Connect And Ground

A conversation recorded live on IT. 11/4/24

Discussions that are top of mind and integral to remaining grounded and aware. Especially now. Grab something cozy to snuggle into, maybe a warm tea, and definitely an open mind.

Transcript

Hey friends!

How's it going?

Lisa here on a special edition.

Welcome.

If you don't know who I am,

I'm Lisa Reed.

I usually teach on Wednesdays yin and shavasana yoga.

And so here I am today.

And if you're new to me,

Great.

There's more to all of this.

If you give my profile a little follow.

I'm trying to keep it quick and concise because I believe we only have 30 minutes.

So here we go.

Thank you in advance for your donations.

I know money goes in a lot of directions these days.

So allow the donation to be of spirit,

Of sharing with a friend,

Somebody who has,

You know,

Some openness to receive.

All of the above,

Right?

Okay.

So what are we doing here today?

We are not moving our body,

Though you are more than welcome to.

We are here to connect and to ground.

What does that mean?

Well,

This is a discourse.

So know that you can chime in at any time.

Keeping it kind and appropriate,

As always.

But holding space for each other.

You know,

This can be a time of shift,

Of change.

Clearly of change.

If you saw me last week,

This was not the hair color.

So we're finding our own way.

How do we ground ourselves?

How do we stay connected to what's important to us during times that might be chaotic or super exciting?

It doesn't matter the depth of where you are.

But if you are a person over a certain age in this world,

You know that there is a lot going on.

And sometimes it feels overwhelming.

Oftentimes it can.

So here's a way to hold space as community.

To reconnect.

Maybe to add in how you're feeling now.

A word or two,

Maybe a brief sentence on who you are,

Where you're coming from,

What's going on.

Maybe if you're in the U.

S.

Or not in the U.

S.

,

How you're feeling.

We are not going to discuss any specific,

So no political talk of any kind.

However,

We kind of know the stance of this person.

So allowing everything to be kind and remembering that it doesn't matter what sign you have in your yard,

We are connecting on the human level.

On the how are you really today level.

So let's allow that,

Let's allow this space to be that for us.

Even for a brief 30 minutes.

And those of you who take my classes at all,

You know that I really talk about one step at a time,

One breath at a time.

It's all we can do.

Yes.

Elizabeth.

Anxiety.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Same.

Same.

Same,

Same.

Feeling all of the things,

Nay,

From the U.

K.

,

Welcome.

Taking a breath is really so underrated,

And it's not a way to bypass anything.

It's really the only way forward.

And most times when all else seems to be lost,

Or in chaos,

Or we're not even seeing any way forward,

That breath,

Whether that has assistance or not,

Is the way forward,

Is this breath.

And so that's where we come back to how do we connect,

How do we ground one literal breath at a time for a lot of us.

Dora.

Sun has just set.

Dash back from feeding three injured foxes that live at a cemetery.

Coming down with a cold and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

That seems like a lot,

Dora.

Yeah.

Holding space for all of the truths.

All of the things.

Yeah.

So let's gather in a little bit,

And if this feels good to you,

Let's just close our eyes and come into our body.

We won't be here for very long.

Just a way of literally coming back into our bodies,

Especially as we're going through this process.

Especially if we're up in the brainiac regions of where we are,

Where sometimes it just gets on that loop,

On that spin,

Narrative,

Whatever.

I feel it like old time movie reels where it's too big.

That's what it just feels like.

It's never ending,

And there's some camera guy.

Just feeding it.

You're like,

Whoa.

So how can we literally come back to what's going on when sometimes we don't realize we've been out in the ether and we've been bouncing around?

And I'm speaking from experience because that seems to be my default,

You know,

For my experience here.

So however you're sitting or if you're standing,

Maybe just taking a moment.

You don't have to close your eyes,

But you can.

I'm going to take a quick,

Quick sip.

And maybe if you're standing,

Some intention in your feet.

Feel where you're connected to whatever you're standing on.

And same goes for whatever you're sitting or laying down on.

Maybe you're in bed and you are having one breath at a time,

And you can listen.

Allow for the moment to be recognized and validated as fill in the blank.

Let the mind have a moment of this is what it is.

We're not denying.

