Belonging At Home With Ourselves

This practice and nervous system regulation work widens our capacity to allow ourselves to be all that we are - genuinely as ourselves. Welcoming the full expression of our humanness. Less is more when it comes to this deep healing work. We don’t have to push past discomfort. It’s not about no pain no gain. There’s nothing to fix and nothing to figure out. We’re whole as we are. This trauma informed guided audio guides you through a heart centered experience that supports the nervous system to come into regulation so we can respond to ourselves and the world with more softness and ease.

Transcript

As we're arriving,

As always,

Let's just take a moment and put distractions aside.

Allow yourself to find a way to sink into support.

This is a place where we can invite softness and ease,

And we can invite comfort and flow as we meet each moment as fully as possible together.

This work is about less is more.

It's about how healing doesn't have to be pushing into the edges,

Pushing past discomfort into pain.

It's not about no pain,

No gain.

It's actually about exhaling into support and welcoming every part of us that's here today.

There's nothing to fix,

And there's nothing to figure out.

I'm not really a big fan of the word transformation.

I believe that we have everything that we need right here and right now.

We're whole as we are,

And sure,

Most of us might like to get a little more space.

We might like to respond to each moment with more kindness,

More compassion,

More aliveness,

More inspiration,

Whatever it is for you.

This work is really an invitation to widen our capacity,

To welcome our full expression of our humanness.

The wider we can be,

The more space there is for us to be ourselves.

The greatest gift we can give ourselves and each other is to be here with,

In a kind and warm and compassionate,

Welcoming,

Empathetic way,

Welcoming the full spectrum of who we are and what we bring as fully as we can.

We can do that together today as we move into the practice in a few minutes.

We're here turning our hearts towards a sense of belonging,

A belonging together as we wake up together,

As we heal together,

And a sense of belonging in ourselves so that we can welcome ourselves home.

So many of us have had many significant,

Overwhelming events in our life,

And they've accumulated.

We tend to store them in our bodies,

And even though our very adult brains think that we should be responding to life in this way or that,

We actually respond primally a lot of the time.

We react.

We fight,

Flight,

Freeze,

Collapse,

Fawn,

And when we have more space,

We can respond once again.

And so this regulation work gives us that space.

It helps our bodies know that here and now,

In this present moment,

I hope,

We're more safe to sink into support.

We can notice the places where we might allow or feel more safe,

Even if it's just one percent,

More supported,

More at ease,

And sink into that.

We can even savor it with a few breaths,

Allowing our minds to tend towards that goodness.

So many of us have been in a state of hypervigilance,

Of looking for what's wrong,

Of being in a fight with ourselves or others,

Hypercritical,

Judgy,

Full of shame.

And when we have that space,

We can open to the goodness that can be here too.

There can be gentleness,

Softness,

Kindness,

And we can trust that there is probably a very,

Very good reason why we landed in those places of feeling more protected,

More rigid.

This is why I say this is about less is more and not pushing into the discomfort,

Because we want to slowly,

Slowly open to and welcome new experiences,

Shifts.

It's not that big,

Mind-blowing transformation and we end up in the same place back a few months ago.

We just gently,

Gently hold each other's hands and hold our own hands as we move towards a little more peace,

A little more ease,

A little more belonging.

And so with that said,

If you're open to it,

You might place a hand on your heart or a hand on your belly and take a few breaths.

And we're pausing here just to be together here in this moment,

However we're arriving.

Welcoming every part.

Welcome wherever you are,

Whoever you are,

And all that you carry with you today.

And you might take a moment to allow an intention for your practice today.

It can be really simple.

I'm just open to the possibility of a little bit more ease.

It can be more extravagant,

Whatever feels interesting to you today.

And so we can welcome an intention.

And this nervous system regulation work,

It works with the nervous system and helps it regulate.

So obvious,

Right?

And how we do that is through supporting different parts of the body that are directly connected to it,

That get taxed or overwhelmed,

Stressed,

Get loaded up as we've moved through stress in our lives,

Overwhelming,

Stressful,

Significant events.

What the work will look like today is I will tell you about it and then we'll do it.

And so we will support our whole heart and chest,

Our lungs,

Just with a gentle intention.

In my own mind,

It's just a very soft,

Kind presence,

And I'll guide you through exactly how we'll do that.

Then we will support our kidneys and adrenals,

And they're located just beneath the bottom ribs in that mid to lower back.

We don't have to get the location perfectly,

The intention is everything.

And then we'll support our brain stems,

Which live right at the very top of the spinal cord.

And then we'll bring our intention to our ankles.

The meaning behind this is that if we can work with the places in our bodies that have gone into those experience of fight,

Flight,

Freeze,

Collapse,

Fawn over time,

In the experience of threat or perceived threat,

It's like we can turn the alarm system off.

