Orienting and grounding are two powerful trauma-informed techniques to help us shift from feeling anxious and overwhelmed to feeling safe and grounded.
This is a short,
Simple exercise you can use to soothe yourself quickly and regulate your nervous system.
I recommend you practice this every day to reinforce healthier neural pathways of self-soothing.
If possible,
Sit in a comfortable chair,
Preferably one that you can lean back in.
You can sit in any position that feels comfortable for you,
Either with your feet on the floor or you can sit cross-legged or in any way you like.
It's nice if you have a warm layer or a blanket nearby in case you get cold.
So for a moment,
Just observe how you're feeling.
Now,
If you feel comfortable,
Close your eyes.
You can do this with your eyes open if you prefer.
Feel the parts of yourself that are in contact with your chair.
Notice how your pelvis is supported by the seat of your chair.
First,
Observe the right side of your pelvis.
Notice where it feels heavy and see if you can feel there are some areas where you're using muscular effort to hold yourself.
Can you allow the weight of the right side of your pelvis to settle onto your chair?
And now put your attention on the left side of your pelvis.
Can you give your full weight to the chair?
Get a sense of the shape of your pelvis and how it makes a shape on the seat of your chair.
Really allow your pelvis to get heavy.
And now feel your back against the back of your chair.
Can you really let yourself lean back and be supported?
Allow your belly to relax.
Allow your hands to relax.
And observe the shape your back makes on the chair back.
Your lower back,
Your shoulder blades.
Can you lean your head back as well?
Either lean your head on the chair or on the wall behind you.
And if so,
Feel the contact that your head makes.
Let your head be heavy and supported.
Can you allow your jaw to relax?
Separate your teeth.
Open your mouth a little bit.
Notice where your tongue is.
Is your tongue pressing into the backs of your teeth or into the roof of your mouth?
Can you allow your tongue to rest in the lower palate of your mouth or in the middle of your mouth?
Feel your feet on the floor.
And if one or both of your legs are folded underneath you,
Observe where the weight of your legs or feet are in contact with the chair.
Can you allow your legs or feet to be even heavier and really supported by their surface?
Are your hands resting on your lap?
Feel where your hands or forearms are supported and allow them to feel heavy.
And observe your breathing.
Is your breathing shallow?
Is it deep?
Are you doing a type of yoga breathing or natural breathing?
There's no right or wrong.
Just allow yourself to observe yourself with a non-judgmental,
Non-corrective attitude.
Observe the parts of yourself that move as you breathe.
Your belly,
Your chest,
Your rib cage.
And now slowly open your eyes and very slowly begin to observe how you feel.
Has anything changed?
And as you open your eyes,
Very slowly begin to look around yourself.
Observe the objects in the room you're in,
The walls.
You can look out the window.
You can look behind you.
Just allow your attention to roam wherever you're drawn to look,
Whatever catches your interest.
You might see some things you're drawn to and other things you have an aversion to.
Just notice everything and what you feel.
And now as you slowly look around yourself,
See if you can find four things that are different shades of green.
And can you find three things that have red in them?
And now look around and see if you can find the smallest rectangle.
And now find something that's shiny.
Good.
And now checking with yourself again and see if you notice a shift.
Does anything look different to you or feel different to you compared to earlier before you started this practice?
You may notice that you feel a sense of calm or a sense of safety.
Thank you for practicing with me.
