Welcome to dropping anchor.
Right now there's something very painful or difficult showing up for you.
And so I'd like you to practice this dropping anchor.
What this means is learning how to drop an anchor in the midst of an emotional storm.
Now,
Dropping an anchor won't make the storm go away.
It will just hold you steady until the storm passes.
The storm might pass quickly or it may pass slowly or it might even get worse before it gets better.
And the beauty and promise of this practice is that it can hold you steady at this time so that the storm doesn't sweep you away.
The emotional storm can be difficult thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Or memories.
And an anchor is anything that's here in the present moment,
Such as what you see,
Hear,
Touch,
Taste,
Smell,
Really anything that can help you to stay present,
Stay grounded.
And so your dropping anchor practice might look like focusing on the breath,
Stretching,
Listening to sounds in the room.
Let's begin.
Can you push your feet hard into the floor?
If you're sitting down or standing,
See if you can straighten your back.
Press your fingertips together.
Feel your whole arms moving.
All the way from the fingers to the shoulder blades.
There is a lot of pain here that you're struggling with.
And also there's a body around that pain.
A body that you can move and control.
Just notice your whole body now,
Hands,
Feet,
Back.
Have a stretch.
Press your feet down.
I invite you to look around the room and notice five things you can see.
Next,
Also notice three or four things you can hear.
Also notice you and I here together,
Recognizing there is something very painful here that you're struggling with.
And also you have a body you can move.
You can control your arms and legs.
You can notice the world around you.
And you can feel the connection,
You and I,
You and anyone else who does this practice.
And so as we start to transition out of the practice,
I'll invite you to consider if you can notice any difference now.
Are you a little bit less caught up in the storm?
Is it a bit easier to be present?
And how could this little exercise that we've just done be helpful in other situations?
To bring things to a close for now,
You can remember the dropping anchor practice through the acronym ACE.
A,
Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings.
C,
Come back into your body.
And E,
And engage in what you're doing.
So this means A,
Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings.
Silently and kindly acknowledge whatever is showing up for you.
The C is what we practice coming back into your body,
Whether that's pushing your feet into the ground or slowly breathing,
Not trying to run away or escape,
But to hold the challenging parts of this experience.
And then lastly,
E,
Engage in what you're doing.
The invitation is for you to refocus your attention on whatever activity you are doing.
That could look like the grounding as far as noticing the five things you can see,
Or just simply noticing what you're doing.
And I always recommend doing this full cycle of ACE slowly three to four times,
So that in total,
It will take about two to three minutes.
And just know that there are an infinite number of ways to modify the exercise.
So whatever you feel like is most appropriate for you,
Go with that.
And remember,
You can practice these kinds of exercises any time,
Place or with any activity.
Great work today.
Thank you for your time.
