You This is a practice of allowing rest in this moment In the many ups and downs of this time I've heard a few people mention their feeling a lack of motivation or sense of exhaustion and I've noticed this too for myself and What I found helpful is having awareness of my daily ongoing nervous system responses and Knowing that it's normal to fluctuate between these three states or responses We may have moments that we feel we can be connected with our friends nature and engage in the things that we're passionate about And this is the nervous system's social engagement response And there are other moments that we may have a sense of urgency A feeling of underlying stress driving or running us With thoughts that certain things must be done And this is usually the fight-or-flight response Also One can experience a sense of I can't a lack of motivation a feeling of exhaustion and heaviness This can be the freeze response I heard a good metaphor for my life I heard a good metaphor for the freeze response It's like having your foot on the gas pedal and break at the same time No wonder this feels exhausted All three responses are natural for animals and humans alike that we fluctuate between them and daily life happens and And definitely experiences like a global pandemic will magnify this for us And we might even find ourselves stuck in one of these responses longer than we would like Although having these responses is normal as humans We tend to complicate this As there's often an experience of shame around the behavior associated with our nervous system And we often judge ourselves and others when this happens So the responses themselves of the nervous system are not the problem But the judgment and shame that come in can really start to challenge us And so that's why I wanted to do this allowing practice meditation Just to give some space around this shame and judgment and allow rest in this moment And start to find yourself a space That feels comfortable or neutral for you Either sitting or lying down See if you can settle into your body Here Bringing attention to a place in you that feels either good or neutral And this might just be in your pinky finger Notice where that is for you Notice where that is for you So So So So Just allow your breath to take place naturally Noticing your belly expand and contract As it finds its own rhythm here Your rhythm So So now bring your attention to the out breath as you settle further into your experience Noticing the exhale And how you let go of your breath So And if you like you can also sigh out the breath So Bring awareness to how your body makes contact with either the floor or chair you are on Noticing that point of contact So So and allow yourself to be supported here And notice if there are any thoughts present or a busyness of the mind And if so know that in this moment you don't have to stop your thoughts or figure them out Just allow them to take place So So bring your awareness to the next thought that arises So and see if you can follow this thought noticing where it goes Are there any thoughts that have some judgment or shame about them?
Maybe starting with I must do something or I should do something And maybe there's some awareness of a lack of motivation a tiredness Or even resentment around having too much to do So Just notice what arises for you And allow that to be here without trying to fix it So Is there a part of your body that is holding this for you?
Maybe in your jaw Your neck and shoulders Or perhaps a sensation in your stomach So See if you can allow that to be here And invite it to be held in this moment As we sit here together So That's it Now let's check in again And tune in to what's here now Are there any emotions here?
Maybe some sadness around the many changes taking place Or it could be anger of all the things that don't make sense Or a fear of what might happen Just see what's here for you now And together let's make a little bit of space for it to be here And just allow that feeling to come in and sit down with us In this moment Just allowing permission for it to be here That's it And now just imagine a nurturing energy Maybe a warm white light or love from your heart center And let that cradle your experience Holding it with care And just let that hold you here So So allowing yourself to be And let yourself sink deeper into this moment And relax into this space of being That's it And just stay here for a few more minutes Noticing the support here So So So So That's it Just rest in this sense of being So So notice what it's like to allow yourself to be So So So As you return to life and continue experiencing the ups and downs,
Just remember this place of rest and connection is available to tune into again To get curious about what is needed What is the wisdom of the body and nervous system response?
And allow yourself permission to listen So So Start to be aware of the place that you're sitting in Again,
Noticing your breath And slowly allow yourself to return at your own pace And you can begin to bring movement back into your body However it feels good for you Maybe it's stretch A wiggle of your toes So So So
