Hi,
Welcome.
I'm Susan Guttridge,
And I'm really glad to be here with you today.
For this practice,
I'll be sharing an EMDR informed exercise designed to help you clear the emotional residue of your day so you can transition into your home time with more calm,
Clarity,
And presence.
This practice is adapted from the work of Dr.
Laurel Parnell,
Who developed attachment-focused EMDR and actually who I completed my EMDR training with.
This practice includes bilateral stimulation at certain points,
Which is intended to support a sense of balance and calm.
So at certain points in the practice,
You'll hear an audio tone that alternates from one side to the other,
Which will be more immersive if you listen with earbuds or headphones.
No worries if you don't have a set on hand.
I will also be guiding you with bilateral tapping.
To do that,
Simply cross your arms in front of you so that each hand rests on the opposite shoulder.
And then slowly tap back and forth.
Right.
In an easy rhythm at a pace that just feels right for you.
Throughout the practice.
I'll cue you when to begin.
And when to pause.
I think it's worth mentioning that bilateral stimulation isn't for everyone.
So if the sound feels distracting or uncomfortable at any point,
Simply remove your earbuds and follow along with the tapping instead.
You are always in charge of your experience here.
Okay,
Before we get started,
I'll share a bit of information about why this practice can be helpful.
When something stressful happens in the course of our day The emotional part of our brain becomes highly activated so that even after the situation is over,
The nervous system hasn't fully linked the experience with the reality that it's over.
You're safe now.
Cognitively you might know that that's true but somatically your nervous system may still be reeling from having been in a stress response.
Because of this,
The memory of the experience can remain highly emotionally charged,
Showing up as tension,
Irritability,
Replaying thoughts,
Or that feeling of being revved up and on edge.
As we release the day.
And add in bilateral stimulation for helping engage both sides of the brain,
Which supports integration.
It allows the experience to be filed as complete.
Rather than continuing to loop.
In our practice today,
The goal is not to relive your day,
But to review it.
To integrate it and to release it.
You might imagine the mental movie of your day playing out on a television screen,
One you can observe,
But of course not stepped into.
Essentially,
What we are practicing here is focusing only on today to think of it,
Tap it,
And to release it.
Okay,
A couple of.
.
.
Final notes just about the scope of this practice.
Please know that what I'm sharing here is not a therapy session.
This practice is not for processing trauma or for diving deeply into the past.
Instead,
It is designed simply to help your nervous system recognize that today is complete.
As we move through the practice,
Older memories begin to surface or if your level of distress rises above about a six out of ten where one is calm and ten represents the highest level of distress you can imagine feeling,
Please pause.
If that happens,
Open your eyes if they had been closed.
Orient to the room around you,
The space around you.
Take some big,
Slow breaths.
And return your attention to the present moment.
If something from the past does come up.
You could imagine placing it into a container for now,
Perhaps a box or a drawer or a filing cabinet.
Any safe place that you could imagine holding it securely.
This kind of containment imagery isn't about suppressing or ignoring or pushing anything away.
It's about recognizing that some experiences deserve more time,
More care,
More attention than we can give them in this moment.
You can make a plan to return to it later.
Safely and perhaps with the support of somebody you trust or even with a counselor.
For now,
It's okay to let it rest there.
And a final note before we get started.
If something intense did happen to you today,
You don't have to move through that here.
Instead you could choose to simply stay with the rhythm of your breath.
Or the sound of my voice.
Or with the bilateral tapping.
Allowing your body to settle without going into the details.
And if it feels like it needs more attention than we can give it in this moment,
Please do return to it safely and with a support person.
If you're currently experiencing significant trauma symptoms,
Please do consider connecting with somebody who can be there with you through that.
You don't have to do it alone.
When you're ready.
And we'll begin.
All right.
Find a comfortable seated position.
You can keep your eyes open during this practice.
Especially if imagery tends to pull you in deeply.
Take a slow breath in.
And a slightly longer exhale out.
Notice the surface beneath you supporting you.
Your feet solid on the ground.
And if okay,
Take a moment to look around your space and notice a few things around you silently naming and describing them to yourself.
Just.
.
.
A few things you see around you.
This is a grounding practice that works to remind your nervous system that you are here.
In this one moment.
Safe.
In a moment,
You'll hear a sound that alternates back and forth.
As you follow the rhythm,
See if you can allow part of your attention to just notice the tone.
Or you could tap along with me.
While another part of your attention stays aware of your body,
Your breath,
And the space around you.
Just being curious.
The rhythm is simply there to support your nervous system as we move through the practice.
And take a deep breath in.
Exhaling out.
Letting it all go.
Alright,
In a moment,
I'll invite you to lightly review your day from start to finish.
Imagine watching it like a short movie in your mind's eye.
No details from the beginning of your day until now.
Keep it simple,
Without detail.
Scanning through the day.
Starting by noticing the start of the day,
The tasks,
Routines,
Conversations.
Letting the day move past you moment by moment.
As you scan through your day from the start of it to now.