And in fact,

A little bit of bow to the sacred within that experience because they're so buried.

And to be acknowledged.

Notice where your breath went during that acknowledgment.

So find that deeper breath wherever that can come from.

Maybe hands come to the chest and the belly as you feel the breath from the outside.

Perhaps eyes can stay open,

But giving the body,

Giving the self a moment to arrive here in this experience.

This is where we are.

How can the breath support this acknowledgment,

This dot,

Dot,

Dot,

Whatever your experience is,

That validation that I am worthy of this next breath so that I can take then the next breath and so on.

Continue to breathe however feels and sounds and is appropriate for you,

Wherever the hands may be.

Maybe you get a little cozier and you wrap a sweater a little tighter around your body or a blanket covers your lap.

Allow that sense of arrival from the inside,

But also what is this outer human need?

Without getting back into too many words or visuals,

Allow the breath to be the nourishment.

As you snuggle in cozier,

Or you perhaps go from sitting to laying,

How can the breath be even more nourishing without force?

How is your breath?

How is your body?

Does it need to be adjusted?

There is no being in the perfect spot.

How can the breath support the foundation of you,

The you that reminds the body one breath at a time?

And then perhaps you stay here,

Feeling into the breath,

Perhaps you stay here and feel the body and the eyes are open and soft,

And perhaps you check in with the mood,

The spirit,

The overwhelming pattern of thought,

Whatever it is for you that seems to be getting the most inventory in your experience.

And then again,

Check in with where the breath went when that check-in started to occur,

Where maybe the body started to contract around.

And then a sigh,

An audible exhale,

A little sweeping motion,

And for those of you over a certain age,

A little Carol Burnett character,

Kind of sweeping the stage of the mind.

Coming back to the experience of your humanness,

Validating,

Honoring,

Bowing to,

Without getting swept back in with the loop.

We know what is outside of our body,

We know what's happening in the world,

And in our homes,

And in our own bodies,

This is that chance to check back in,

To reconnect and ground through somatics,

Through regulating our nervous system,

Coming back to maybe the foundation of your seat,

Or whatever you're seated on,

How am I feeling,

How is my body connected,

How can the breath support that?

And creating these breaths that are nourishing,

And that do remind that sacred from within,

That capital S self that is reminding you to breathe,

That is creating that maybe itty-bitty seeker within you,

That knows that doing some of this work,

Air quotes,

Can help plant the seeds of groundedness and reconnection to humans in this experience.

One breath at a time,

And if you're checking in with that mood,

Or spirit,

Or capital S self in the ethers,

Start to reel back in,

Into the body,

Through the breath.

And if you've been solely within the body experience,

Or if you've been in past or future,

Coming back with the breath,

And this is this human experience,

There is no getting there.

One breath is where we are.

So within this little check-in within your body,

Mind,

Spirit,

As if they were different,

Allow the breath to re-gel them all into one fabulous you.

Let's take a full,

Deep breath in,

And a long,

Full breath out,

Letting that little sweepy action,

Sweeping action be felt,

And if you close the eyes,

Or felt a certain way,

And want to shift back into more of a chat,

Please do so within that transition of softness,

Of reminding the self that it is a constant one breath at a time,

Reminding ourselves of our own divinity,

Humanity,

How we are all connected as human beings,

And what we do with that.

So welcome back,

If you've been adrift in,

And if you've just joined us,

I'm going to scooch a little bit,

And re-work my leg configuration,

So I'm usually,

Hi Myesha,

I'm usually here on Wednesdays,

If you are new to me,

Or just joining,

And I'm usually adding in,

With this kind of discourse,

With this kind of food for thought,

With this kind of Lisa brain,

Through the yogic lens,

We're adding in some asana,

Some stretches,

And some movement within the body,

Which is available for everybody,

So know that that's also an option in two days time,

At 9am,

But giving me a follow,

But we are here having the same discussions every week,

So whether you're making movements with your body or not,

This is yoga,

We are yoga,

You are yoga,

It is not a prop,

Not that some of these things are props at all,

But the cushions,

The things from your couch,

We are reminding ourselves of this connection to divinity,

Of who we are on the inside,

All the way in,

Connected,

What is that divinity,

That magic within you,

That connection to God,

Whatever is appropriate for your experience,

Allowing yourself to remember that within you,

So that we can remember that within others,

And the way I do it is through somatics,

Yoga,

Nervous system regulation,

And then how do we live that life,

Even though we're remembering,

Like,

Okay,

I forgot again,

I forgot again,

Is really the cycle over and over again.

