Pause, Refuel, Return | Quick Coherence Inspired

When faced with a challenging situation or carrying heavy emotions, it can feel like your inner battery is running on empty. This guided practice, based on the HeartMath Quick Coherence Technique, is designed to help you shift from a depleting emotional state toward one that's more uplifting and renewing.

By focusing on your heart, slowing your breath, and connecting with feelings such as appreciation or care, you'll support your nervous system in moving toward greater balance so you can pause, refuel, and return to life's challenges with more clarity and capacity.

I love sharing the science behind these practices, so if you'd prefer to jump straight in, the guided meditation begins at 3:25.

You may or may not notice a significant shift the first time trying this. Like any skill, self-regulation strengthens with practice: consider returning to this regularly to build your ability to navigate life's challenges while remaining tethered to your resilience.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Susan, And I'm glad you're here. This practice is designed to help you reconnect with renewing emotions. The ones that tend to have a replenishing effect and that can support you in handling whatever it is that you might be facing today. And this practice is inspired by the quick coherence technique from HeartMath. Before we begin, I'd like to just share a little bit about why this practice can be helpful. When we're moving through a challenging situation, The emotions it stirs within us can have a significant drain on us. Feelings like anxiety, Frustration, Sadness, Anger, Overwhelm, Impatience, Even judgment, They all require energy. And the longer we remain caught up in those emotional states, The more depleted we can begin to feel. You could think of your emotional energy as a battery that powers every part of your life. Your ability to think clearly, To connect with others, To be patient and creative and compassionate, Even resilient. And stress naturally drained that battery. When our energy becomes depleted or when we're caught in a strong emotional reaction, Our prefrontal cortex, The part of our brain responsible for clear thinking, Perspective taking, Wise decision making, It becomes less active. And at the same time, Our social engagement system, The part of our autonomic nervous system that helps us feel safe and connected with others and able to be open safely with others, It becomes less available as well. As this happens, We naturally begin relying on the brain's survival networks. So our attention starts to narrow. Our thinking becomes more reactive. And it becomes harder to respond as the person that we actually see ourselves as. It's as though we're disconnected. The encouraging news is that this state is not permanent. By intentionally shifting our attention into the body, Slowing the breath, And guiding connection with a more renewing feeling, Like appreciation, Or care, We begin sending different signals from the heart and the body back to the brain. We move into a more regenerative physiological state that serves to replenish our inner resources and helps restore our clarity, Emotional balance, And even our perspective. So in this practice, As we briefly draw our attention away from the challenge you might be facing, Not because we're avoiding it, Actually, So that we can just press pause so that we have a moment to refuel. And then return to it. Because sometimes the wisest thing we can do isn't to push harder at something, But to replenish ourselves first, So that we have a greater capacity to meet whatever it is that comes next. Take a moment and just get comfortable. Allow your attention to shift away from any distractions that are in the room around you. Just anchoring into this one moment. Maybe noticing the rise and fall of your chest. As you breathe in and out. If it feels okay. Bring to mind a situation in your life that has been somewhat challenging recently. Something that leaves you feeling a little depleted. And just notice what emotions or physical sensations arise as you think about it. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 represents the most distressed you've ever felt and 1 represents calm or neutral. What's your number now as you think of that situation? Okay. Tuck that number away in your memory for a moment. We'll come back to it in a bit. Allow yourself to set that challenging situation just to the side. We'll come back to that in a moment as well. And if okay, Just draw your attention away from your thoughts. Away from your analytical mind. And allow your awareness to come to rest in the area of your heart. The center of your chest. If it feels right for you, You could place a hand on your heart to deepen your sense of connection to that space. And with your attention resting here on your heart. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out. Through your heart. See if you can breathe just a little deeper. Just a little slower than what's usual for you. As your breathing settles into this rhythm. Notice if your body begins to feel just a little more relaxed. Just a little steadier. And from this steadier place. See if you can invite in a feeling of appreciation. Care, Gratitude, Or ease. You could do this by perhaps remembering a peaceful place you've been to. Or thinking of someone or something you appreciate. A moment with a favourite pet. Or perhaps even just by imagining the warm, Caress of sun on your face. On a summer day. Whatever feels right for you. Just allow yourself to linger there. Allowing a feeling of appreciation or care to expand. Throughout your body, Your heart. To every cell of your being. As though every breath. Is helping replenish your inner battery. And just lingering here. Allowing your system to experience a state of physiological coherence. That place where your mind and body and heart are all working together in harmony. And thinking again of that scale from one to ten. What number would you give yourself now? As being curious. And you notice if the number shifted even by just one or two percentages. If you feel up for it from this anchored space, Think back to that challenging situation and notice if you have even the smallest bit more of steadiness in your mind, Your heart, Or your body as you think of it now. Maybe you feel a little more clarity. A slightly broader perspective, Or maybe there's a bit more energy available to you to meet this situation in a way that feels more aligned with how you want to show up in the world. Take one more slow breath into your heart. And breathing out. When you're ready, You can allow your awareness to drift back into the room. Open your eyes if they had been closed. And maybe if you'd like, You could write down a word or two or perhaps an insight that arose for you during this practice. Come back to this practice as often as you need. Each time you do, You will be strengthening your ability to pause, To replenish, And to respond with greater balance, More Authenticity. What we do often tends to become a habit. So by practicing this, You'll be making it easier to access the resilient version of yourself when life becomes challenging. Thank you so much for taking this time for yourself today. And thank you for having me lead you through this practice. Be well today.