Welcome to this short somatic practice for releasing built-up tension in the body and regulating your nervous system.
This practice is ideal for when you're at home,
When you're walking,
When you're at work or maybe you're commuting.
Whenever and wherever you feel like you need this practice,
It's available to you at all times.
So we'll start by focusing on the breath.
The breath is always our anchor point.
So see if you can first of all become aware of the fact that you are breathing right now.
And as you're feeling a lot of different things in your body,
Maybe you have the urge to leave the space where you are,
Which indicates you're in flight mode.
Maybe you feel the urge to become really angry,
Which leads to the fight part of the nervous system survival response.
On whichever end of the spectrum you are,
Know that you can switch off this response by focusing on the breath.
And as you have become aware of your natural rhythm,
Let's take three deep breaths together.
Inhale through your nose and take a long extended exhale out through your mouth,
Really lengthening that exhale,
Making sure it is longer than your inhale.
Inhale through your nose and exhale out through your mouth.
And you can sigh as you exhale,
Really letting all of that built up and stuck energy go.
We'll do this one last time.
Inhale through your nose.
Feel how the cold air enters through your nostrils,
Through your windpipes,
Into your lungs,
Into your belly and then release it out with a sigh through your mouth,
Letting go of that air that's now warm.
We'll pause here for a second.
Notice how you feel.
If you have your eyes closed,
You can open them now.
Keep your head straight as if you're looking forward.
Then move your eyeballs to the left,
Keeping your head straight and gently looking to your left side.
Take a deep breath here,
Remembering that the nervous system is all about slowness.
Maybe you feel the need to yawn.
This is also a sign of release.
Let it happen.
Now release your eyes from looking at your left side and look in front of you and take a comfortable breath in and release.
We'll now do the same for our right side.
Keeping your head straight,
Roll your eyeballs to the right and gently look to your right side.
No need to force anything.
Look to your right side in a way that still feels comfortable,
Yet you feel a slight stretch in your eyes.
This practice directly impacts the vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve begins at our brain stem and our eyes are connected to our brain.
Our whole body,
Mind is all connected with each other.
By doing this practice,
We are directly stimulating the vagus nerve and letting our body know that there is no danger,
We are safe.
If you haven't done so,
Take a comfortable breath while you're looking to your right.
Maybe you need to yawn and then look again slowly in front of you,
Releasing your eyes from looking to your right side.
And again here we pause to notice any shifts.
If you feel the need to yawn a lot,
This is a good sign that your parasympathetic nervous system has come online and that your vagus nerve has been activated.
This means that your body is now from fight or flight mode shifting into the rest,
Digest,
Heal and repair mode,
The state of safety and restoration.
Thank you for joining me in this short practice today.
You can continue breathing with extended exhales or slowly looking to your left and right side whenever you need to or how long you need to.
I wish you a beautiful day filled with nourishment and calm and I'll see you soon.
