Find a comfortable position.
Lying down is fine and sitting is fine too.
Just get cozy and make sure that you can stay here without effort.
Take one long breath in.
.
.
And let it go,
Exhaling through the mouth with a sigh.
Take a moment to notice how you truly feel right now.
How is your emotional state?
Maybe there is some feeling that overwhelms you right now.
Or maybe something on the background.
How is your mind,
Is it still or restless?
And finally,
How is your physical body?
How does it feel now?
Notice the weight of the body,
The places where it presses down.
The places that are being held.
On the floor,
The chair or the mat.
Notice how it meets you.
It was there before you arrived.
And it will be there after.
For now,
Let it do the holding.
You can fully relax now.
And before we move further gently check within.
Is your body still holding on to tension anywhere?
Just scan your body slowly.
Start at the jaw.
Is there something held there?
A clench,
A tightness.
And then your throat.
Your neck and shoulders.
Let them be exactly where they are,
Don't move them yet,
Just notice.
And then your chest.
Is there something sitting there?
Await.
A gentle compression or maybe nothing.
And then the belly.
What is your belly doing right now?
This is where activation lives in many of us.
We keep the belly tight and hold it all together.
But now,
You don't need to hold on to anything.
And if there is any motion underneath that tension,
You don't need to name it.
Just feel and notice where it leaves in the body.
That's enough.
And now we are going to work with the breath.
The nervous system is listening and breath is one of the few things that speaks its language directly.
We will do a simple practice.
We will make every exhale longer than the inhale.
That simple.
Yet,
It is the most powerful for nervous system regulation.
Because here is what happens when you do that.
The exhale activates the vagus nerve,
A long nerve that runs from the brain all the way down through the chest,
The heart and the belly.
And when the exhale is slow and full,
It sends a signal.
Not a thought,
Not a decision,
But a direct message to the nervous system that the danger has passed,
That the body can let go now.
And it works every time because it bypasses the mind entirely.
So,
We will breathe together through the nose,
Slowly,
And we will let the body receive that signal.
Inhale for 4 counts,
And exhale,
We start at 6,
And over a few breaths,
We'll let it lengthen to 7 or even to 8.
No rush.
The body will tell you when it's ready to go longer.
Forcing no perfect number to aim to,
Just longer out than in.
We'll start together and I will count with you.
And once you feel the rhythm settle in your body,
You can continue on your own.
You will hear a soft ticking in the background,
One tick per second.
This ticking will help you hold the rhythm.
Let's begin by taking a normal breathing.
And breathe out.
And let's start.
Inhale 1 2 3 4 exhale 1 2 3 4 5 6 in 1 2 3 4 out 1 2 3 4 5 6 in 1 2 3 out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
In 1,
2,
3,
4,
Out 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
In 1,
2,
3,
4,
Out 1,
2,
Continue at your own pace now and remember that when it feels natural you can extend the exhale up to 8 counts.
Just make sure that it happens effortlessly and without any tension.
Keep breathing and meanwhile I will just add a little guidance.
Notice somewhere in the chest or the belly a very slight release.
Non-traumatic The nervous system rarely shifts dramatically.
It's more like a door loosening.
The body is receiving the signal.
You might notice the jaw softening or the shoulders descending little by little.
And now let the counting go.
Just breathe.
Let the body find its own natural rhythm.
Slightly lower than before you started.
You didn't do that.
The neural system did.
Think of an inflatable ball held underwater.
The effort is in holding.
And the moment you release,
It rises on its own.
And that's what's happening now.
You are releasing their grip.
And the body is rising back toward its own equilibrium.
This is what regulation feels like,
Not euphoria,
Not emptiness,
Just this,
A slight slowing,
A softness in the belly and jaw,
The sense that you could stay here.
Let your breath go completely free now,
No pattern,
No counting,
No shaping,
Just let it breathe you.
Feel the weight of your body again,
The contact points.
The surface holding you.
Notice the difference from when you arrived.
Not because you need to measure it,
But just because the contrast is worth feeling.
This is what the nervous system can do and this is always available.
Stay here for a moment.
Nowhere to go.
Nothing to complete.
And now very slowly add a small movement if you want it.
Wiggle your fingers,
Your toes.
Feel your breath and your way.
Feel this moment.
Sense it.
Enjoy.
And trying to keep at least half of your attention inward.
Slowly open your eyes when you feel ready.
Don't rush back,
Allow yourself to take it slowly and easy for the next few minutes.
And remember that you can come back to this feeling anytime.
You already know the way.