I got you,

Maisha,

No worries,

So feeling into,

And please correct me if I mispronounce anyone's name,

Please spell phonetically if I incorrectly pronounce,

Because I really want to be able to recognize people as they are.

Yeah,

So what else,

So how are you feeling connected,

Grounded,

What brings you back to your body,

Or I think we know what keeps us disconnected,

I mean,

Culture,

Society,

Conditioning,

Atrocities of magnitudes,

We still can't even believe,

Like,

We know what keeps us disconnected,

And,

You know,

With all of our distractions,

As I'm getting distracted,

Feeling into what brings us back,

And,

You know,

For me,

It's community,

It's remembering that,

Oh,

Wait,

We can talk about this stuff,

So feeling,

What's feeling today for me is,

That's my keyword,

But coming back to what,

How do I continue to feel?

If I had a mic,

Oh,

I do,

But I don't want to drop it.

It's so easy to disconnect and dissociate and to numb,

And we all have our limits,

And I'm not saying all in all the time,

But how do we create that space within ourselves,

What keeps you coming back to you,

And who is you,

That capital Y,

Who is that connection,

And again,

On a human level,

Yard signs,

Colors aside,

Humanity,

What reminds you of your own humanness,

And how can you honor that,

Again,

With our own parameters,

This is no love and light business here.

This is not easy.

And that's why,

I mean,

That's why it's not a thing.

That's not why it's like the main thing.

So,

How do you keep coming back to yourself is the question.

For me,

It's,

It's like,

If I could pan the camera around,

It's like,

Dog stuff,

And art stuff,

And,

Art stuff,

And,

You know,

A mountain of books,

And all of the things that also,

And like,

Tactile things.

I am also very neurodivergent,

So things that help me come back to that remembering.

Processing time.

Being in the beautiful environment of my state.

Yeah,

Absolutely.

I mean,

I have all the views of mountains,

And trees,

And snow,

And literally,

There's a squirrel right there with his tail,

Because it's snowing,

Eating a little nut,

Because I put him out there,

Like,

Yes.

Without being overwhelmed.

Yeah.

It's honoring the space within you first,

Because if you're doing the work within,

To find peace,

Softness,

Breath,

Feeling into the body,

If that's appropriate,

Doing what work that's appropriate for you,

To find peace,

Softness,

Breath,

Doing what work that's,

And I'm using appropriate,

Like,

With the biggest air quotes possible,

Because I feel like that's a word of proper,

Or right and wrong,

But really,

It's what is right for you in your moment,

In your experience,

In this moment.

For me,

It's different all the time,

And accommodating that.

Like,

We get accommodations for,

I just got new glasses,

I'm not complaining about not being able to see comments now.

The glasses are an accommodation.

So,

How can you accommodate your heart,

Dora?

Like,

You've shared some things here in class,

And those are worth honoring,

But also,

Everything's worth honoring.

So,

All things can lead to overwhelm at some time,

Like,

There is the expression,

All things in moderation,

But also,

Moderation and moderation.

How can you honor what that golden nugget that we talked about,

How can you honor that from within first?

Because when we are radiating less chaos,

We are doing less harm,

Which causes less harm,

Which causes less harm.

Ripple,

Ripple,

Ripple.

Yeah.

Simple things.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's starting again.

And remember,

Like,

The guiding ourselves back,

Like,

We are our own best friend.

That was the theme of 2023,

If those of you who have been here for a minute,

That's what,

I mean,

That was the practice for me,

Is,

Like,

Best friend,

Best friend,

Or the God within,

Whatever your connection is,

Is,

Like,

Your inner child,

Like,

The littlest you who would be so proud of you now for doing life,

You know,

Like,

How do you guide that little being back over and over again?

Because that's what it is.

And practice.

This is the practice.

It starts on the insides.

Yeah.

Taking the time.

Like,

I was having a conversation with somebody the other day who has post-its on their wall above their desk,

And it's all the stuff that,

Like,

Like,

This stuff.

