Somatic Relief For Identity-Stress

In today's session with Dr Sará King and Nichol Chase, you will explore the power of somatics when it comes to processing stress you hold in your body. When the body is stressed, muscles tense up and cause constriction. This constriction is not just caused by acutely stressful events but can be present in our being as a result of factors tied to our identity, such as the impact of colonization. You will learn to release this stress and constriction through the process of a body scan and tailored somatics.

Transcript

Welcome to day nine of Insight Timers Strategies for Stress Challenge.

Let's take a moment to get settled.

Close your eyes,

Take a deep breath in and exhale out.

Let's dive into today's strategy for stress.

Hi,

My name is Dr.

Sara King.

And my name is Nicole Chase.

And welcome to the practice of compassionate somatic decolonization.

Moving from constriction to embodied freedom.

Here you may want to take an opportunity to prepare the space around you and get in a position that you feel will be most beneficial to this practice.

So for some of you that may be laying down,

Others you may be taking a seat and arranging some pillows or some cushions around you.

And others of you may be feeling a little bit more energized and want to participate in this practice standing up.

It's important to note that everything that is offered in this practice is completely optional.

And so please feel free to either augment the practices or simply choose to let it be.

Colonization is a historical phenomenon that has impacted millions of humans around the world.

A simple definition of colonization is that it is a practice of domination which involves the subjugation of one people to another.

We are offering up this compassion practice out of the recognition that for global citizens living with the impact of colonization,

Whether you are exploring how to heal from being in relationship with ancestors who themselves participated in colonization,

Or you're exploring what it means to heal from the impacts of the colonization of your ancestors,

The energy of domination can produce constriction at every level of our being.

Emotional,

Psychological,

Physiological,

And relational,

Thereby contributing to pain and stress.

It is precisely because of this type of suffering that it is important to practice great compassion for ourselves and one another as we do our best to open up towards embodied liberation,

Recognizing where we can be of service in this healing effort and cultivating greater love for ourselves and one another.

And so with that,

I'd love to offer up a body scanning practice so we can begin to feel into where the energy of constriction may lay in our embodied experience and perhaps invite some openings of relaxation and cultivate feelings,

Potentially,

Of liberation.

If you like,

You can close the eyes here,

Only if that's what feels comfortable.

Please remember that if at any point in time in this practice you wish to open up the eyes,

You can also experiment with using a soft gaze,

Looking just a couple of inches before wherever the body is meeting with the earth.

We might start with taking a few breaths here in through the nose,

Out through the mouth,

And when you're finished with those breaths,

You may return to a natural cadence and rhythm of breathing,

Starting to notice how through the breath we can connect the feet intentionally to the energy of the earth beneath us.

And this can really open us up to the capacity to be in relationship with the earth in a way that we feel more grounded and more resourced.

The invitation here is that perhaps we might deliberately,

Consciously move some of this earth energy up through the bottoms of the feet and move it towards the belly.

Here,

You may notice and feel into any tightness or engagement of the muscles of the belly.

Maybe they feel like they're moving in towards the spine.

Here,

We can perhaps feel into the possibility of releasing this muscle engagement,

Sensing any openings that we have in our embodied experience towards relaxation.

So taking perhaps another deep breath in here and really doing our best to relax the muscles of the belly,

See if you notice any difference in the way that the rest of the body responds to this relaxation.

Shifting here towards the energy of the heart,

And here as we're sensing into our relationship with the heart,

I invite you to bring to mind any person,

Animal,

Place,

Or object,

Even a color that feels as though it represents connecting with the energy of compassion,

Grounding,

And bringing them into the space of the heart or even into the room with you,

And noticing if anything subtly shifts or changes in your experience.

Moving now this earth energy,

This compassionate,

Grounded,

And resourced energy up towards the muscles of the face to practice taking off the mask.

First,

Noticing any areas of constriction,

Tightness,

Or tension,

And perhaps again inviting in relaxation,

Allowing each inhale breath to rise up the front side of the body,

And then every exhale breath to cascade down the backside of the body,

Reconnecting with the earth,

Deepening our feeling of being supported and resourced,

And finally expanding our awareness to the entire body,

Really taking your entire body in,

Recalling and noticing the energy that you brought with you into the space of practice today,

Just for a moment,

And now see if you notice any difference between then and what is present in the body now,

And as we're feeling into the subtleties of these differences and the places of relaxation that perhaps have been emergent from this experience,

See how we respond to integrating this new information of freedom in our being with a moment of silence to see what is emergent.

