Healing After A Narcissistic Relationship

A somatic meditation designed to help you gently return to yourself after the disorienting experience of a narcissistic relationship. When you've spent so much time navigating around someone else's needs, it can be hard to remember what it feels like to simply respond to what you need in the moment.

This practice invites you to slow down and reconnect with the quiet wisdom that lives beneath the surface of your thoughts. Through gentle breath, body awareness, and guided sensation, you'll begin to soften the tension that comes from walking on eggshells, release the nervous energy of constant self-monitoring, and rediscover a sense of inner steadiness that belongs entirely to you.

This is simply a space to land, to feel your own edges again, to breathe your own breath, and to remember that your body has been holding you through all of it.

Transcript

Finding the most comfortable place for your body as you intentionally get ready to rest. Somewhere, Without being asked, Your heart is beating. Your lungs are filling and emptying. Your body is doing dozens of things right now that you never once decided for it to do. And it's been doing them your whole life, Quietly, Without needing your permission or your help. That part of you never forgot how to take care of you. And as you let yourself settle, However that happens to look for you, You might begin to notice that something is already shifting. A small thing, Maybe. A loosening. A letting go. You don't have to make anything happen. Trust it's always there for you. And maybe you even notice your shoulders. Maybe somewhere you weren't even aware of. A place in your body that's been holding. And it's not because you decided to hold it or brace against anything. It's just because that's what the body learns to do when it's been needed to be ready for such a long time. You don't have to try to release it. Sometimes just noticing a place that's been working hard, That's been holding things together, Just noticing is enough. The body hears that. It responds to being witnessed with relaxation, With a sense of relief. Feel that. Really sense it with your next exhale. As you settle in a little more to whatever is supporting you, Wherever you find yourself resting, Let that surface really hold you. Feel supported by it, Not asking for anything in return, Allowing you to notice what it simply feels like to receive. Notice what it feels like to just be held rather than to hold. There's a difference and your body knows it. Soften your face. Soften the small muscles around the eyes that tighten whenever they're concentrating or maybe tighten when they're worried or trying to hold back tears or any of the hurts that have been held inside. Let that softening trace down to the jaw. Feel the opening in the throat, The place where so much has been swallowed, So much left unsaid, Held back, Or a sense of feeling managed. Giving space for the body to know what it feels like to let that down. And somewhere, Maybe the chest, Maybe the belly, Maybe somewhere you don't quite have a word for, Something is beginning to understand that this moment is safe. The body is wise and it's been waiting for exactly this kind of quiet. It knows just what to do with stillness. It doesn't get enough of it. So now, Breathing in and noticing simply where there might be tightness, There might be holding. Breathing in and exploring a kind of held quality, Like something that never quite relaxes. Maybe a low-grade ache, Like the aftermath of something that hurt, Or something that's still held in the body, However deep or far inside. Whatever you find, Place one hand gently on the chest, Over your heart. Feel the weight of your own hand. Feel your own warmth. For so long, You were exchanging experiences with someone who ran hot and cold, Who held you close and then made you feel invisible. Some days criticized. Some days held at a distance. Your chest learned to brace around all that uncertainty, To protect the softest part of you from one more shift, One more denial, One more sidestepping or making small something that felt significant to you. Breathe into your chest now, Not to push it open, Just to say, I know you're there and I'm here with you. I'm not going to leave you alone in there with all this heaviness or hurt. Letting your breath move in. Let it feel nourishing and release your breath slowly. Finding the rhythm in your breath that supports you feeling more connected with yourself right in this moment. Begin to notice where in your body you might be carrying grief. Maybe you feel it like a heaviness, A numbness, Or something that feels hollow within. Maybe in this moment it feels more like confusion, Like living in some sort of fog. Maybe there's a sense of exhaustion, Of having worked so hard to understand something that was designed not to be understood. Bring to mind, Very gently, At a safe distance, The feeling of waiting. That particular kind of waiting, Waiting for a mood to