Allow yourself to settle.
Close your eyes.
Notice the support beneath you.
Notice that you are here,
Now,
And not required to perform.
Bring your attention to your breath,
Not controlling it,
Just noticing how it arrives and how it leaves.
Your breath has been regulating you your entire life.
You do not need to teach it anything.
Now bring your awareness to your body again.
Notice the areas that feel most settled today.
They don't need to be completely relaxed,
Just steady enough.
Let those areas become your anchors.
Places that you can return to anytime,
Anywhere.
Now imagine yourself moving through a typical day,
Not a perfect day,
A real one.
You You may be interacting with others,
Making decisions,
Responding to things outside of your control.
As you imagine this,
Notice what happens in your body.
There may be a subtle activation.
That's okay.
Regulation is not the absence of activation.
It is the ability to respond instead of react.
Now imagine noticing the very first sign of activation in your body.
Noticing it early.
Perhaps a tightening,
A holding of breath,
A sense of urgency.
And instead of judging it,
You pause just for a moment and you return to one of your anchors.
The breath,
The weight of your body,
The feeling of your feet on the ground.
This is regulation in motion.
Now let these truths begin to land.
You do not need to eliminate activation to be regulated.
You can notice and respond before overwhelm takes over.
You know how to come back to yourself.
You do not need to eliminate activation to be regulated.
You can notice and respond before overwhelm takes over.
You know how to come back to yourself.
Now imagine your nervous system learning that regulation is not fragile.
It does not shatter when life happens.
It bends.
It adapts.
It returns.
You are not starting over each time you get activated.
You are practicing.
Now imagine a moment where something doesn't go as planned.
Perhaps a conversation feels charged,
Or perhaps something unexpected happens.
Notice how your body responds.
And now imagine offering it something simple,
A slower exhale,
A softening of the jaw,
A grounding through the feet,
Nothing dramatic,
Just enough to signal I am here and I've got this.
You can regulate yourself without withdrawing from life.
You can stay present without staying tense.
Your nervous system is learning through experience.
You can regulate yourself without withdrawing from life.
You can stay present without staying tense.
Your nervous system is learning through experience.
You can regulate yourself without withdrawing from life.
Now imagine your nervous system carrying this learning forward,
Not perfectly,
Not constantly,
But reliably.
It knows the path now.
It knows how to return.
Stay here for a few moments.
Let your body rehearse this gentle return again and again.
In a moment,
I'm going to count from 1 to 5.
And at the count of 5,
You will awaken with a knowing of what lived regulation feels like.
1.
Move your body gently.
2.
3.
Wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes.
4 and 5.
Open your eyes.
