This is a self-soothing gestures practice.
It's really to explore for yourself what might feel supportive and soothing to you.
So we're going to go through a series of gestures and some of them might feel a little bit odd,
But it's worth trying it because you never know what might actually work for you.
Okay,
So if you get yourself comfortable,
You can sit in an upright position.
And you can gently close your eyes or just soften your gaze.
And just start by sensing into your body.
And how it's connecting with the floor or the chair.
The soles of your feet.
Back.
And just start by noticing your breathing.
Not changing it in any way.
But just becoming aware of that in-breath.
And that out breath.
And now,
We're going to.
.
.
Begin the gestures.
And this is really tapping into the mammal caregiving system.
And it actually creates oxytocin so it might seem strange but there is science to back it up that it is self-soothing whether you know that it's you or not.
So just start by your hands.
On your lap,
On your legs.
And just feeling that sense of warmth coming through the hands onto the legs.
And just feeling how soothing that can be.
That's just to start you off,
Really.
And a really powerful one for me is putting my hand on my chest over my heart.
So try that now.
Just take one hand and put it on your chest.
And again,
Feeling that warmth.
Bringing a sense of kindness to it.
Looking after yourself.
And just sensing how that feels for the rest of your body.
And now taking a second hand and putting that on top of your first.
And feeling how different that feels.
So you have the hand on hand sensation as well.
As the warmth going into the body.
And now,
Putting your hands back in your lap.
And just picking one up and putting it across your cheek.
So,
You're holding your cheek.
So you feel that sense of supporting the face really and the warmth of the hand.
And then picking up your second hand and doing the same on the other side.
How does that feel for you right now?
And then putting your hands back down in your lap.
And just picking one arm up.
Out to the side.
And then the other arm up out to the side.
You're going to give yourself a hug.
As I said,
It might sound odd,
But just give it a go.
So just pull your arms around each other as if you're giving yourself a hug.
And you might want to.
.
.
Your arm as you're doing this.
As if somebody else would be doing that if they were giving you a hug.
And now bring both of your arms out to the side again.
And coming in the other way which feels less natural,
Just sensing into how that feels too.
And now bringing your arms and your hands back to your lap.
Just putting one hand.
On the back of your neck.
And then putting the other hand on the back of your neck.
You might want to just give it like a small massage.
Sensing into any areas of tension there.
Again,
Feeling the warmth.
From the hands.
Sensitive part of your body,
The neck and the five fingers on each hand.
Feeling how different the sensations in all of those are.
And then finally,
Just putting a hand on your forehead.
And you might want to give it a little rub or stroke,
Whatever feels right for you.
Right now.
And then putting your hand back in your lap.
And just setting a reminder really for yourself which of those felt helpful to you,
Which of those felt soothing to you.
And next time you feel a moment of suffering or stress.
Just give that a go,
Try that gesture that worked for you now.
And as we come to the end of the practice,
Just tuning into the inner atmosphere in your body,
In your mind right now.
And how differently it might feel after.
Testing out those different gestures.
And then gently,
In your own time,
Just opening your eyes.
Thank you.
