,
Think of that cradle position that we were in.
Go ahead and keep elongating that breath.
And I like to press that breath into my heart and allow my heart to press against the arms.
But while that's being pressed,
The arms that are holding and cradling you are really holding that containment so you can release.
This is that beautiful opportunity to let go of that weight that you've been carrying today.
Let go of the stressors,
The thoughts,
The worries.
Disconnect yourself from everything outside of you for just a few moments.
As you reconnect,
Recharge.
And continue to breathe within that containment of your arms.
So it's a very feminine and masculine practice.
We're combining the structural parts of your arms and allowing the heart to release the emotions.
It's a beautiful opportunity to notice if there are anything that's showing up right now.
Opening that door,
Creating that invitation.
Sometimes when I start doing this for just three rounds,
I feel so good in my body.
And if you want to go deeper,
I'm going to invite you into doing this for a few minutes every day.
Maybe incorporating it in a way that it's right after you finish work.
Or maybe the beginning of the day.
When you want to set the tone for how you want to feel.
Maybe incorporate it twice a day.
What I start to notice happens as I'm still holding this containment.
Again,
We can start to cradle.
The body just starts to do what it wants to naturally do.
Continue to breathe and feel.
And what we're doing is we're inviting in all the felt emotions,
All the felt senses.
And we are not holding ourselves back from feeling.
So instead of suppressing,
We're allowing the body to experience her and his fullness.
Please continue on if you want to continue this practice.
For those who are ready to move on with their day,
You can release your arms.
Just place your hands on your knees,
Above your knees.
And if you need a little bit of grounding,
Place those palms down.
If you're ready to receive,
Open the arms facing out.
I hope this practice was nourishing for your soul.
I'm so happy to be able to share these beautiful rituals with you day by day.
What I have seen be so helpful is to choose one practice a day.
One practice a day for ourselves doesn't seem like too much to ask for.
So I would encourage you to make that commitment for you.
Because the more that we can focus on our well-being,
The more happy and joyful we can be with others.
Namaste.
