Somatic Connection Practice For Calm

In this 20 minute somatic connection practice for calm, experience different body based modalities such as gentle stretching, down regulation breathwork, vagus nerve exercises ending with a soothing sound bath. These practices are designed to shift into rest and digest mode by engaging with the parasympathetic nervous system. By connecting to the body, we quiet the mind and show it that it can soften and relax in a state of surrender.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this somatic connection practice for calm. My name is Ashley and I'll be guiding you through the practice today. So somatics is just another way of saying of the body or involved with the body. So in this practice instead of a regular guided meditation, I'll be guiding you through a few different practices using your body. We'll be doing a bit of stretching, A little bit of gentle movement and just different practices to connect with the vagus nerve, Activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is our system for rest and digest to really promote that feeling of calm and relaxation in the body. And it is through the body that we can signal to the mind which can sometimes be disconnected from the body. We can signal to the mind that we are in a state of calm and relaxation. This is a really great practice to just decrease stress. So to begin this practice, I invite you to find a nice comfortable seat. You can sit on the ground on the mat. Maybe you want to sit in a chair or your couch or maybe sitting on a cushion. Finding a position where your spine can be nice and long, The tailbone is anchored into the support beneath you, Crown of the head lifted high towards the sky. Close your eyes if that feels safe to you or maybe you soften the eyelids gazing at a point in front of you. Feel the shoulders melt away from the ears and in this melting it allows your hands to fall wherever they may. Maybe they softly rest in your lap. Maybe they just dangle by your side or rest on your knees. Then become aware of your breath at this present moment. Just noticing the depth, The journey that your breath takes. And on your next inhale, I invite you to seal your lips, Take a nice deep breath in through the nose. Feel this breath fill up your chest, Fill up your belly. And as you exhale, Open the mouth, Let all the air out completely. Maybe you make a little sighing noise or any vocalizations that allow you to feel a release on this exhale. We'll take two more big deep breaths just like that, Just to clear the slate and begin our practice of this mind-body connection. So seal your lips, Inhale through the nose, Fill up all the way to the belly. Open mouth, Exhale, Release something from your day, From your past. Another deep inhale, Breathe all the way in, All the way up. Maybe you feel the crown of your head lift up just an inch higher. Then exhale, Let the breath fall away, Just cascading out of you without any force. And come back to your natural rhythm of breath. Just begin to check in here. Are you feeling calm? Are you feeling a little chaotic? There's no right or wrong answer. How you feel is exactly how you feel right now. And then we'll start this practice with a little neck stretch. So starting by dropping the right ear towards your right shoulder, Taking your right hand and resting it just above your left ear. Using the hand just as a gentle guide, Stretching the left side of your neck, Not forcing the hand too heavy on the head. Just letting it rest and letting gravity do most of the work here. Breathe into the left side of your neck. Just feeling each exhale remove any tension, Any tightness. And connecting the breath with the expansion and softening of the left side of your neck. Take three more conscious breaths here, Breathing only into the left side of your neck. After your third breath, Your next inhale, Gently release the hand, Bring your head back up to neutral. Then just slowly bring your left ear towards your left shoulder, Almost rainbowing your head to the other side. Take your left hand and rest it right above your right ear, Just gently guiding the head down towards the earth. No force here. Feel into the stretch. Again, Sending each mindful conscious breath into the space between your right ear and right shoulder. If you notice the breath feels tight because this area of your body feels tight, Allow your next exhale to soften and let it fall away. This is a natural release with the exhale. Take three conscious breaths here. Breathe into the right side of your neck. On the bottom of that third exhale, Gently bring your head back up to neutral with your inhale. Feel free to take a few neck circles here, Just to circle out, Remove any tension. Any energy that was released there, Just allowing any tension to soften away as you invite movement here in these very gentle neck circles. Swinging the chin down towards the chest, Up towards the sky, Circling it around. Continue to breathe low and slow as you circle out your neck. Oftentimes, Our neck can hold so much tension because of the activity from our brain. When we're overthinking a lot, Using our mind a lot, Our neck can energetically hold that tightness and it may manifest as physical tension here. So I love these neck circles just to release the mind as well. Once you feel complete there, Bring your head back up to neutral. Then begin to bring both of your palms together at heart center. Begin to rub your hands together, Generating heat between your fingertips, Between your palms. Rub your hands really, Really fast. Feel the heat. Take a few deep breaths. Maybe any intention