This meditation is to help you create a space that feels safe to your body and to your senses,
Or as safe as possible for someone who may feel sensitive and be affected strongly by sensory input.
It can sometimes feel like you're walking around in the world with pain in your body,
With constant guarding and shielding against the environment around you.
So before we begin,
I want you to look around the space where you are right now and see if there's any minor adjustments that you can make to creating a sensory environment that is soothing.
If there's any adjustments you need,
Feel free to pause this meditation and get up and make those adjustments.
You might want to get an extra blanket.
You might want to feel a little more supported in your body with an extra pillow.
You might want to grab your headphones and put this on your headphones.
It could be adjusting light levels in the room,
And if there's nothing you feel like you need to change right now,
No need to.
This does not need to be a perfect practice,
So it may not always be possible to create complete sensory safety,
And that's okay.
Being able to work with things the way they are and still be able to increase the sense of safety in your own nervous system.
So a couple of physical prompts for you just to get started.
Take one hand and starting around your ear and your neck,
Brush your hand lightly down your neck,
Across your shoulder,
And then down your arm.
Do this again on the same side a couple more times.
You can take some even deep breaths while you do it,
And then switch to the other side.
Starting around your ear,
Coming down your neck,
Across your shoulder,
And down your arm.
Repeat this a few times on the next side.
Find a place for your hands to rest now that can feel comfortable and at ease for you.
I like to put a little bit of pressure on my thighs if I'm in a seated position,
Where I actually can just press into them on and off slightly,
Giving my body these internal cues of presence,
Feeling that I am here in my body,
Getting a little bit of deep pressure.
For some people,
A sense of swaying or rocking can be really soothing to the nervous system,
So please feel free to play around with that as well.
If you would like to,
I welcome you to close your eyes,
Or do whatever feels helpful for you with your eyes.
Sometimes I need to put my hands over my eyes to really reduce the light,
Or just to soothe the tension that I hold around this sensory part of my body.
Find an in-breath and an out-breath through your nose,
And you might notice if there's anything pleasant in this sensation at the moment,
Whether it's just neutral air,
Maybe an absence of any unpleasant smell,
And noticing that,
Being able to just simply feel the air sipping through your nostrils,
Clean,
Clear,
May not be triggering in this moment.
If that one,
That anchor point,
Doesn't feel helpful for you,
I also want to encourage you to turn towards your sense of hearing,
And ideally,
If you're in a space right now that isn't triggering your sensory system,
Or amplifying it at least,
You can listen to the sound around you in a calm way.
There's a sense I get of curiosity with my hearing.
When I try and listen a little bit more,
And I'm in a silent place,
It's like my ears are drinking in the quiet.
Taking a deeper breath now,
Breathing in and breathing out.
With your eyes closed or open,
It's possible to notice if there's any thoughts spinning around in your head,
Maybe a sense of aversion that you're carrying with you,
Of guarding.
Scan through your body,
Or your mind,
And see where you might be holding on to patterns of resistance because of your sensory sensitivity.
And before we try to get rid of these patterns,
Or these walls,
This resistance,
First thing I want to encourage you to do is to thank them.
You might just feel a sense of gratitude,
Because your sensory sensitivity may cause you some struggle and pain,
But it also tunes you to your environment,
Helps you sense and perceive things in a unique way.
The guarding that happens in response to your sensitivity wants to protect you.
It is there to try and preserve your sensitivity.
So beginning with appreciation,
Even if it's painful that there's guarding inside,
Sometimes just this is enough.
Just bringing appreciation.
And reaffirming internally,
I do want to feel safe.
It is important for me to feel safe.
I do care about my sensory experience.
And just resting here with this care and love and intention to feel held,
To feel safe.
You might find a restful spot in the midst of stress or overstimulation in a way that feels like you can rest into belonging here with yourself,
Having a sense of your own worth.
Being worthy of love and taking up space.
It's right here in this moment.
Even though the world at large may feel overwhelming,
May feel threatening even at times,
Just right here it's possible to connect with a sense of I am worthy of love.
Allow this to radiate throughout your body and through your nervous system.
If it's difficult to connect with this loving feeling,
That's okay too.
Start with the appreciation or the intention of meeting yourself just the way you are right now.
And taking as many breaths as you want to,
Sitting here until you feel like you've had your fill.
I'll leave you here for now.
Thank you for your practice.