One way to further support relaxation,

To release the holding patterns of stress within the body,

And experience more ease and freedom is through somatics,

Using awareness of the body as a resource.

Somatic movement practices use the mind-body connection to develop keen internal awareness and perception.

This deep body listening helps one to feel sensations and emotions as they arise,

Affording the ability to accept internal rhythms and learn wise responses.

So as we move into somatics practice,

I'd like to invite you to introduce a gentle sway from side to side in your body,

A gentle rocking movement,

And as you do so,

Begin to deepen your breath,

Just rocking and breathing and noticing.

You may continue with this light movement,

Or you can settle into stillness.

Now,

We'll move into a practice of exploring tension and release.

A reminder here that all this practice is optional,

And any time you would like a break or a timeout,

You can come back to the gentle sway through your body and noticing your breath.

To feel the buildup of tension and then release,

We'll coordinate the movement of breath with active muscular engagement in specific areas of the body.

I'll suggest certain areas of the body.

However,

If you would like to replace these parts of the body with another part of your body,

Please feel free to do so.

Let's start with the hands.

As you inhale,

Make fists with your hands,

Holding in breaths,

Holding fists in your hands.

Feel the muscular engagement and the tension,

And exhale,

Release the breath,

Relax your hands.

Perhaps even move your fingers,

Gently move your hands.

One more time,

Inhale and make fists with your hands,

Feeling the constriction,

Feeling the holding of your breath.

Exhale,

Release your breath,

Relax your hands,

Moving your fingers gently,

And draw your attention to your feet.

Inhale deeply and scrunch your feet up,

Curl your toes,

Feel the muscular engagement,

The holding of your breath,

And exhale,

Relax,

Release your breath.

Release the tension in your feet,

Maybe even wiggle your toes.

Inhale deeply,

Scrunch up your feet,

Curl your toes,

Feeling the constriction,

The engagement.

Exhale,

Empty out,

Releasing your breath,

Releasing the constriction,

The holding in your feet.

Moving to the face,

Inhale deeply,

And then scrunch up your face,

Making the space around your mouth,

Your nose,

Your eyes smaller,

Constricting,

Holding.

Exhale,

Release the breath,

Release the tension in the face.

You can open up your mouth,

Move your jaw around,

Move your tongue,

Open your eyes.

One more time,

Inhale deeply,

And scrunch your face up,

Like you're trying to make it smaller,

Engage the muscles of your face,

And then exhale,

Releasing the breath,

Releasing tension in your face.

Opening up your jaw,

Like a yawn,

Opening up your eyes wider,

Moving your tongue.

Continuing to feel this sensation of release,

Of freedom in your body,

Begin to lightly shake your hands,

Imagining that you can shake off any residual stress,

Tension,

Or constriction that remains.

Allow the gentle shake to expand and move up through your arms and into your chest.

Allow your head and neck to come along for the ride,

Gently shaking along with your chest,

Arms,

And hands.

Allow the shake to move down through your torso,

Into your belly,

Your hips and pelvis,

Upper legs,

Lower legs,

Feet,

And toes,

Until your entire body is lightly shaking,

Shaking off any stress,

Tension,

Or constriction.

And gradually,

Allow this light shake to settle into stillness,

Feeling the echo of the shake,

Feeling the echo of tension and release,

Settling into more relaxation.

And as you do so,

Perhaps touching some part of your body as an expression of self-compassion.

It could be your heart,

Your belly,

Your forehead,

Anywhere.

Recall and notice the energy that you brought with your body into the space of practice today,

Seeing if you notice any difference between then and what is present in the body now.

Noticing any small movement from constriction to embodied freedom.

We would like to end this practice with a gentle call to action.

The next time you find yourself sensing into feelings of constriction arising in the felt experience of the body,

Whether this is in response to healing from the impact of colonization,

Or simply as a result of moving through your day-to-day life,

Maybe you will remember that it only takes a moment to pause.

Feel your feet on the earth,

Soften the belly and face,

And recall the feelings of compassionate spaciousness and being resourced that you cultivated in this practice.

Over time,

We hope that tapping into this state of compassionate awareness will become a part of your daily toolkit for embodying freedom.

Reviews

Thank you for this beautiful and grounding practice! It’s vital that we’re aware of the impact of oppression on our bodies - this supports us in a process of healing - and healing is resistance and embodied liberation!

Very powerfully moving. I was exhausted when I started this meditation, and the release of tension was everything. Wishing you both better than the best.

What a beautiful practice. I love the combination of reflection and practice.