Welcome to your brief somatic exercise to relieve stress.
Hi,
My name is Ekta and I'm a psychotherapist and mindfulness coach based in Ontario,
Canada.
To focus on the somatic aspect of stress refers to being with our bodily sensations or the physiological experience of stress,
Rather than trying to impact the thoughts related to stress.
And the idea is that it's easier and more immediate to calm the body,
Create a sense of safety and allow the stress to come down.
For this exercise,
We will be using mindfulness and breath.
So let's get started.
The first thing I want you to do is to go within and reflect on what the level of activation or stress is within you right this moment.
In my case,
I would say my activation is maybe at a six or a seven.
Now,
The second step is to close both your fists.
In my case,
I will be only able to do one fist right now as I'm holding this microphone.
The second step is to close both your wrists,
And I want you to close them as hard as your activation level.
So when I think of my stress being at a seven,
It is fairly tightly closed,
But it is not closed all the way to the extent of my ability to grasp my fist.
For you,
If you're at a two or three,
It will be closed,
But might be just a gentle pressure.
And if you're at a 10,
It will be very tightly closed.
So go on then,
Reflect within,
See how strong the activation is,
And then close both your palms and squeeze.
It doesn't have to be accurate.
There's no wrong way of doing this.
Go ahead and do this.
And now we come to the third step.
I want you to exhale through your mouth without changing anything in your fist.
I want you to exhale through your mouth.
Notice what happens to your fist.
Notice what happens to your shoulder,
What happens in your abdomen.
Notice your face,
That spot between your eyebrows.
Maybe there's a change,
Maybe there isn't.
And this time again,
Take a breath in,
Like a sip of air maybe,
And exhale through your mouth without changing anything with your body.
Again,
What do you notice?
What are the changes?
You do not have to go back where you started.
You do not have to change anything that is showing up in this moment or is unfolding in this moment.
And once again,
Take an exhale through your mouth.
Notice your fist,
Your shoulders,
Your chest,
Abdomen,
And face.
Compare it to the first time when you closed your fist.
What differences do you see?
Chances are you notice a loosening of your fist,
The relaxation of your shoulders,
The spot between your eyebrows is perhaps a little less furrowed.
And this is your quick way of releasing stress using a somatic technique.
You can stay here for a few more exhales if your body needs that.
And remember to practice this even when you're not in a state of activation so as to benefit from the strategy in your time of need.
What you practice grows stronger.
Thank you.
