Nervous System Regulation; Holding Heart And Hara

A gentle grounding practice to help calm and regulate the nervous system. The simple act of placing one hand on the chest (or heart centre) and one hand on the lower abdomen (or Hara) can turn our attention away from busy thoughts, help the body to naturally return to diaphragmatic breathing, and be a beautiful way of self-soothing, shifting the body out of 'fight or flight'. Connecting our heart centre and Hara also helps us connect with our compassion for ourselves and others, in a grounded and centred way.

Transcript

Hello, I'm Melanie, A shadow worker and shiatsu practitioner and I'd like to share with you today a short exercise for grounding if you're feeling your energy is scattered and up. This is a beautiful grounding practice and centering. And it's called Holding Heart and Hara and it is simply connecting our emotional centre, Our the energy of our heart center. With the grounding energy of it. What is called in Japanese the hara. This is our centre. To invite you. Now just to find a comfortable way of doing it. Sitting or standing and you can join me in placing one hand on your chest. And one hand on your belly. And we'll just take a few moments to notice what that's like. Let yourself take a few natural breaths. Feeling the sensation of your hands on your body. You may find that your breath naturally wants to slow and deepen. You don't need to force anything here. This is just about listening. Turning our attention inwards and offering ourselves some care. You may find that You're aware of the sounds in the room or the temperature of the air on your skin. You may notice areas of tension in the body. You can just see if any of those places are able to soften a little bit and you may become aware of the movement. Of the breath underneath your hand. And I invite you to. Really become aware of the movement that's happening underneath the hand that is on your belly. When we get stressed or anxious. Scattered, We can. . . Tend to breathe up in the upper chest. If you can invite and encourage the breath. Down into the belly. That means you're naturally. . . Using the diaphragm. Which helps us to calm the nervous system. And brings us more in touch with the lower centres of energy in the body. Connects us to this powerhouse of energy or horror. Our centre of gravity. When we move through the day. More in touch with our heart and our soul. Aura, Our centre of gravity. We're more likely to be able to bring. Our compassion, Our love for ourselves and for others. And to be able to bring it from there. Strong, Centred and grounded place. Just allow yourself a couple more breaths to notice how you Feel after this. Short time. If your eyes have been closed, You can allow them to open now. I invite you to come back to this simple gesture. Anytime you like throughout your day. As a way of connecting to yourself, Connecting to your breathing. And finding some grounding. Until next time, Go gently, Go well. And thank you for sharing this time with me.