Calm Companion | These Glowing Embers | Autogenic Training

This story takes place on a farm, in the winter, as two people settle down for the night by the fireside.
It uses hot and cold sensations within your body for self-regulation.
Safely progress towards the complex PTSD recovery goal of safely feeling two different things, within the body, at once!
Enjoy the calm singing and deeply relaxing visualization of farm animals and coziness.

Transcript

Hmm, Let's work on autogenic training. The goal is to move cool freshness to your core and your forehead and your lungs and to move warmth and heaviness to your limbs. And this can be assisted by applying a cooling oil blend to your lungs and your forehead, Your temples, And applying a very warming blend, Something that contains clove or cinnamon, To your hands and feet. The name of this meditation, Glowing Embers, Represents a long day out in the snow and coming inside, Warming oneself by the fire. The more relaxed you become, The more your hands and feet begin to feel like the last embers in the fire. As you gaze out the cool sea, I want you to feel that you have your head against the windowpane, An icy blast on your forehead, A chill. And when you are able to do this temperature shift within your own body, You'll be able to feel two things at once, A very admirable goal for trauma work. When we move and shift warmth to the extremities, We're telling our body and our brain that we are really not stressed, Really no trouble, Really just content, Satisfied. And so let's go down now a little bit deeper into the story as we cuddle up by the fire. Oh, My friend, It's been a long day. We've been outside helping the animals in the barnyard, You and I, Busting through the ice with our shovels so they can stick their muzzles in, Making steam clouds on the water. We've been passing out the hay and the cubes and the molasses because you can't have one without the other. If we don't have the molasses, The hay won't stick and then the cattle will be hungry. All these little types of things that we learn, Talking and walking together through our chores, And somehow it's felt less chilly with you along. Even though the tip of my nose is quite red, I can barely feel it when I press. We're carrying the steaming pails of milk now into the house from the screen door to the kitchen. Knock your boots together and put them by the door. Walk into the kitchen in your socks, Pad of the wool underneath your feet, And let's leave the pails of milk there, Smelling so sweet and creamy and rich. And later we'll skim the cream for a coffee or two. But for right now, Shall we put up our feet and warm them? You lean back and I cover you with an afghan. I lean back, The rocking chair creaks gently. You stoke the fire and turn over the last of the dying embers, Putting on a new log or two. It crackles to life and we begin to thaw, Gazing out the window. And I remark to you, And you remark to me, My legs have been trudging through snow, My friend, And now I get to rest. Oh, Isn't this lovely? By the fireside, These glowing ember, So nice. By the fireside, Lift one hand to the glowing embers, Feel the warmth spread through the tips of your finger, All the way to your wrist and your palm. Wrap your hands together and hold them both out now. I laugh at you as you stretch and make the sound of a bear coming out of hibernation. And you grin at me, Throw a pillow at me, Which I catch and cuddle to my chest, Before laying down with a sigh. This is so nice, You and I. You know, My legs felt like they were made of ice. And now my feet are thawing and tingling. I feel like I could put them right next to the stove without a problem at all, Like they're ice chunks melting down. How do you feel? Oh, I feel so much reward after that long work day, Because I know the animals are safe. And I know everything's locked up tight till the morning. I lean back and close my weary eye. Those heavy eyes drifting into a state somewhere between awake and asleep. I go into a dream where my forehead feels the bracing icy wind and I'm breathing it in. My lungs are cool and open, But the rest of my body is drawn towards the fireside, The knees glowing embers. My feet feel heavy and warm and you look like your feet are becoming heavy and warm as well. You lean back and close your weary eye. Those heavy, Hardworking eyes. You lean into the fireside with a sigh and a stretch. The dog pads over to take his rightful spot right in front of us and stretches his pads and paws out too, Imitating us in our hibernation sounds. A big yawn, The three of us stretch our limbs towards the glowing embers and as we warm our toes and fingers, That sensation spreads through them that the work is done and it feels so good. Our hands are off duty, Our feet are done trudging in heavy boots. They're simply warm and warming still, Heavy and warm by the fireside. Your forehead is cool, Your heartbeat is calm, Your body responds to the rhythm so long that my forehead is cool, Breathing in the winter air. My heartbeat is calm, My lungs are open and fresh and down my shoulders to my elbows and wrists runs the warm, Pleasant heaviness of rest. Tingling, Throbbing, Warm like the glowing ember. Each of my palms is heavy still. Now my hips loosen, My thighs give way to rest, My feet and toes receive from the flames in front of them little signals of heat that seem to penetrate to the core. Warming from the bottom up, My heel, My heel, My arch, My ankle giving way, Gently rotating outward under the quilt. My feet are heavy and pleasantly still. The boots that were cold and now dripping as they melt far behind me now and all the chores they represent are finished. I take a deep inhale, The smell of peppermint wafting from the kitchen. I open my eyes to look outside. The sky is a winter silver, A little bit of sleet hitting the windowpane at a sharp angle and then dropping straight down, Weaving its way, Crying down the window. In little patterns like rivers, I rise and go to the window, Pressing my forehead against the panes that are shaking slightly from the wind outside. Cool glass, Sensation of the ice on the other side, Spreads across my forehead and down my face, Into my lung, My chest. Cool, Calm, And I feel so good, So very safe. Cuddled up from the storm, By the fireside, The backs of my knees are turned towards the stove and I feel the glowing embers penetrating my legs, The back of my knees, Down my calves and ankle. My warm skin feels good to be free and loose from those heavy boots and by now, Neatly dried between each toe and finger, I relish the sensation now of feeling warm in my legs and hand, My arms and feet, And cool in my forehead, My throat and my chest. It's beautiful really, This interplay of icy silvery blue and orange glow, As opposites, They balance one another in my body and you too, You remark that you're really relishing feeling both the winter and the fire, Sharing this moment together. This moment together, These glowing, And the warmer our feet, The less and less work we have to do, And the heavier and warmer our arms become, The less and less compelled we are to move, Till they're throbbing, As if our hearts were beating in our palms and underneath our feet. You and I in synchrony, Deeply through our nose, Cool, Refreshing aroma of the icy winter, Filling our lungs, Filling our chest, We feel light, We feel free, And as the night carries on, You and I, Hand in hand, Cuddle close, The warm golden glow of this old potbelly stove, And the open stone fireplace, You and I alone know this thrill of warmth as one. These glowing ember, Lift your eye to the falling snow, Falling light on your forehead, With nowhere to go, These glowing ember, Lift your eyes to the falling snow, Falling light on your forehead, With nowhere to go, These glowing ember, Lift your eyes to the falling snow,