You'll notice that alternating tone in the background,
Helping to support your rhythm and integration or tap along with me.
Okay,
Just picturing the mental movie of your day.
From beginning until now.
And take a deep breath in.
Stopping,
Tapping and exhaling out.
Letting it all go.
Feel your feet connected to the floor.
Your sit bone supported by the chair.
Noticing where you feel any sense of steadiness or support.
As you tapped through the mental movie of your day,
You may have noticed that certain moments felt more charged than others.
Maybe there was one or several or none.
Whatever you noticed is completely okay.
Your day is unique.
If something stood out with emotional charge in your body,
In your emotions.
Or that your thoughts got a bit stuck on.
Choose just one.
Charged moment to focus on.
And begin tapping back and forth with me.
I invite you to bring that moment lightly into your mind's eye.
Again.
As if watching it on a screen,
Not stepping into it.
We are staying firmly anchored in this one moment.
No time travel here.
Noticing where you feel this moment of the day in your body.
Perhaps in your jaw.
Your shoulders.
Your chest or stomach.
And stopping tapping.
Take a deep breath in.
Slightly longer and exhale out.
Letting it all go.
Feeling your feet connected to the floor.
Your sit bones connected in the chair.
Noticing where you feel any sensation of steadiness or support.
The points of connection where your body touches the surface beneath it.
The parts of your body that feel comfortably supported.
Perhaps it's your siblings.
Or your lower back or your upper back even.
Perhaps the back of your head.
Just sensing into those bits of comfort.
Letting them deepen.
For any part of your day that felt more activated.
Just notice that some of it may still be lingering in your body.
Can you give it a little bit more space to move?
Touche.
To soften,
To release.
Even just by 5%.
For now simply staying with that experience is enough.
Tracking its movement.
With curiosity.
Clarity and problem solving can come later.
When your system feels more settled.
If connecting with sensations feels too intense,
Could you practice?
Widening your focus.
Imagine the scene playing on a television in another room.
Private.
At a distance,
The volume turned way down.
Feel your feet flat on the floor.
You could even shuffle them a bit to reconnect with the sensation of the floor beneath you.
You are in control here.
Let's make this practice as safe as it needs to be for you.
All right.
Keeping tapping.
Let the tone support you as you connect with that one moment to add a bit more of an emotional charge.
Noticing what shifts,
What changes.
What moves and settles within your body.
And taking a big breath in.
Stopping,
Tapping,
Letting the mental movie fade.
Exhaling out when it feels right for you,
Letting it all go.
And bring your attention into your body.
Slowly scanning from the top of your head all the way down to your toes.
Asking yourself.
Where did the day land?
If you notice anywhere feels heavy,
Attention.
Tightness.
Rest your awareness there.
And starting tapping.
Again,
Just being curious.
Noticing the sensation shift.
Soften.
Changes.
Temperature change.
A sensation shift.
Just being curious.
There is no rush.
Your system knows how to settle when given the space to do so.
And when given the safety to do so.
And stopping,
Tapping.
Taking a deep breath in.
Exhaling out,
Letting it all go.
Feeling the connection of your feet on the floor.
Here's the bones in the chair you're in.
Just noticing,
Sinking into where you feel.
Any sensation of comfort.
Steadiness,
Or support.
Now let's shift slightly to reflect on one or two moments from your day that reflect something meaningful.
So perhaps that could be something you handled well.
Where you showed up living your values.
A moment where you felt support or connection.
Or that you felt you completed something important.
Take a moment and let that moment come lightly to your mind's eye.
And when you've got it,
Just starting tapping back and forth.
Focusing on that moment.
And Stopping,
Tapping.
Taking a nice deep breath in.
Slightly longer.
Exhale out.
And one more time,
Reflecting on that moment that felt meaningful.
And I invite you to add in a positive cognition that fits for you.
So for example,
I did the best I could.
The day is over now.
Choose the words that feel most true for you.
Something self-referencing,
Something positive.
Let your body register the truth of that statement.
Holding those words.
With that moment in your mind's eye.
With your breath slow and deep.
Starting tapping back and forth.
Repeating those kind words to yourself.
Tapping only as long as they feel positive.
Taking a nice deep breath in.
A long,
Steady breath out.
Letting the day settle.
Can you notice the difference in your body now?
Compared to when you began.
In this practice,
You gave your nervous system an opportunity to move through and relate.
Release the day.
And recognize that it is complete.
You don't need to carry it forward.
As we arrive at the end of our practice,
And as you start to turn towards the rest of your day,
Allowing the workday to be set down.
And your attention to come back to the present.
If there's anything that feels like it's still lingering.
Could you just acknowledge it?
And make a plan to come back to it later when you have the space,
The support if needed.
And the steadiness to do it.
So that for now you can turn towards your day with.
.
.
Calm,
Clarity,
And presence.
Taking one more nice big breath in.
Slightly longer breath out.
You are here.
Your workday is complete.
Allow yourself to rest in that.
Thank you for being here and for giving yourself this time.
Thank you.
Be well.
