Healing From Trauma & Stress- Being With Choice

This meditation was written to remind you that choice can be present for you. Often in stressful and traumatic situations, we lose choice, whether it is due to the internal reactions of our own nervous system or the external circumstances. That sense of not-having-a-choice can stick with you- implicitly - like a subtle bias that says that we don't have a choice. This meditation will help you remember that - in the present moment - you have a choice.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Catherine Cocaton. Let's get started with the healing from stress and trauma, Self-regulation and choice meditation. Begin this practice by taking a moment to support yourself. Get in a comfortable position, A position in which you can feel both alert and relaxed. Take time to connect to the ground below you. Press your feet or legs into the floor and your sitting bones into your chair or your cushion. Take a moment to notice, Maybe even ask yourself, Do I feel supported? Do I feel grounded? And if not, Take a moment to make the adjustments that you need. You want this work to come from a very supported and grounded place. Now if it feels right, Allow your eyes to close or settle your gaze. Soften the area around your eyes. As you sit here, Grounded and supported, Begin noticing your breath, The flow of your breath in and the flow of your breath out. There's no need to change your breath, Just notice it. All of your attention is now focused on the inhale and the exhale of your breath. If your mind is active, Allow it to gently settle, The thoughts fading into the background. I promise you can come back to them later. They'll be there. For now, Simply focus on the breath, Your breath in and your breath out, Feeling the support of your seat, Feeling your body grounded and connected. As you rest here, Breathing, You might add a bit of a narrative, Anchoring the words on your breath, Breathing in, I know I am breathing in, And breathing out, I know I am breathing out. As you breathe, Notice what is present in this moment. Let go of the need for it to be a certain way. Just breathing. Now, As you breathe, Consider that one of the traumatizing things about stressful situations is that in those situations, We often don't have a choice. It's kind of what makes it stressful and traumatic, The lack of choice. Sometimes things happen too suddenly or at the time we had little power or agency. Sometimes our nervous system responds in a freeze or a fight or a flight response and we shut down or act out or run. There are lots of things that happen both within us and within our worlds that in a traumatic or extremely stressful moment, Limit or remove our choices. When working through trauma and stress, It can be helpful to begin to consider the possibility of choice. The idea that right here, Right now, I can find choice. I can make choices. Breathe here and consider that right now, There's this possibility of choice. I can consider that even though there have been times in the past in which choice was not present for me, In this present moment, There are choices. I can be aware of my breath or not. I can sit and I can stand. I can lie. I can wear blue. I can wear green. I can wear a hat. I can remove my hat. I can pull up my sleeves or draw them down around my hands. Perhaps later I could ride a bike, Walk or drive. I can drink tea or coffee. I can add honey or not. Right here, Right now, I could place a hand over my heart or not. Breathe here and consider I can choose. Sometimes after we have been through something very stressful or traumatic, We forget. The core of mindfulness is really remembering that we forget. We forget that we have choices every day throughout the whole day. We can decide about things and create our own experience. Breathe here and consider I can choose. The same notion of choice, It's true in how we relate to our triggers and the things we habitually react to. We can work to have choice about these things too. This is hard work and it requires a lot of practice. However, It's very possible. The first step is getting to the notion of choice, Getting that notion back into our awareness. Breathe here and consider I can choose. In this present moment, I can choose. If it feels right, Place a hand on your heart and say, I can find choice in the present moment. Just breathe. If it feels okay, Open yourself to the possibility I can find choice in the present moment. Ground and connect to the seat upon which you are sitting. Take a deep breath and say, I can find choice in the present moment. Notice what it feels like to say this. Notice your body. I can find choice in the present moment. Feet, Legs, Core, Arms, Heart, Neck, Scalp, Whole body, I can find choice in the present moment. Let go of a need for this to be a certain way and just simply notice. I can find choice in the present moment. Breathe. Bring your awareness back only to your breath. Then breathing, Having a sense of your entire body as you rest your breathing. Breathing in, I know, I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know, I am breathing out. Again, Noticing what's present in this moment with this beautiful permission to let go of the need for your body, Your emotions, Your thoughts for this moment to be any certain way. Now, Let's complete this meditation with three gentle breaths. Allow your eyes to gently open if they're closed and then reorient to your surroundings. Maybe choose one thing upon which you can anchor your gaze and then breathing in, I know I am breathing in and breathing out, I know I am breathing out. Take a moment to thank yourself for taking this time for self-care, Taking time to heal. Consider what this meditation might mean to you or for you and maybe even journal. I thank you for practicing. Remember, When working with our wounds, With our stress, And with our trauma, It's helpful to move at the speed of trust in the work of it, In our relationships, And in our own hearts. When you're ready at the speed of your trust, Perhaps you will share this time together again.