CMR - Self-soothing Gestures Practice - 8 Minutes

A gentle 8-minute self-soothing gestures practice that helps listeners use supportive touch, mindful movement, and compassionate awareness to settle the body and emotions. This guided practice invites grounding, noticing sensations, placing hands on the body, softening the shoulders, opening the hands, and finding gestures that feel calming, kind, and supportive. Ideal for emotional regulation, stress relief, self-compassion, anxiety support, and reconnecting with a sense of safety and care.

Transcript

Welcome to this self-compassion practice. Where we use gestures to self-soothe. And we bring a sense of nurture and self-care to our experiences. So beginning by finding an upright and dignified posture. So you feel grounded and connected to the earth. And also having a sense of the space around you. And if it feels comfortable for you. Closing your eyes. Or keeping them down cost. So allowing yourself a little time. To tune in to your present moment experiences. So noticing. How you are feeling in your body. Making any adjustments. Enabling you to feel more comfortable. And sensing too into your emotions. Perhaps your mood or your general inner atmosphere today. How are you feeling? And noticing your thoughts. So giving yourself a little time to settle, To connect with What is going on with you right now? In this moment. And then having an awareness of the breath. The movement. In the body. As you are breathing. Just following the in and out breaths for a few breaths. And the first invitation to you is to bring your hand onto your chest. Or another area of your body. That will help to soothe you. Wherever that might be. And sensing into the pressure. The feeling of touch. And the intention of bringing kindness to yourself. So does your hand feel warm or cool? And being able to feel your breath arise and fall. Of your chest. Or a movement in another part of the body. As you are resting your hands. And noticing too what it feels like to know that you can do this for yourself at any time. And next. Bring in your other hand on top. And feeling into that sense of touch. The pressure. And noticing too. If it brings a different feeling to the gesture from when it was just one hand. And then making a fist with the hand underneath. And closing the other hand around the top. Having a little extra pressure, That you have a real sense of I've got this. I'm here for you. You're okay. What's that like for you? And noticing the thoughts. The emotions accompanying this gesture. And then keeping your hand in a fist and making a fist of the other hand. And really holding these fists tightly. And bringing that traction all the way up your arms. Your shoulders. And maybe bringing your shoulders up to your ears and noticing What happens to your breath as you do that? And then next time you breathe out. Spreading the fingers and opening the hands wide. The shoulders come down. And noticing the change in breathing. And then extending the arms as if you are welcoming somebody in for a hug. What's that like? Really feeling it opening to the front of the chest, That sense of, Oh yes, Come in, Give me a hug. And then breathing in and breathing out. And giving yourself a hug. Bringing your arms around you, A really good arch. Crossing the arms over. Maybe giving a little twist and all. What does that feel like? And then changing To the other side, Changing your arms and breathing in deeply. And breathing out. And just allowing yourself to have a really good hug. Really scrunching there. Giving a little twist. Maybe bringing the shoulders up. And really feeling. I am looking after myself in this moment. Taking care. Being kind. Nurturing myself as best I can. And then gently releasing Letting your hands come down, Wherever that may be. And reflecting once more. How do you feel now? In your body. The heart and mind. And knowing. That the more you practice these gestures, The more comfortable you feel in taking good care of yourself. Nurturing yourself in any moment. Helping to bring a sense of self-care. And self-resilience. To know that we have this capacity to look after ourselves whenever we wish. If your eyes are closed. Gently opening them. Rolling your shoulders a little, Perhaps? And thank you.