shift, Waiting to find out what their mood would dictate, Waiting to see which version of them you'd get today. Let's take special care of your body and what's happening right now as you remember that feeling. Maybe a tightening across the chest, A subtle bracing in your jaw. Maybe your stomach drops. A kind of readiness where you can let what the body has been holding, Let it go now. Trusting the body releases in its own time, And the more understanding and love you give to yourself as you heal your heart, Trusting the body releases in its own time, The more understanding and love you can give to yourself as you heal your heart, The more you support your body in releasing in its own time and in its own way. Somewhere along the way, You began to hear their voice louder than your own. Maybe it was their interpretation of what happened, Or even their version of who you are. And somewhere inside of you, Your knowing got quieter, And maybe it became shaky and you started to distrust it, Or to second guess the signals your body was sending. Am I being too sensitive? Am I overreacting? Did I read that wrong? You are learning to trust yourself again, To listen to yourself, Your inner knowing, Letting that come back online again. Bringing your attention now to the centre of your body, Somewhere between your chest and your belly, This place of instinct and knowing that comes from within you, The very centre of you. Placing your hand there now, With a gentle pressure, As you ask yourself, What does my body know that I sometimes talked myself out of? And you're not looking for an answer in words. Maybe it's more of a feeling, A sensation, And it's okay to let the question remain in your body, Letting the body respond in its own language. Maybe a warmth, A feeling of recognition, Or the sensation of release. Your body has been trying to tell you things for a long time, And in its wisdom, It has so much to share with you. Now, Breathing into your body, Long and slow, And then silently sharing with yourself, I trust what I feel. I trust what I feel. Let it drop deeper within as you say it one more time. I trust what I feel. And for a moment, Letting yourself gently acknowledge this. You loved someone with your whole heart. You gave care, Attention, Devotion. You tried in so many ways. You hoped what hurt could change. You stayed because love is real, Even when it's not returned the way it could be. That love was not a mistake. What you feel for yourself or what you want to feel for yourself can be at least as generous as what you gave to them. Placing your hand back on your heart, This is the heart that survived, That kept loving even when loving hurt. Breathe in slowly now, And as you breathe out, Send that warmth down through the body. Let it move through all the places that held the grief and the hoping and the confusion. You are allowed to grieve what you wanted it to be while also knowing it couldn't be that. Both can be true. The love was real, And the hurt and the disappointment is also real. Feel your body held and supported where you're now resting. Feel the temperature of the air, And maybe you notice any sounds in the room. These are the details of the now, Not the past, Just this moment which is entirely yours. Only when you are ready, Taking another long, Slow, Deep breath in through the nose and letting it out all the way, And in this moment that is entirely yours, You can allow the love and the heartbreak to coexist. In this moment, There is space to acknowledge the disappointment and space to acknowledge what was good, Allowing yourself to step back and to bring all of that loving attention that used to easily go out to others outside of you, Bringing that all the way back inside, Giving more of that loving attunement to yourself to notice your own needs and to rebuild that inner trust inside of you, Taking a long, Slow breath in through the nose as you let it all the way out in your own rhythm and in your own time, As you are reclaiming the rhythm of your own life now. And as you rest here, I want you to notice what it feels like to simply be with your own needs and your own body and your body's sensations and emotions right here in this moment. Whatever is moving through you in this moment, Maybe relief or sadness or anger, Something maybe you don't even have a name for, It's all welcome here. It's all true. We're really making space for the truth of your experience. It's yours. Without need for an explanation for any of it, It doesn't need to be defended or explained to anyone. It just needs to be felt by you, For you. And as you come back into the room in your own time, In your own way, Maybe that includes wiggling your fingers or your toes as you feel ready to come back into your room, Opening your eyes. Maybe look for something in the room, Something physical, As you let your gaze rest there for a moment. This is your life right here, Waiting for you to come all the way back into it as you arrive back into your body in the here and now.