Welcome to this active somatic tracking exercise for chronic pain.
The goal of this practice is simple,
To courageously engage in an activity while meeting the sensations in your body with calmness and without fear.
Often,
The fear of symptoms that an activity might trigger is enough to stop us from doing it altogether.
Or,
We push through and white-knuckle our way till the end.
Both of these approaches reinforce the fear cycle.
Avoidance creates more fear.
Forcing creates more pressure.
What starts as a molehill or a simple activity quickly turns into a mountain,
And before long,
Our zone of safety gets smaller and smaller.
This practice is about taking our power back.
Expanding that zone of safety.
Challenging the fears and the beliefs that we carry about movement in learning to meet whatever sensations arise in our body different.
In this practice,
We'll do an activity with the eyes open and engage in a simple,
Repetitive movement.
This could be walking,
Swinging a tennis racket,
Moving an arm up and down,
Or any other activity that feels right for you.
Let's dive in.
Before we actually engage in this activity,
I want you to just close your eyes or let your attention be soft.
And notice what stories you have about this activity,
About what might happen when you do it.
What do you notice happening in your body when you think about this activity?
Just notice.
This is your brain.
You haven't even engaged in this activity yet.
Notice if there's fear or anticipation that's present.
That's just a story.
And see if you can allow the experience to unfold without projecting your idea of what it is going to be like.
Instead,
I invite you to imagine what you want to feel like when you're engaging in this activity.
I encourage you to imagine not the absence of any symptoms or sensations or pain,
But how you want to feel toward these sensations if they occur.
What is the general sense of what you want to feel like doing this activity,
Symptoms or no symptoms?
Maybe you wish to feel light or strong or comfortable.
Think about what language resonates with you.
And can you allow yourself to feel just a little bit of that sensation?
So you imagine engaging in this activity.
Now I'd like you to bring your focus to a part of the body that feels good and just let your attention rest there for a few moments.
It might be tingling in your hands or your feet.
It might be a softness in your shoulders or your jaw.
Whatever resonates with you.
Receive that anchor and let this be a place that you can return to at any time when you engage in this activity.
Good.
Now I invite you to open your eyes and with calmness and ease,
Let's start to do this activity.
As you start to engage in it,
Dropping any monitoring for symptoms,
Instead bringing a sense of joy to this activity that you're doing.
Releasing any tension in your belly,
Letting your breathing deepen as you engage in this activity.
And if sensations arise,
Great.
It's not a problem.
If they go away,
Great.
Regardless of what symptoms or sensations are doing,
Know that you're safe.
You're not in danger.
And as you let your fear of sensations drop,
The brain naturally will shift how those sensations feel.
As you meet whatever is happening in your body with calmness,
With detachment,
You're bringing the fear down.
You are changing your brain in real time.
And as the fear and your brain's danger signal decrease,
The symptoms themselves can feel different too.
You're doing great.
Keep easefully engaging in this activity.
And can you notice what's happening in your body without fear?
Can you receive whatever sensations are happening in your body as a gift?
With the confidence that,
Yeah,
You can actually do this activity.
You are capable of this.
Continuing to breathe into any sensations in your body with calmness and lightness.
Letting go of any stories about what's happening in your body.
Almost like the parent of a toddler who is throwing a tantrum,
If there are sensations,
Can you be a steady and calm presence and receive that tantrum,
Receive those sensations without trying to fix them?
Dropping any resistance to what is.
And as the danger signal lowers,
As your fear decreases,
You might notice other parts of your body starting to let go as well.
And if you need to take a break for a few moments during this activity,
That's perfectly okay as well.
You can pause,
Take a deep breath,
And resume whenever you're ready.
And using these tools,
It's a way to decrease our fear.
Remember,
We're not trying to change what's happening in the body,
We're simply receiving it without fear,
Knowing that we're safe,
That we're not in danger.
And now,
I invite you to shift your focus from inside your body to outside.
Notice what's happening around you.
If you're going for a walk,
Notice the color of the sky,
Or what you're seeing,
Any trees or flowers or anything that catches your eye.
Shifting your focus externally.
And as you do this,
You're placing trust in what your body is capable of doing.
You're trusting that you can be present with this outside world doing this activity,
Not needing to monitor what's happening in your body at all times.
Allowing yourself to get into the flow of whatever activity you're doing.
Finding what's joyful about it.
And leaving this focus on doing it right,
Or making something happen,
Leaving that to the side,
And just being with the joy you experience in doing this activity.
And just notice how this makes you feel.
Notice what is different about this activity compared to how you usually engage with it.
There's no outcome here that needs to happen.
There's no judging or rating or grading.
All you're doing is engaging with an activity you enjoy and noticing what it's like.
And if you're in a flow with this activity,
Fantastic.
I encourage you to keep going after this recording ends.
Or if you want to pause,
That's perfectly okay too.
Really allowing yourself to give yourself credit for meeting this activity with courage instead of fear,
And rewiring your brain.
That is what you have been doing for this time together.
Great work.
Keep going.
And I'll see you next time.
