Let's take five minutes to bring the nervous system down a notch.
When we've been busy or under pressure for a while,
The body can get stuck in a kind of high gear.
Revved up,
Alert,
Running fast.
I'm Chibs Okereke,
And today we're going to use the breath and the little sound to gently turn the gears down.
So settling into a comfortable position,
Sitting or lying down,
Whatever feels good.
If it feels comfortable,
Allowing the eyes to close or softening the gaze down toward the floor or on the ceiling if you're lying down.
Let's begin by allowing a couple of natural breaths to come and go.
Nothing to change for now,
We're just arriving.
And now a quick pass through the body.
Allowing the body to drop out of high gear.
Allowing the shoulders to soften down,
Away from the ears.
Allowing the jaw to unclench.
Allowing the teeth to part just slightly.
And allowing the belly to soften.
No need to hold it in.
Okay,
Good.
Now we're going to add a little sound to take this further.
Now,
If you're not in a place where it's comfortable to make sound,
Feel free to simply imagine the sound.
On the next out breath,
We're going to hum.
A soft,
Easy hum,
All the way to the end of the breath.
The gentle vibration of humming is one of the simplest ways to settle the nervous system.
It tones the vagus nerve from the inside.
So breathing in through the nose.
.
.
And humming softly on the way out.
And again breathing in and a long,
Easy hum out.
Now if humming doesn't suit you right now,
That's completely fine.
Just allowing the out-breath to be long and slow instead.
The effect is almost the same.
Let's do a couple more in your own time.
A breath in and a long hum or a long breath out.
And now allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
No more effort.
No more sound.
Just resting here for a moment and noticing.
Maybe the body feels a little heavier now.
A little slower.
Or a little lighter.
Maybe the edge has come off things,
Just a little.
This is what coming down a notch feels like.
And the more often we practice it,
The easier the body finds its way back here.
Whenever you're ready allowing the breath to deepen a little.
Gently wiggling our fingers and toes.
And then gently opening the eyes if they were closed.
Now remember,
You can do this exercise anytime you feel yourself revving up again.
Have a wonderful rest of your day.
