Let's start by acknowledging something important.
If you're feeling overwhelmed or angry or upset,
You're not doing anything wrong.
Your nervous system is just doing its job.
Take a slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And before we start trying to fully slow down,
First give yourself a chance to release.
If you feel like there's extra energy in your body,
If you feel tension,
If you feel overwhelmed and you think you'll benefit from moving around,
Do that now.
Maybe you shake your hands,
You shake your arms,
Maybe you jump up and down.
Depending on what your environment allows,
Feel free to release that extra energy that you feel in your body.
And maybe you're not in an environment that you can do a lot,
So maybe you just wiggle your fingers or swing your legs back and forth.
Just give yourself a chance to release that extra activation,
That stirring up in your body.
Let it go.
And once you're done with that,
Take a deep breath in again through your nose and exhale through your mouth and sigh it out.
Just let it all go.
And continuing with a deep inhale from the nose and a long slow exhale from the mouth to signal to your body that that moment of threat or urgency has passed and you're safe now.
Bring your attention to where your body is being supported right now.
So if you're sitting on a chair or on the floor,
Notice the weight of your body being held by the surface beneath you.
Try to ground yourself even further by pressing your feet lightly into the ground or your hands into your thighs.
Feel the pressure and feel the feedback.
Of grounding.
And allow that physical input to help your brain shift out of your fight or flight state.
And right now,
You don't need to relive anything.
You don't need to fix anything.
You don't need to go over anything in your head right now.
Just feel where you are.
And if you still feel any emotional residue,
That tension,
Tightness,
Heaviness,
Buzzing,
Just notice it.
Don't worry about why it's there or what happened to cause it.
Just notice it.
Do you feel tightness?
Do your shoulders feel heavy?
Does your body feel warm?
Do you feel restless?
Label those sensations.
And by labeling them,
We can reduce the intensity.
Allow your brain to regulate those feelings,
Noticing them,
Labeling them,
And then letting them go.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale to release any tension that you're feeling in your body.
Not all of it at once,
But with every inhale and every exhale,
Imagine releasing another layer of that tension.
Let your shoulders come down and soften.
Unclench your jaw.
Just let your body release the tension one breath at a time.
You don't have to force yourself to do anything.
Just allow your body to regulate how you're feeling and remind yourself that this feeling is temporary and you don't need to solve anything right now.
Focus on the steadiness of your breath.
Feel the support beneath you and allow yourself to just come back to a neutral state.
Take another deep breath in through your nose and exhale to sigh it out and release another layer of tension.
And as we come to the end of this practice,
Notice what has changed.
Even if it's something really small.
Even if it's very slight.
Maybe your breath is a little bit slower.
Maybe you feel like there's more space in your body.
Or maybe things feel the same,
But the way that you're responding to them is different.
That also counts.
Take a final breath in and a slow breath out.
And when you're ready,
Return to your day hopefully with a little more grounding and a little less weight on your shoulders.