That works for them.

Not necessarily this stuff,

But,

You know,

It's their stuff that reminds them to do whatever they're looking to do.

Taking a bath.

Yes.

Carrie,

Water.

Oh,

My bathtub is loved.

Absolutely.

Water is so soothing,

Calming,

Taking us back to all of the things without getting too woo-woo,

But,

Like,

Back to back to the starts of this human experience,

You know,

That held that,

I'll just say it,

Womb-like experience.

Making and enjoying a cup of tea,

Took a long bath with bubbles yesterday,

Coloring,

Sky-gazing.

Okay.

Because it's literally right here.

Watch this.

I mean,

Yes.

Yes.

Right?

I could not show you.

It is lighting up my life,

And it wasn't a practice of mine before,

And I have a lot of artists and a lot of their artwork in my life,

And I was like,

You know what?

I'm gonna buy some markers.

I'm gonna buy some more markers.

It's fantastic.

Yeah.

And I didn't even know where to start.

I literally saw a friend of mine's post on social media,

And they were into coloring,

And it was somebody they were following,

And it was basically somebody who keeps a notebook showing you how to start drawing,

And it was,

Like,

With some squiggles,

With some dots.

How do we start doing anything?

It's the squiggles and the dots.

It's the,

Get your body in a body of water.

Drink some tea,

Some,

You know,

A lovely cup of coffee,

Whatever.

Drink from a fun pink cup.

Like,

It's not necessarily looking for a solve.

There is no solve.

We come back to,

Oh,

I come back to we come back to,

Oh,

I come back to teachings.

I come back to not reinventing,

But what have yogis done for thousands of years,

And not that it's all been adaptable to now society.

However,

Learning from my western lens,

My lens,

I am learning,

And learning how to do less harm.

I am unlearning all of the systems of oppression that are so ingrained in me.

I am unlearning from within,

And then not just reading about it,

But doing that inner work,

Confronting my own biases,

My own things that,

Oh,

I never,

Oh,

Really.

So,

Finding the work from within to find the peace,

But also,

It's the regulation must be,

Must happen.

No amount of yoga in the world,

Or no matter how big the bucket of markers,

If there is a sense of constant fear,

Perceived real threat,

You know,

Just depending where you are in this world,

Because most places are,

Let's say,

Less safe than this living room,

Where I am.

We're coming back to constant regulation,

And that is the point.

Then we can make the changes and the shifts,

But if we're constantly spiraling,

Like we are out of time,

But if we're constantly spiraling and dysregulated,

We're perpetually in that shift of what are my values?

How do I act in accordance to values,

And how do I not beat myself up constantly with shame and regret and all the things from within and from without,

Which are constant reminders?

How do I keep coming back to my values one breath at a time?

So,

Then we can be connected as human beings,

Doing less harm,

Literally,

To each other's bodies,

Because of how we look.

Like,

Bringing it back down to basics,

Because we're different.

Oh,

Friends,

We are so the same.

We all have tremendously different experiences,

Yes.

Not discounting anyone or anything happening,

But we are in this human experience on this planet here together,

And so how can we remember that from within,

So that we can perpetuate less harm on the outside,

Within our house,

Within our community,

With our words,

With our actions?

Yeah.

One breath at a time for certain,

Yeah.

Yes,

Yes.

So,

A cup of tea,

You know,

Texting a mate,

Finding,

I mean,

If you've been with me for a while,

I have this amazing orchid cactus,

And it blooms once a year during the night for 24 hours,

And it's the most fragrant and beautiful flower,

And I'm obsessed with it,

But it's such a reminder that it's funky looking and weird the rest of the year.

Like,

It's not the prettiest of plants,

And same,

Like,

You find the connection,

And then that bloom of magic that gives you the hope,

That keeps you going in a way that only that reconnection to humanity can give you,

Give me.

One breath at a time,

And coloring,

And dogs,

Animals,

The squirrel outside of my window,

The snow,

The sun,

The smile in the mailman's eye,

Like,

This human experience is what reconnects me,

But also,

Like,

Keeping myself regulated.

Keeping myself regulated.

All right,

Friends,

I've gone over a little bit.

I'm happy to stay and chit chat.

