Hi again,
Sue Ward here.
I work with people living with chronic pain and other symptoms,
And I have lived experience with chronic pain myself,
Which is thankfully behind me.
In our first two videos,
We talked about how the nervous system can turn up the sensitivity dial and how pain reprocessing therapy helps retrain that system using curiosity instead of fear.
Now we're going to try a very short somatic tracking practice together,
Just to get a feel for it.
Somatic tracking has three main parts.
First.
Simple observation.
Noticing sensations like pain,
Fatigue,
Or IBS without trying to fix them.
Second,
Viewing them through a lens of safety.
Reminding the nervous system that these signals are dangerous.
And third,
Bringing a sense of lightness and ease.
Letting go of needing the sensation to change right now.
This is simply an invitation to pause and explore.
Let's begin.
You might start by getting comfortable.
You can close your eyes or simply soften your gaze.
Take a breath in.
And a long breath out.
Notice what's supporting and grounding you right now.
Pay attention to those points of contact.
The chair,
The floor.
Or wherever your body is resting.
Let your attention rest on that support for a moment.
Now gently bring awareness to whatever part of your body needs attention right now.
Or is asking to be heard.
No need to dive in deeply.
Just gently noticing.
Get curious about the sensation itself.
Is it tight?
Warm,
Buzzing.
Or heavy.
Does it have a shape?
Or color.
Is it still or is it shifting?
You're just observing,
The same way you might watch cars passing by from a porch or look out the window on a road trip.
Just taking note of what passes by without needing to chase it.
Or stop it.
Notice how you can gently move your attention back and forth.
You can touch into the sensation for a moment.
And then shift back to those points of contact and the support beneath you.
If at any point the sensation feels like too much.
You can always anchor your attention back into that steady,
Grounded space.
That choice is always available to you.
Let those sensations be present while also noticing the places that feel supported.
Both can exist at the same time.
Even a few moments of noticing like this can begin to shift how your nervous system responds.
If this short practice felt helpful.
I invite you to explore my other somatic tracking practices here on Insight Timer,
Offering both short and longer ways in.
Thanks for practicing with me.
