Welcome to the somatic tracking meditation for fatigue.
This meditation is especially for those of you dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Who have just bone-crushing,
Disabling fatigue.
That is a result of.
.
.
The nervous system going into deep freeze mode,
Shutting you down.
We're going to learn to respond rather than react.
And to bring some safety to the system so that it feels okay to dethaw out of that freeze.
Bringing back mitochondrial function and energy.
So make sure you are nice and comfortable.
Take a deep breath into the belly.
And on your exhale,
You can close the eyes down if they aren't already.
And notice if there's any adjustments you can make.
To make yourself more comfortable.
We're going to start to connect to the sensations.
Involved with fatigue.
A somatic experience of the sensations in your body.
Some people experience fatigue as a heat behind the eyes.
Or a deep heaviness in the chest or shoulders.
Notice where in the body you feel that fatigue.
And as you start to turn toward it with courageousness,
Notice if your mind immediately reacts,
Oh no,
I've got to fix this.
Or it starts to fear your fatigue.
Maybe you start beating yourself up.
I've done something wrong.
Why am I so tired?
Let's see if we can soften back all of those responses,
All of those reactions.
And just be with the fatigue in a slightly different way than we might normally.
What's it like to experience it with a little bit of objectivity and curiosity?
Maybe even a little bit of acceptance.
Let's practice.
Objectivity.
Just objectively describe the sensation in the body.
So instead of using any colorful language i don't want to say oh feels like i got hit by a truck think about objective language.
Is this feeling heavy or is it light?
Is there a movement to it or is it still?
Does it feel warm or cool?
Is there a clear border?
Or is it a little bit fuzzy?
Just imagine.
You can objectively describe it as though you are.
A scientist describing the qualities.
And instead of investigating it with urgency or intensity or trying to fix it,
You're just getting curious.
Okay,
Interesting.
When I focus on it.
.
.
It seems to get bigger,
Or it seems to move,
Or get smaller,
Or it just stays the same.
You're just a scientist writing down notes,
That's all.
The goal of this exercise is not to change the fatigue,
Not yet.
The goal is to shift your reaction to it.
So that your body learns it's safe enough to pay attention to this sensation without needing to protect even more.
And when you do that repeatedly again and again,
The body habituates.
And it lets go of this need for protection and it releases your freeze mode.
That's how we can start to gain a little bit more energy to dethaw.
So the only thing we're working on here is your reaction.
Let yourself know.
This is a safe enough sensation.
The sensation of fatigue itself cannot harm me.
Right here,
Right now,
I am safe enough.
This is just my body trying to protect me.
I don't actually need this much protection.
Thank you,
Body.
For trying to shut me down.
The threat is gone.
And I am safe enough.
Find somewhere else in the body that feels neutral or pleasant.
Spend some time with your nose,
Your toes,
Your hands.
Let your body know it's safe enough to pay attention to another sensation.
You're shifting the algorithm of your brain and saying,
I'm interested in other sensations.
So just sitting with that neutral.
Or positive sensation,
And objectively describing that sensation.
Letting your brain know it's safe enough to be with a different sensation.
You're just like a scientist looking at a different thing in the lab and it's totally okay.
You're telling your brain,
I don't have to hyper-focus on the fatigue.
There's a lot of other things going on in my body.
That are neutral or pleasant that I could pay attention to,
Just for now.
Taking a breath there with that.
Neutral or pleasant sensation.
And then bringing yourself back.
To the sensation of the fatigue in the body with a sense of lightness.
Curiosity,
Did it change,
Did it move,
Did it grow?
You're not a mad scientist running around the lab freaking out,
Trying to save the world,
Trying to ruin the world,
None of that.
You are just you,
Taking a look,
Gentle,
Curious look.
At your fatigue and you're training your brain to habituate,
To not react.
To let go of this protection.
One more deep breath here,
Could you even smile a little bit?
Nice long exhale.
When you're ready,
You can open.
