Hello my friend,
This is Melissa at the watershed farm and I want to share with you a breathing meditation that combines techniques I've learned through yoga practice with those learned here at the farm from my horses and observations of the other animals we share this land with.
Before going inward,
I want to share a bit about how animals demonstrate somatic processing.
Notes and time stamps are available in the description if you'd like to skip ahead.
All animals,
Whether wild or domestic,
Serve as incredible models for somatic embodied living,
As they respond immediately to instincts and bodily cues.
When startled,
There is always a physical response.
It may be running,
Pawing,
Trembling,
And quite often there is also an auditory response.
Fight or flight are innate responses which involve movement and sound.
The freeze response is also available to them and it does serve its own purpose.
This is nature's way of offering a more humane death.
The freeze response shuts down communication of the body,
Blocking all sensations,
Including those of pain.
Should an animal evade its predator in these final moments,
Their bodies will shake and tremble as they return to their base level of consciousness.
Fight,
Flight,
And freeze are natural responses which animals will enter into with ease and without judgment.
This is not so with humans.
Through social conditioning and egoic thoughts,
Our common response is to freeze.
When frightened,
Frustrated,
Embarrassed,
We stand frozen as our mind conjures possible scenarios and outcomes of the various actions we could take.
In those moments,
Everything we are feeling then settles into the soft tissue of our body,
Into the fascia and the muscle.
Left bound in the body,
This energy can cause tightness,
Pain,
And many other physical and emotional symptoms.
I am so grateful to have the animals here serve as guides in releasing this stuck energy from the chickens who groan and shake their feathers,
The horses who sigh,
Shake their mains and drop their heads,
The coyotes that howl and slink along the horizon,
And the deer who paw,
Snort,
And tremble upon escaping their predator.
Let us now embody these lessons as we breathe and move together.
Let's begin by getting settled into a comfortable seated position.
Do your best to sit deeply on your sitz bones.
Bring awareness to the base of your spine.
Rooted firmly into the ground beneath you,
Imagine your spine as the trunk of a great tree.
Growing upward,
Sturdy yet flexible,
Deeply rooted and rising strong.
This position will allow the breath to flow with greater ease as it moves energy freely through your body.
Rest in stillness here as you bring awareness to your breath.
Simply notice the quality of your breath in this moment as it is.
There is no need to change anything,
You are perfect just as you are.
Continue to breathe as you normally would,
Finding a rhythm and a pace that is comfortable for you.
Think into this comfortable rhythm and know you are safe.
You can move and breathe in any way that speaks to you.
You are safe in this space.
You are safe in your body.
Take a deep breath and exhale.
Again,
Deep inhale as you follow your breath into your body.
Allow your awareness to expand here and include your entire being.
With your awareness filling your entire being,
Meet your body where it is at in this moment.
Know that any sensations or messages that come from your body are exactly what you need in this moment.
Gently ask your body where you are feeling stuck.
Trust whatever response bubbles up for you first.
You may feel a muscle clench in response to this question,
Or your attention may suddenly be drawn to a specific point in your body.
You may feel an urge to move,
Shake,
Stretch,
Or rub an area of your body.
However you receive the response from your body,
Allow it to speak.
Trust what it is saying.
Where are you feeling stuck?
With your attention now drawn to a specific area of your body,
I want you to imagine drawing your breath in and directly to this area.
Slowly draw the breath in and see it moving to this area of stuckness,
Curling in and around the muscle and the bone.
Knowing your breath further,
Draw the cleansing air into the tightness of stagnant energy.
And notice how the breath curls in and around the energy that has settled deeply in this space.
On the next inhale,
Pause briefly and see that breath attaching itself to this stagnant energy.
As you exhale,
The breath then carries this energy out of the body with it.
And inhale and allow the breath to hook onto this stagnant energy,
Hook into this block in your body.
On the exhale,
Allow this energy to be released from your body.
And notice any sounds that are expelled with it.
You may notice a groan,
Which softens fear in the body.
Deep inhale,
Allow this breath to hook onto this block and exhale,
Sending this energy out and away from your body.
Noticing any sounds that come.
This energy may be released with a howl,
Which unbinds sadness in the body.
Deep inhale,
Drawing breath into this point in your body,
Attaching itself to the stuckness and exhale,
Expelling this energy out from your body,
Allowing any sounds to come with it.
You may hear yourself sigh,
Which eases frustration in the body.
I will offer you a moment of silence to explore this on your own,
Allowing the energy to leave your body in whatever way feels good and right to you in this moment,
Allowing any sounds that speak to be spoken.
Cherish and enjoy the isthmus.
Attention again to your entire being.
Filling your physical body with awareness,
Compassion,
And love.
Simply ask your body,
How do you want to move?
And allow your body to sway,
Stretch,
Shake,
And move in any way that feels good and right in this moment.
Become the observer of your physical form and notice how the body responds to the body's call to move.
Continue to be intentional with your breath as you nourish each and every cell of your body with life-giving air and life-giving love.
When your body feels complete in its movement,
Return gently to a comfortable seated position.
Place your hands,
Palms together at heart center in Anjali.
Offer gratitude to your body and the wisdom it holds.
Offer gratitude to yourself for being open to receiving this wisdom.
And offer gratitude to the interconnected web of existence of which we are all a part.
Namaste.
