Hi,
This is Catherine Cook-Coutone,
Author of Embodiment and the Treatment of Eating Disorders.
The Body as a Resource in Recovery.
I'll be reading script 9.
14,
Developing Your Inner Resource and Guide.
It might be helpful to have your journal and pen with you so that you can jot down your inner resource details once you've finished.
If you'd like to go get it now,
Please pause and come back.
Okay.
Find a comfortable seat and press your feet into the floor and your sitting bones into the chair.
If you'd like,
Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Bring your awareness to your breath and take four calming breaths,
Slightly extending your exhalations.
Good.
Begin by remembering or imagining a place where you feel completely safe and content.
Where are you?
Is it far away?
Near?
Is it inside or outside?
Bring detail into your image.
What do you see?
Are there sounds that you notice?
What are they?
What does it smell like there?
Do you notice the wind,
A coolness,
Warmth,
The sun?
What do you feel?
Using your brain as a recorder,
Intentionally place this image in your memory.
This image can be an access point to your inner resource,
Your internal reservoir of calm and peacefulness.
Remember this image.
It is uniquely and completely yours to come to whenever you'd like.
Now,
Bring your awareness to what your body feels like in your remembered or imagined place.
This place is where you can feel relaxed,
Calm,
And at peace.
There's nothing to do,
Nothing to fix.
You only need to be.
Do you feel safe,
Secure,
Clear,
Grounded,
Open,
Well,
Flowing,
Stable,
Steady,
Still?
How do you feel when you are in this place?
Using your brain like a recorder,
Move these feelings into your memories.
Your body has the capacity to feel all of these beautiful and positive feelings.
It is okay if some opposite emotions come to mind.
Feelings and sensations often travel in pairs.
Simply notice and bring your awareness back to the comforting emotions and allow them to settle into your memories.
Now,
Notice your body.
How is it?
Feeling this remembered or imagined place,
Notice any softening,
Relaxation,
Or letting go that might be there.
Allow for the possibility of relaxation and calmness within your body.
Using your brain like a recorder,
Intentionally remember what you're feeling right now.
Your body has the capacity to relax,
To open,
And to soften.
As you breathe,
Know that each moment you spend here in this relaxed state is helping you create a reservoir of relaxation and calm that you can resource and remember whenever you are stressed,
Triggered,
Or simply wanting to relax.
This feeling is yours and yours uniquely to draw on whenever you need it.
Place a hand on your belly and a hand on your heart.
It's time to connect with your inner guide.
Notice your hand on your belly.
Know that your gut instincts and intuitions are there in your body.
They reside right under your hand.
They are a source of great wisdom.
Breathe and notice your belly.
Perhaps you can say to yourself,
My intuition is a source of great wisdom.
I will practice being aware of and listening to my intuition.
Next,
Noticing your hand on your heart,
Know that your heart is connected to your emotional systems.
Think of how your heart flutters when you love someone or something and how it beats when you're passionate about something.
It is a source for your passions and hurts.
In this way,
It is a great source of wisdom.
You might bring your awareness to your heart and say,
I know you are a source of my emotional wisdom.
I will practice being aware of and listening to my emotional wisdom.
Now,
Bring your awareness to your mind.
Its work is to think.
It's always trying to help you to know your truth.
It's a source of your intellectual wisdom.
Bring your awareness to the very center of your forehead.
You might say to your mind,
My mind is a source of intellectual wisdom.
I will practice noticing its messages and patterns.
Whenever you have a big question to contemplate,
Consider tuning in to all three sources of your wisdom.
First,
Your intuition,
Then your emotional wisdom,
And finally,
Your intellectual wisdom.
When these three are aligned,
Know that you are getting closer to your truth.
Here you have found your inner guide.
It resides in the intersection of intuition,
Emotion,
And intellect.
Breathe here.
Take a final moment to recall your remembered or imagined place,
That safe,
Grounded place.
Remember the imagined place or the remembered place and the feelings associated with this place,
The sense of calm and peace that can reside in your body.
Now,
Bring your attention to your belly,
Your heart,
And your mind as they align in your body.
Breathe as if you could breathe awareness into all three sources of your inner guide.
Your body is a resource,
A growing reservoir of peace,
Of calm,
And great wisdom.
As you are ready,
Return your awareness to your breath and take a few calming breaths,
Allowing your exhalations to be longer than your inhalations.
Good.
Bring your awareness back to the room,
Slowly opening your eyes and anchoring your gaze on something in the room,
And then slowly broaden your gaze.
If you'd like to,
Take time and journal about your place,
The feelings,
And the body sensations associated with your inner resources.
Thank you so much for practicing.
