Welcome to Day 6 of the Hormonal Health Challenge here on Insight Timer.
Hormonal changes can affect how you feel,
Think and get through the day.
Today we'll explore a simple strategy to help you feel more supported through those changes.
Let's jump in.
Hello and welcome back to the hormonal challenge.
My name is Laia Bove.
Physical discomfort,
Cramping,
Headaches,
The aches that show up at certain points in a cycle are usually met with resistance,
Bracing,
Distraction,
Or sometimes trying to push through it.
And resistance,
More often than not,
Makes the pain itself feel even worse.
Today's practice turns toward the sensation instead,
With soft,
Curious attention,
Exploring what it's actually like to be with it,
Moment to moment.
Let's begin.
Before we get started,
I invite you to bring yourself to a comfortable position,
Maybe sitting down or lying down.
Grab a few pillows and eventually settle in.
Take a deep inhalation through the nose,
Letting it expand front to back,
Side to side,
And top to bottom.
And say it out,
Softening your entire body.
Breathing deeply.
Breathe out completely.
And give yourself a moment to start to notice your physical body.
The parts where it's supported.
Or you can rest,
Soften,
And let go,
Even if it's just a little bit.
Deep breath in.
Long slow breath out.
Start to shift your attention toward a part of your body that feels neutral or even comfortable.
Establish it as an anchor that you can return to throughout the practice.
Let yourself breathe as you keep your attention centered there.
In through the nose.
Out through the nose or the mouth.
Observing sensing.
With curiosity.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Now gradually and gently.
Bring your attention toward an area of your body where you find discomfort.
And if one is present,
Start to notice its quality.
Its edges.
Whether it changes moment to moment.
Or it remains the same.
Deep breath in.
Long,
Slow breath out.
And if no discomfort is present today,
Work with any sensation strong enough to notice.
Breathing deeply.
Breathe out completely.
Move your attention back and forth between the anchor and the discomfort.
So that the practice never tips into overwhelm.
That you self-observe.
Let yourself be.
Inhale through the nose.
Exhale through the nose or the mouth as you soften,
Even if it's just 1%.
And remember.
As you breathe,
As you notice,
As you are here.
The tone is exploration,
Not endurance.
You don't need to be stoic.
All you're required to be is present.
Nothing you need to change,
Nothing you need to improve,
Nothing you need to let go of.
Just be as you are.
Breathing deeply.
Deepest breath you've taken all day.
Open your mouth and truly sigh it out.
Bring your attention back to your anchor.
To the part of your body that feels comfortable,
Relaxed,
Or neutral.
And let yourself take just a few more breaths here.
And as we close today's practice.
I invite you to notice what happened when you stopped fighting the sensation,
Even if for just a few minutes.
Often something in the experience loosens,
Not necessarily the pain itself,
But often the struggle wrapped around it.
Take a moment to thank yourself for showing up,
For practicing,
For noticing.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Tomorrow's session covers temper,
Rage,
And irritation.
Until we meet again,
Take care.
