Welcome.
Thank you for joining me for practice.
In today's practice,
We'll be working with something that's called resourcing.
And resourcing is a practice we can use to help bring ourselves back into balance when we feel like we're maybe a little out of whack.
That might mean we feel agitated or angry or sad or droopy,
Whatever it is.
When we feel off,
We can use resourcing to steer ourselves away from whatever dysregulating emotional experience we're having and move back towards balance.
Feeling a little more even keeled,
Feeling a little better.
Resourcing reminds us that we have these things that help us be more resilient when emotions get big,
When times get hard,
When things are very difficult.
So a resource is anything in your life that is comforting,
Makes you feel happy,
Something that makes you feel joyful or just good in general.
It can be anything.
It can be a thing or a person,
A memory,
An animal.
It can be a place.
It can be a positive characteristic.
It can even be something imaginary.
Literally anything can be a resource as long as it is comforting to you.
And we can have as many resources as we want.
So it might be useful to even keep a list of some of your resources so that you know and you remember that when you're feeling dysregulated in some way,
That you have this thing or these things that you know you can think about to help you feel better,
To help make you feel good.
And so in this resourcing practice,
We bring a resource to mind and we get really curious about it.
We explore how we feel when we think about our resources.
And when we get into the details and we notice what happens in our body when we think about the resource,
It can help us bring ourselves back to a state of greater emotional regulation.
So let's explore resourcing together with a practice.
And just find any comfortable position where you can stay for a few minutes,
And that can be sitting,
Lying down,
Standing,
Whatever feels right in this moment,
And just spending a few moments settling in.
If it feels good,
Maybe gently allowing the eyelids to close,
Or if closing the eyes feels uncomfortable today,
Maybe softening the gaze,
Just letting it be unfocused,
Not looking at anything in particular.
Right away,
We'll bring to mind just something in our lives that brings us comfort,
Something that brings us joy,
Strength,
Something that's soothing,
Makes you feel nice when you think about it,
Anything at all.
So spending a moment to bring something,
For now,
Just one thing to mind,
One resource.
What brings a sense of goodness and soothing?
And with this resource in mind,
Thinking of some of the details of the resource.
Maybe there are colors,
Or textures,
Or sounds that are a part of this resource.
Getting curious here,
Noticing any details,
Big or small.
What is this resource like?
Notice whatever the details are that jump out,
That are the most obvious in the mind,
Just today,
Right now.
I'm starting to notice now anything about this resource that feels pleasant in the body,
In the mind.
Maybe those pleasant aspects are details,
Specific physical things.
Maybe they are ideas or memories.
Just allowing the attention to settle on that pleasant feeling.
And as we explore these pleasant aspects of a resource,
Start to notice what's happening in the physical body right now.
What sensations are there?
And allowing the attention to stay with any of the sensations that are either pleasant or neutral.
Noticing what happens in the body.
What sensations are there?
Maybe toggling back and forth between the resource and the body.
Being curious about whatever is present,
Even if that's not much at all.
Bringing awareness to any changes,
Any shifts,
Anything that feels different,
That may have changed since the start of this practice.
And if there have been any shifts,
Any changes,
Noticing if there's any pleasant or neutral changes that are there,
Allowing the attention to rest on whatever pleasant aspects the mind is drawn to.
Maybe a pleasant aspect of the resource,
A pleasant sensation in the body,
Or a pleasant experience of change.
Really soaking in that feeling,
Enjoying it,
Letting yourself relish in that nice moment.
Noticing how thinking about this resource made you feel,
Mentally,
Physically,
Emotionally.
Letting that sink in so that later we can remember that we have a resource that had some sort of positive impact.
Even if that impact was mild or barely noticeable,
Even if that impact was only for a moment.
Let's let it sink in,
How it makes you feel.
And allowing now the attention to shift to the breath,
Noticing that the body is breathing,
That naturally inhales and exhales come.
Maybe taking a deeper breath in and letting it go.
Taking another deeper breath in,
Your biggest breath here in this practice,
And opening the mouth,
Releasing the breath,
Gently allowing the eyes to open if they've been closed,
Slowly letting the gaze come back into focus as we shift out of practice and back into our day.
Thank you for joining me to practice today,
To explore resourcing.
And I hope that your resources can stay with you and be there when you need them.
I'll see you next time.
