Finding calm in overstimulation.
Begin by taking up a position,
Whether that's seated or lying down.
It could even be standing.
Finding some initial anchoring into the body,
Just feeling the weight of gravity,
Letting the body feel heavy.
Meeting this moment with an initial releasing of tension,
Relaxing the jaw,
Relaxing the muscles around the eyes,
Relaxing all the way down the spine,
Into the hips,
Down into the legs and into the toes.
Notice where the patterns of overstimulation arise in the body.
This could be like fluttering around the eyes,
Tension and twitching behind the eyelids,
Bracing in the shoulders,
Tightness of breath,
Holding the breath up in the top of the chest and the throat.
It could be fidgeting,
Restlessness,
Needing to move,
Feeling antsy and anxious.
And in the beginning here of this practice,
It's okay to move.
If you find it's too hard just to close your eyes or sit still right now,
I invite you to engage in the motions that your body naturally wants to do in this overstimulated state.
That could mean some rocking back and forth,
Side to side.
It could mean allowing the eyes to open again if they have been closed.
Whatever it is that the body currently wants to do,
We're going to allow it to do that and we're going to gently coax it into more ease,
Gentleness,
Slowness.
Continuing to notice the patterns of overstimulation.
What are they like in this moment?
Have they moved?
Have they shifted?
Is there heat or coldness?
If there's frozenness,
Stiffness and rigidity,
It could even be helpful to bring a gentle movement into the body.
Breathing in and bringing the shoulders up towards the ears.
Breathing out.
And letting them relax back down.
It can be helpful to mentally label this moment of experience overstimulation.
Seeing this word gently inside your head.
Overstimulation.
Buzzing.
Discomfort.
Anxiety.
Whatever it is,
Is it okay to allow it to be here?
Is it possible to sit with it without running from it or wishing it wasn't here?
Without trying to get it to go away?
And to be noticing it.
To be acknowledging that this is the way it is right now.
Taking a breath in.
Inviting the breath and oxygen to be a helpful aid for the body.
Breathing out.
Slowly releasing tension.
When you breathe in,
Hold your breath in just for a pause before you breathe out.
And pause again before you breathe in.
This creates more spaciousness in the breathing pattern.
And it invites the nervous system to begin to discharge some of the excessive energy it's holding.
When any of this overstimulation feels overwhelming or too discomfort,
Uncomfortable to bear,
You can turn your attention to a different part of the body.
Maybe just the seat meeting the ground below you or the chair below you.
Maybe your feet pressing against the ground.
Maybe the hands become a place of neutrality,
A place that isn't carrying this loaded energy.
Taking another cycle of breathing in with a pause,
Out with a pause.
I invite you to put your hand on your heart.
The pressure of the hand creating a resonance chamber here for the heartbeat.
Awareness grows of the rhythm of the heart,
Of the physical existence of the body.
Of the solidity,
The earth element.
The pressure of the hand can bring soothing into the nervous system.
In this expression of care and love.
If you've been rocking or had your eyes open,
It might be helpful now to try and bring the body into more stillness.
If there's more stillness available,
Bring some attention to the sounds and the environment around you.
Notice hearing,
Air moving through a vent,
The sound of traffic outside.
You may feel the sense of space in the room around you.
Extending your awareness all the way out to the water.
The walls,
Other surfaces in the area.
Perhaps noticing the stillness,
The unmovingness of the floor.
Coming again into the center of your body.
It can be helpful for some people to bring some visualization into this practice.
Finding a channel from the crown of your head all the way down through the base of your spine.
A channel like a column of light.
It's cleansing and purifying.
All of the buzzing and anxiousness.
The sensitivity of the body and the stimulation.
It's magnetized into this channel.
Gets absorbed into it.
And you can release any extra tension you're holding.
This channel goes directly through your heart and your mind.
Connecting you down into the earth.
And upwards into the sky.
Holding you.
Begin to let go of this practice.
Just letting go of all of this.
Thinking and doing.
Completely releasing into this feeling of being held.
The body supporting itself.
I invite you to take a deeper breath.
Releasing it with a sigh.
And another.
Coming out of this practice.
Opening the eyes.
And ending here.