You have been welcome to pop in,

But please,

If you have,

Again,

Any ways that you're finding hope,

Solace,

Peace,

Maybe it's just even the blanket over your head,

Like,

What's,

Yeah,

What's helping you?

And,

Like,

What kind of tea are you drinking?

What kind of bubbles?

What kind of markers?

What kind of paint?

What are you coloring?

Are you drawing your own thing?

Are you using a coloring book?

Like,

I have all the questions.

And I cannot be,

Dora and I cannot be the only one with furry friends in our lives.

So,

You know,

Feel free to chime those things in,

And if you've had to wander off,

Amazing.

If you've taken anything with you,

Please just take that one breath at a time.

I will be here again on Wednesday,

But adding a little stretch,

A little reminder to reconnect,

No matter what,

You know,

We'll still be here together.

We'll keep showing up.

We keep doing the work.

You know,

We validate ourselves,

And through that,

We can validate others,

No matter their words or actions towards us.

And,

Again,

It's not dismissive.

What is happening is not okay.

But deep down,

We know that we'll be all right.

One breath at a time.

Heating blanket.

Oh,

Yes.

Fennel tea.

Oh,

I haven't tried fennel tea.

My little dogs have a heating blanket,

And I don't.

I need to fix that.

Beatrice.

Green tea.

Love.

Coloring pencils in books.

Reading.

Oh,

Yes.

What are you reading,

Please?

Dogs.

Books.

Books,

For sure.

You can see some of my collection.

Heated blankets.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Okay.

Any recommendations on a heated blanket?

Let me know.

And any books.

You know,

This is what I'm finding helpful.

So,

I always like to share what I'm reading.

I also have a giant stack over there,

But it's not as handy as the coloring.

All right.

Well,

If there isn't a whole lot of other chit chat,

I am happy to float our separate ways.

And then remember that oh,

I haven't said a lot of the things.

I'm adding my audio version of Yin and Shavasana class here on Insight Timer to my library.

So,

Follow me on my profile,

And then you'll see all of those tracks.

They're all free.

It's all free.

All my stuff is donation based.

No premium content here.

It's just,

You know,

From one human to another.

So,

I appreciate your donations.

Absolutely.

And especially if you can spare some here and someone else is sharing there,

You know,

We make it go around.

Yeah.

It's that mutual aid idea.

Oh.

Okay.

Oh,

Faux fur as well.

Oh,

My goodness.

Okay.

Kid's book called Fox Light.

I love all age books,

For sure.

Okra.

What color is okra?

Is that like a whitish?

Sorry.

I can do my shopping.

I should look in my box of colors and look.

Oh,

Yes.

Yes,

Please.

That would go with a lot of what I have going on here.

Sweet.

All right.

Well,

Thank you for those ways to keep capitalism popping off,

But also,

You know,

It's the yes and.

It's what keeps our bodies and brains and spirits going sometimes.

It's the way we've been conditioned,

And we take what we can.

We don't need to reinvent the wheel,

Like I said.

The whole technology,

The matrix of yoga is there to be explored and to be honored and to be acknowledged.

Yeah.

Yes,

Yes.

I know exactly what you're saying now,

Dora.

Absolutely.

Oh,

And thank you for and thank you for using that example.

That made my brain happy.

All right,

Friends.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If I may,

In parting,

Just plant the gentle reminders and invite us all to be as kind and generous with our spirit,

With ourselves,

As well as others,

Especially in the next coming couple days,

Weeks,

Years,

Lifetimes,

Whatever it is,

But allowing yourself to be reminded again and again with your tools,

With your colors,

With one cup of tea at a time.

I have a friend who has a dog rescue called One Dog at a Time.

It's what we can do at a time.

So,

You know,

One hike,

One whatever.

One Lisa class at a time.

Allow the little sprinklings of my brain be planted so that we can move with more peace all the way around.

Literally.

Yeah.

All right.

So,

Thank you so much.

Please see you,

Dora.

Absolutely.

We will see you all on Wednesday.

And if not,

You know where to find me.

Thank you so much.

And we'll talk to you soon.

Please be kind.

Please be safe.

And we'll see you on the other side.

All right.

Much love,

Friends.

Please take care.

Bye.