Hi.
Welcome.
Welcome to your nervous system reset.
In this moment I'd simply like you to pause.
Wherever you are,
Whatever you're doing,
Put your hand on your chest and take a breath.
Notice the sensation of breathing in and of breathing out.
Take another breath in and another breath out.
In our session together we're going to breathe and we're going to move.
The movement is not at all difficult,
But we're going to reset the nervous system using the instrument that is your body.
So please have a chair handy with a back,
So not a stool.
Something you can sit tall in and have a seat.
Your feet are firmly rooted on the ground and your hands are resting on your thighs.
Sit up as tall as you can and come to awareness of your breath.
Just settle yourself for a moment in the here and now.
Feel your feet on the floor.
Feel the sensation of your feet,
All four corners of both feet,
Big toes and little toes,
Inner heels and outer heels,
Rooted down on the floor.
Feel what that feels like.
Feel your hands on top of your legs.
Feel the connection of your palms and your fingers to your skin or your pants.
Give your thighs a little squeeze.
Feel the sensation of your body in your own hands.
Bring the shoulders up to the ears.
Send them back in space and roll them back and down.
Lift the roof of your mouth as much as you can,
Growing tall in the spine.
We're going to bring our breath into a cadence that will relax your nervous system.
We're going to inhale to the count of five and exhale to the count of seven.
If this is too hard for you,
I want you to use the counts of four and six.
Both are fine.
I'm going to lead a count of five and seven.
If that doesn't work,
You're going to have your own count of four and six.
Let's begin.
Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and a complete breath through the nose.
Empty the lungs and we'll begin to inhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Exhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Exhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Keep going.
I'm going to stay here with this breath,
Whether you've chosen five and seven or four and six.
We're going to be here for two minutes.
Settle into this breath.
If it's uncomfortable,
That's okay.
Just keep breathing and use your count as your point of focus.
Notice thoughts that may come or go.
Let them.
Stay focused on the rhythm of your breath and the length of your exhale.
One more minute like this.
Imagine,
If you will,
All of the stress and tension leaving the body with your exhale.
The hands soften,
The shoulders soften,
And the brows soften.
Staying with yourself and your breath.
Using the tool of your own breath to begin the process of regulating your nervous system.
You're doing great.
You're doing your best.
It's all we can ever do.
Your exhale is longer than your inhale,
Which is activating your vagal nerve,
Which is switching on your parasympathetic nervous system,
Bringing the body into a state of calm.
Beautiful.
When you complete your next exhale,
Simply inhale again and exhale.
We're going to begin a shaking practice.
It's very simple.
We're going to shake one limb at a time.
We're going to spend a minute shaking the right arm,
One minute shaking the left arm,
And we're going to stand and use the chair for balance.
We're going to shake the right leg,
And we're going to shake the left leg,
And then we're going to shake the whole body.
I'm going to give you the sound of a rattle for the time that you shake.
You can shake with the rattle.
You can shake your body as vigorously as you like or as softly as you like,
As best you can keep the body moving for the full minute.
So begin to feel your right arm.
Let your right arm fall to the side so it's no longer touching the right thigh,
And from the shoulder to the fingertips,
Start shaking using the sound of the rattle as rhythm,
Using the sound of the rattle to help with the momentum of the shaking.
Use the rattle.
Shake the arm.
Shake the arm.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake.
I'm going to stop shaking that arm.
Bring the right hand back to the right thigh.
Let it rest here and pause for a moment.
Feel the sensation of your right arm,
The hum.
We'll begin again with the left side.
Let the left hand fall to the side and start to feel and hear the steady rhythm of the rattle and begin to shake the left arm,
Shaking as vigorously or as softly as you like,
But shake it from the shoulders to the fingers.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake,
Bringing the left hand back to its resting place on your left thigh.
Feel the left arm and gently begin to stand up.
Grab a hold of the chair with your left hand and shift the weight to your left foot.
Using the sound of the rattle,
Begin to shake your right leg from the hip socket to the toes.
Shake it as vigorously or as softly as you like,
But keep shaking it.
Keep moving.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake.
Now go bringing your right foot to the floor.
Turning around and taking a hold of the chair with your right hand and shifting the weight of your body to the right foot,
Begin to feel the sound of the rattle and begin to shake your left foot.
All the way from the hips to the toes.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake as vigorously or as softly as you like,
But just keep moving to the sound of the rattle.
You got this.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake.
Keep going.
Put your foot on the floor and stand up tall and step away from the chair.
Last part,
We're going to shake our whole body here.
Beginning to hear the rattle,
Start to jump a little bit.
Shift the weight from foot to foot.
Whatever you need to do,
Begin to shake your whole body.
It can be vigorous,
It can be soft,
But moving the whole body.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake.
One minute.
You got this.
Last part.
Shake it like you mean it.
And softly start to still the body once again.
Stopping the shaking,
Settling the body,
And once again carefully taking a seat.
Feet are on the floor,
Hands are on your thighs.
Awareness back to the breath.
Our rhythm is even.
Inhaling to the count of five,
And exhaling to the count of five.
We're going to be here for just three minutes with this count.
It's the last piece.
Now,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
The count of your breath be the focus of your mind.
Beautiful.
Notice how you feel now.
Notice the sensations in the body.
Notice if the mind has gotten a little more quiet.
And if the sensations in the body are a little more quiet.
This practice is always here for you.
In times of high stress or high anxiety,
Breathing,
Shaking,
Can bring our nervous system back into balance.
Know that you are loved.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
And may you be free from suffering.
Please thank yourself for taking the time to shift your nervous system and feel better.
Many blessings.
