Welcome.
I'm glad you can practice with me today.
For this meditation,
I recommend that you sit or stand as we will be doing some gentle movement.
If you are comfortable with a short focus on your breath,
Notice the sensations of the inhale and the exhale and where you feel these sensations the strongest.
In your nostrils,
Your chest,
Or your belly.
When we experience sadness and depression,
We often restrict our breath,
Making it more shallow.
This happens because sadness and depression are expressions of our dorsal vagal survival freeze response.
This is a physiological state of contraction,
Curling in and wanting to be invisible due to feeling overwhelmed or feeling trapped.
When we are truly in danger,
This is a helpful response to avoid being seen or heard.
But when this state becomes chronic,
We suffer and feel stuck in our bodies and with emotions of sadness,
Hopelessness,
And depression.
For our first movement practice,
I invite you to move your hands or arms upward or out to the sides in synchrony with your breath.
On the inhalation,
Move your hands up or to the sides.
And on the exhalation,
Slowly lower your arms and hands or bring them back to the center.
Repeat this motion with each breath cycle,
Slowly letting your hands or arms rise up or outward on the inhalation,
Slowly returning them down on the exhalation.
What are you noticing as you do this movement?
Does your breath feel deeper?
Do you notice more movement in your ribcage?
Or does this movement feel a bit much?
If so,
Make your movements only as wide or large as feels comfortable right now.
Rest your hands and let your breath return to normal.
Notice if you are aware of any other body sensations after this movement.
Gentle movement is particularly helpful with sadness and depression because these emotional states are all about immobility and collapse.
Practicing gentle,
Mindful movement can nudge our nervous system into flow,
Which can change not only our physiology,
But our relationship with these challenging emotions.
Another movement practice we'll try now is one I call curl and unfurl.
When we are sad or depressed,
We often have a collapsed body posture.
Our posture deeply affects how we feel emotionally.
So try this with me.
Intentionally curl yourself into a ball as best you can.
If you are sitting just lean forward,
Curling your back and head towards your knees.
Notice the sensations of this protective posture.
Now slowly unfurl your body,
Raising up to a straight or even slightly arched spine.
Extending your arms outward if you wish.
Feel your chest expanding as you do this movement.
Now curl down again slowly and intentionally.
And again,
Unfurl and open up and expand.
Continue this movement for a few cycles of curling and unfurling,
Keeping your attention on the slow movement and the different sensations of closing and opening.
If you wish you can match your breath with the movement.
Exhaling as you curl down.
Inhaling as you unfurl and expand the chest.
As you come back to a resting posture,
What are you aware of?
What do you notice in your body,
In your heart,
In your mind?
Is your experience of your sadness or depression the same?
Or is it slightly different?
Initiating gentle movement when we feel stuck in sadness and depression is a very kind message to our nervous system and heart that it is safe enough to emerge,
To be seen just a bit and let our body expand into life.
Pendulating with curl and unfurl or using the hand movements we did with the breath allows the body to reestablish its natural rhythm and helps us feel more balanced.
Give yourself a moment of gratitude for being willing to engage with your body in this practice.
Thanks so much and take deep care.