that you have for this practice or for yourself at this time. Stage of your life. Maybe you want that intention to be infused as you rub your hands together and generate this heat. Continue to rub for three more breaths. Infuse your intention into your palms. And then release the hands. Feel the energy as you flip your palms up towards the sky. Then begin to give yourself a big hug. Wrap your arms around your shoulders. Tuck your chin into your chest. Feel the warmth of your hands radiating into your body. Just imagining you giving yourself this hug, Giving yourself this moment of gratitude, Love, And compassion. Taking a few deep breaths, Connecting with this feeling of hugging yourself, Giving yourself this love. The act of a hug or even envisioning hugging someone can raise levels of dopamine in our brain. Each inhale, Bringing more love, Light, And joy into your heart. Each exhale, Feeling more settled and grounded in this hug with yourself. On that last breath, Gently unwind your arms. Take two of your fingers, Both your right and left hand, Your pointer finger and your middle finger, And place them behind your ear, Kind of at the base of the skull where your ears connect to the back of your skull. Then begin to just massage this area here. This is where the vagus nerve lies. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in our body and it starts at the back of the skull right where you're massaging and goes all the way down to our gut. So it really is this bridge for our mind and body connection. By massaging this area, We can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, Again signaling to our body that we can rest and digest, That we're inviting the state of calm, Safety, And surrender. Continue to massage the back of your ears and if it feels intuitive to you, You can guide your way down your neck, Down the backside of your neck as well. Just taking this moment to engage the vagus nerve to give this clear line of communication to our body that we are safe, That we can digest and nourish ourselves. Remember to keep a low, Slow, Deep breath as you're massaging the back of your ears. When you feel complete here, Just take three more deep breaths as you finish up massaging the vagus nerve, This backside of your ear. And then as you're ready, Release your hands back into your palms, Palms facing the sky. Relax the shoulders down and just notice any shifts that you may be feeling. Just pausing to recognize how you feel in this current state. Then we'll shift into a down regulation breath work. This one I like to call a depressurizing breath. So for this breath practice, We will be inhaling through the nose for a count of four, Exhaling for a count of seven out the mouth, But making a little o shape with our mouths as if we're blowing a feather or blowing out candles on your birthday. I'll guide you through it all. Let's start by exhaling all the stale air from our lungs, Breathing it out through the mouth. Maybe you have one big sigh to release. Inhale through the nose for four, Three, Two, One. Exhale feather breath, Make an o shape with your mouth for seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Inhale through the nose for four, Three, Two, One. Exhale like you're softly blowing out a feather for seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Inhale four, Three, Two, One. Exhale release the pressure seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Inhale four. Exhale with the feather breath, Seven. Inhale through the nose for four. Exhale release the pressure from the mouth for seven. Inhale for four. Exhale for seven. Two more rounds. Inhale for four. Exhale feather breath for seven. Last round. Inhale for four. Exhale out the mouth for seven. Release this breath and just come back to your natural regular rhythm of breathing. Just pause and feeling your energy settle into the earth. Feeling your energetic frequency. Any thoughts in the mind begin to settle. Maybe they go a little static. If you're seeing a wave on a graph, Just become flat. Settle into your natural rhythm of breath. Feeling this stillness allow you to merge with your breath. Lingering here in these peaceful moments to just witness, To embrace the stillness of this clear state of mind. Begin to gently gather your awareness back on your breath. Just noticing the depth and rate of your breathing. The temperature and texture of the air as it flows in and out of your body. Then we'll slowly reawaken by taking a deep inhale through the nose, Filling up the chest, Filling up the belly, Feeling the crown of the head reach up just another inch. Then big deep exhale out, Flowing that breath of life out into the space surrounding you. Beginning to find movement in your body very gently. Maybe the fingers come together and come apart, Feeling the web of energy between each finger. Maybe the toes start to dance around a little bit. And when you feel ready, You can gently blink the eyes open, Arriving back into your space, Letting the light back into your eyes. I'd like us to close the practice by bringing your hands together at heart center. Just honoring the life behind the beating heart. Honoring the presence, The breath. Most importantly, Honoring yourself. Thank you so much for joining me in this practice to connect with your body and instill a sense of calm. I hope that this calm can carry throughout the rest of your day. Thank you.

Reviews

Absolutely loved this. Thank you so much for putting this out there!

Thank you Ashley, that was really affective at settling my nervous energy. I appreciate you sharing your gifts with us on Insight Timer. Namaste. 🙏🏽