Hi there and welcome.
My name is Laurie James and I am a Certified Experiencing Practitioner and Life Coach and thank yourself for taking the first step in building a better relationship with your body and your nervous system.
Our society has not taught us to connect with our emotions and what we're feeling inside.
And so we often associate the sensations that we feel in our body with shame.
Maybe it's associated with something that we did in the past that felt bad.
And so we try to move away from them.
But when we can learn to lean in toward what we're experiencing inside instead of moving away from it,
Is when we can begin to develop a relationship with our body and our nervous system.
And that is a big key to unlocking so much of our suffering and stuckness.
Because 80% of our sensory information travels from our body up to our brain.
Only 20% from our brain down to our body.
Which is even more reason to continue to do this type of work and learn how to build a relationship with your nervous system.
So today we are going to work on what I call a stabilization or down regulation exercise.
It could also be considered grounding.
But from a somatic place we're going to go inward and really tap into any sensations that we might be feeling.
So I'd like to invite you first to just take a moment and arrive.
And begin by noticing the chair that is underneath you or couch or maybe even a bed that you might be lying on right now.
And just notice where your body is making contact with the chair,
With the couch or bed.
And can you see and notice how this piece of furniture is supporting your body.
And as you do this just notice what shifts or changes inside.
You might have a lot of racing thoughts because you've had a busy day.
You might even feel overwhelmed by everything that's ahead of you.
And if there is one thought that really stands out to you,
Take a moment and notice as you're having this thought what type of bodily sensations is associated with it.
See if you can stay with this sensation and maybe even give language to it.
Is there a tightness in your chest?
Tightness in your gut?
Maybe a lump in your throat?
Can you stay with it if it's not too uncomfortable?
And as you do stay with the sensation that you're feeling in your body wherever that is,
Just notice what changes inside as you stay with it.
Can you notice this without judgment?
Maybe even give some compassion to the sensations that you're feeling,
To your body for being and working so hard for you throughout the day,
Throughout the week,
Month and years.
Notice if your body wants to do anything and allow it to do so.
Maybe if you have excess energy you want to shake your hands.
Maybe you want to roll your shoulders back.
Just allow your body to do whatever it wants to do and then notice what shifts as you allow your body to do this.
If an image comes up just notice it.
The goal with this exercise is just to stay with what is coming up for us without attaching to it.
And notice what changes when we stay with and notice these sensations in our body.
See if you can not judge them,
Not judge yourself for giving yourself this time right now.
Maybe you even put your hand on your heart and feel your heart beating.
This exercise is meant to allow your body to come back into the present moment,
Not just our minds.
Because when we can be present and notice what's happening in our body,
We're signaling to our nervous system that we're safe,
We're safer.
You're welcome to pause this video or audio to stay with this for as long as you'd like.
If not,
I'd like for you to just slowly come back into your room.
If your eyes were closed,
Go ahead and open them.
You can take a moment to brush your thumbs across your fingertips.
Notice what that feels like.
And I invite you to just look around the room and let your eyes wander to whatever is pleasant for you.
That could be flowers,
That could be a picture,
Or maybe you're looking out the window and noticing a plant or the wind blowing the leaves.
Notice what's different in your body now than when you started.
And I'd like to just end with a vocal exercise called the VOO,
V-O-O.
And this is a great exercise that stimulates our vagus nerve,
That is the longest nerve that runs from the back of our neck,
All the way down to our tailbone.
So we'll begin by taking a breath in.
And then we'll say the word VOO.
And see if you can allow that vibration of the word VOO all the way down into your diaphragm,
As far down as it can go.
And then we'll pause for a moment.
Notice what shifts or changes inside and then we'll do it two more times.
So here we go.
We'll take a breath in.
I know I have a wave of warmth that comes over me up from my belly up through my head.
Take a breath in.
Another wave,
Not quite as intense of warmth and energy moving up through my body.
I notice some tingling in my hands and my feet.
I can feel where the seat,
The chair is meeting the back of my legs supporting me.
We'll do that one last time.
Breathe in.
Again,
Just notice what's shift or changed inside your body.
What's different.
Notice if you have more energy,
Less energy.
If you feel more relaxed.
Notice if anything has softened in the body.
You might even want to write this down.
If you're tracking your nervous system.
And come back to this anytime when you feel like you need to stabilize your nervous system.
Thank you so much for being here with me.
And I hope to be with you next time.