We can let them know just with our intention,

Without having to tell a bunch of stories and do a bunch of things,

We can rest into support,

Allowing these places that have been working so hard for so long to exhale.

Most people who work with me say it's like magic,

And it might be.

So keep an open mind if it's new to you,

And let's just play with it.

Come in with a playful,

Curious spirit,

And let's just see what happens together.

So as we get started,

Let's take a few breaths and sink into this brand new,

Fresh moment right here and right now.

Any posture is fine,

Allowing your body to be as comfortable as possible.

And for folks whose bodies aren't so comfortable,

We can welcome those parts too.

Each inhale brings us more fully into the present moment,

And with each exhale,

We can sink and settle into support beneath us.

And now we'll bring our intention to the top of your right shoulder and the outside of your left hip,

As though there's a gentle ribbon draped across the front of your body from the top of your left shoulder to the outside of your right hip,

Welcoming your heart and lungs,

Welcoming your ribcage and your whole chest area,

And everything that comes along with that.

All parts of you are welcome here.

We'll be here with our intention,

This warm presence,

For a few minutes at each place.

Whatever comes up,

Comes up,

And we're just here together with it.

Yeah,

Left shoulder and right hip,

And just here supporting with awareness and care.

And I want to remind us all that there's no way to do this wrong.

We're bringing our curious,

Playful spirit into this,

Open to the possibilities of healing.

There's so many.

Left shoulder and right hip.

And then we can gently move our intention across now to the top of your right shoulder and the outside of your left hip.

And if I got it backwards one time or two,

Or you got it backwards just to whichever side you didn't do before,

Not a problem.

Following that ribbon across the diagonal there from the top of your right shoulder to the outside of your left hip,

And welcoming heart,

Ribcage,

Lungs,

And chest.

And as things arise in your body,

Heart,

Mind,

You might say to yourself,

I don't know,

Isn't that interesting?

Whatever it is,

However you experience yourself in this work,

In this practice,

Isn't that interesting?

Instead of any kind of judgment or needing it to be this way or that,

Yeah,

Right shoulder and left hip,

Allowing plenty of space as the chest expands naturally,

Welcoming everything.

And then we can move our intention to your right adrenal located in your mid to lower back,

Just beneath the bottom rib there.

And your right adrenal is shaped like a pyramid,

Resting on top of your kidney and resting into support,

Right adrenal,

And plenty of space and time here,

Right adrenal.

Resting into support,

All parts welcome.

And then we can gently float away from your right adrenal and bring our intention to your left adrenal,

This warm,

Gentle presence,

And softly landing here,

Welcoming your left adrenal and everything that comes along with it.

And this left adrenal is shaped like a half moon,

Resting on top of your kidney,

And resting into support,

Left adrenal,

And just inviting a little softness here with all that arises,

Pleasant,

Unpleasant,

Neither,

And we have so much space for it all together,

Left adrenal.

And then we can gently float away from your left adrenal and bring our intention to your brain stem,

Taking that elevator all the way to the very top of your spinal cord,

Just as it comes up through the hole in the base of your skull.

We can bring our intention right here to your brain stem,

Welcoming all those little parts of your brain.

And as we're here supporting your brain stem,

We're actually supporting your entire spinal cord to the base of your tailbone,

Your entire central nervous system.

And so we're welcoming everything that comes along with this as we rest our intention at your brain stem,

And just allowing space for it to open up,

Maybe for it to be different if it feels different,

Brain stem.

And then we can float away from your brain stem and bring our intention to this last place at your ankles,

Supporting your ankles with our intention,

With our gentle presence.

And as we're here with your ankles,

And as they are resting into support,

You might imagine any energy that's not serving you today,

Any unhealed energy flowing down and out of your body,

Past your ankles,

Out your heels,

And back to your feet.

Back to the earth,

Just letting it all drain down gently,

Effortlessly.

Supporting your ankles,

Our ankles are like hinges,

Like hinges on a door that help it open and close.

And as we rest our intention here,

We support them to be open,

So that energy that's not needed can flow down and out,

Through the soles of the feet,

And back to the earth.

Supporting your ankles,

And then we can rest in a healing silence for a couple of minutes here,

Giving the body time and space to integrate this work,

As your body continues to process and support your healing.

And as you feel ready,

You can shift and take your time,

And as we bring this practice or nervous system regulation work to a close,

I like to take time to first notice if there's anything that feels different or better in the system,

Even if it's just 1%.

And then gather any goodness that we've created,

Practicing together today,

So many of us here,

And send that goodness out into the world,

To all beings,

To our communities,

Families,

Those we know,

Those we don't know,

To animals,

To Mother Earth,

Nature,

Anywhere your heart wants to send it.

Thank you so much.