Hello everyone.
My name is Peggy Koukassian and I'm a somatic practitioner and nervous system guide here in Los Angeles,
California.
And I really appreciate all the time you have all spent with listening to the practices and recordings.
That I've created for my community.
And today we are going to focus on a body that has a hard time relaxing.
So when you can't relax,
Here is a little somatic support for functional freeze and when the body feels tight and stuck.
Welcome,
Welcome.
And today I really want to hold space for something that is often missed.
Functional phrase.
This is for the person.
Who keeps going,
Keeps showing up,
Keeps doing what needs to be done.
But inside you feel tired,
Disconnected,
Flat.
Maybe you've lost access to your joy.
Maybe motivation feels far away.
And your body feels heavy and your mind says,
Why can't I just move?
If this is where you are,
I want you to know this.
Your body is not failing you.
Your nervous system may be simply protecting you.
And today we are not going to force the activation back.
We are gently going to keep inviting you back into your body.
So wherever you are,
If you're in the car and you just parked before you head home or maybe you're in bed,
Find yourself in the most comfortable position.
Preferably a seated position,
And allow your feet to gently touch the floor.
Feel that support underneath your feet.
Notice where your body meets the chair and really settle yourself into the structure around you.
Notice your body parts start to Connect and scan your thighs,
Scan your hips.
Your lower back,
Your upper back.
And with your breath,
You're going to allow yourself to fully arrive.
And notice,
If it's hard to stay present with the body,
That's okay.
This is part of the process of connecting.
And reconnecting.
So start to take some really slow inhales through your nose.
And exhale softly.
Out of the mouth.
And here I'm going to invite in when you're inhaling through your nose,
I want you to feel that air enter your nostrils.
And when you're exhaling,
I want you to exhale that breath a little bit longer than your inhale.
I want you to kind of connect to your body instead of count.
Let's say if it feels like you're inhaling for four seconds,
I want you to give me a deep,
Long exhale of a release for maybe eight seconds.
And sometimes you can really find yourself stretching that exhale.
Your body is craving that release,
Craving that discharge,
And the body is starting to begin talking.
So we're going to do that a few more times as you breathe in softly.
And release that exhale out the mouth,
Dropping that jaw,
Loosening that jaw.
Allowing those shoulders to soften.
The belly to receive the breath,
Not just the chest,
But the belly.
Now bring your awareness into the fullness of your body.
And noticing if your mind or your brain or your thoughts want to go into fixing anything.
And that's what we want to simply put down.
We want to put down that idea that the brain and the mind needs to fix something.
And actually all that the body wants is to hold.
To feel,
To reconnect.
But in the process of that,
I want you to just notice where the heaviness lives,
Where the heaviness is feeling taking place in your body.
If there is any numbness.
And this is a way that we're simply just checking in.
If there's any pressure,
Take some inventory here.
Anywhere in the body that feels an emptiness.
You may notice something very little.
And that's okay.
And if it feels a little bit more,
Spend some more time in that part of your body.
Sometimes freeze sounds like silence and sometimes protection feels like distance.
Now we're going to bring one hand to your heart and one hand over your lower belly.
And I want you to whisper internally or maybe whisper it really softly out loud.
Body,
Where have you been carrying too much?
Pause.
Listen.
To simply notice without thinking.
Where have you been carrying too much?
Breathe into those words.
And let the body respond.
And in this way,
We are gently awakening.
Because we are creating so much presence.
And accepting the body for where it's at.
Very slowly as your hands stay on your body.
I want you to press your toes,
Just your toes into the ground.
As you press and you release.
Let's do that one more time.
Press the toes into the ground.
Really feel that connection.
And then go ahead and release.
Now go ahead and press the heels into the ground.
Feel that connection,
Feel that presence.
Feel your attention go to that part of your body.
Be with it.
And go ahead and release.
Do that one more time.
Press your heels into the ground.
And notice when your body wants to take some bigger,
Deep breaths and allow what wants to come through in the way that it wants to come through.
Resonating with yourself.
And allowing the body,
And you're gonna come back to stillness,
Allowing the body.
To validate right now.
My body can respond.
My body can move.
I am here.
Next,
You're going to take your hands and very gently rub your fingertips together.
Maybe bring your hands in front of you.
And bring those fingertips together,
Facing each other.
And I want you to notice the texture of your fingertips.
I want you to notice the temperature.
And notice if any certain fingers have some movement.
See where your attention goes and which finger it goes to.
And here we are creating a practice of bringing the sensations back online.
We're inviting them back online.
Keep leaning into just what the fingers are here to share.
Now softly tap each fingertip.
To your thumb.
And do that on one side.
Just take one fingertip,
You can start with your right hand to the left thumb,
And just go ahead and feel that connection.
Can you feel the contact?
Can you feel the pressure,
The warmth,
The tiny pulses?
Of your body telling you and showing you that you are life.
And go ahead and switch sides.
Bring the left hand each fingertip to that right thumb.
And notice the body feels as it's moving.
And all of these practices can be done with your eyes closed or open,
Depending on what helps you go into yourself a little bit more.
And now bring your hands back.
To your left.
And I want you to gently open your eyes if they've been closed.
And we're gonna do a little bit of space orienting.
And look around your space slowly and notice your sensations of your eyes.
And notice if they want to move quickly and I want you to try to slow it down.
Maybe start on the left side and just pause and see.
What do you see on the left side?
But colors.
What shapes?
I want you to invite it into your body.
What feels good?
Into where your eyes are connecting to,
What objects are resonating.
And then slowly move around your space as you orient to the right side.
And in this practice,
You're doing the same thing to the right.
You're inviting in the colors,
You're noticing what colors,
What shapes.
What objects and as we orient the eyes we are also noticing that our right brain and our left brain is also coming back more into balance as we stimulate the emotional brain and the logical brain.
And in this moment,
We're going to let the eyes just naturally orient in the space.
So let them go wherever they want to go.
And just notice if this moment feels different,
If the connection in your body feels a little bit differently.
And what makes somatic practices unique?
Is that we bring a lot of slowness and consciousness to the body.
In ways that We are moving through life so quickly,
So fast.
That we miss that connection and we internally long for it.
So as we close up this practice,
I want to just do a quick scan.
And just scan through the jaw,
The shoulders,
The belly.
The hips,
The hands.
Go ahead,
Move through the pelvic floor.
The thighs,
The knees,
And you can gently just close your eyes.
And noticing that this practice,
What it's doing internally is expanding your capacity,
Not all at once,
Little by little.
So we're going to kind of close this practice with a connection to the heart.
So with your eyes closed,
Just go ahead and place your hands over your heart.
And start to rock in a very small motion,
Whether it's forward or back or side to side,
Just like you are cradling yourself.
Let your body feel your own rhythm.
Your own containment.
All that is available to you through you in this moment holding.
And take some big,
Deep,
Long breaths.
And imagine a little warmth.
Coming into your body.
And we're going to repeat here,
My body is protecting me.
My stillness is not failure.
I do not force my way back,
But I can return gently.
One final big inhale.
And the long exhale.
Feel the floor beneath you,
Feel your body,
Feel this moment.
And as you leave this practice,
Take only what feels supportive.
Your body knows your pace.
Your nervous system knows the way.
And you're always allowed to return back to this exact space,
Taking it one gentle step at a time,
One soft breath at a time.
Thank you so much for this time together.
And we will be back with new practices.
But for now,
Just I want you to feel the softness you just created for yourself.
Namaste,
Brothers and sisters.
So.
