Somatic Foot Sensing Practice For Stress And Strong Emotions

Hello there and welcome.

This is a somatic practice for managing big emotions.

When we experience big emotions,

Especially ones such as fear,

Anger,

Grief,

We often hold on to the emotion itself and it becomes bigger and scarier.

At first we experience a sudden release of hormones which create a physical experience,

Butterflies in the stomach,

Nausea,

Shortness of breath.

These are only examples.

The feelings formed in those first few seconds then linger,

Lengthening the physical reaction as they become attached to the emotional aspect of the feeling.

If we can calm the physical reaction,

Then we have space to address the feelings calmly without attachment to the physical sensations.

So stand with your feet flat on the floor with or without shoes on.

Identify where you feel the emotion physically,

Whether it's in your abdomen,

Your chest,

Your throat,

Your head or anywhere else.

Take your attention to your feet.

Choose a foot to focus on,

It doesn't matter which.

Imagine that in the arch of your foot you have a small fuzzy ball of energy.

Feel it spinning in the arch of your foot,

First clockwise.

After a few spins,

Reverse it to anti-clockwise.

Notice how fast your ball of energy is spinning.

Is it whizzing round at high speed?

Is it slow and sluggish?

Somewhere in between.

There is no right or wrong,

Just observe.

Can you feel the whole perimeter of the spinning circle or just part of it?

Again,

There's no right or wrong,

Just what is.

After a few moments,

Release your observation and we move to the other foot.

So now imagine the fuzzy ball of energy in the arch of the other foot.

Feel it spinning,

First clockwise,

Then anti-clockwise.

Notice its speed.

Is it fast,

Whizzing round at high speed?

Or is it slow?

Or somewhere in between?

Again,

There is no right or wrong,

Just your noticing.

After a few moments,

Release the attention from your foot and then move your attention to the top of your head.

Imagine a stream of energy rising from your feet through the area where you're physically experiencing the motion and then to the crown of your head.

Move your focus up and down from feet to head and back a few times,

As many times as you feel necessary.

Then release.

Notice how does your body feel now?

Has anything changed?

What feels lighter or heavier?

Do you feel more able to release the physical feeling that accompanies the emotion?

This is a practice you can return to whenever you feel that emotions are overwhelming you.

With time and repetition,

You may be able to experience the physical feelings that come with the big emotions briefly and then release them.

Then you have the space to address the feelings,

The emotional feelings themselves.

Thank you for listening.