A warm welcome.
If you've ever felt like your body sends you either too much information or not quite enough,
This practice is for you.
There's an expression worth knowing.
If you know one autistic person,
You know one autistic person.
Sensory profile,
Special interests,
Executive function,
All of it varies enormously from person to person.
But one thread that does tend to run through much of the autistic experience is a different relationship with two of the body's lesser-known senses.
Interoception and proprioception.
Interoception is your sense of what's happening inside your body.
Hunger,
Heartbeat,
Tension,
The early signs of an emotion before you've named it.
Proprioception is your sense of where your body is in space.
How your limbs are positioned,
How much pressure you're applying,
Where your edges are.
For many autistic people,
These senses can run differently to what's considered typical.
Maybe hunger doesn't register until it's suddenly urgent.
Maybe the early signs of overwhelm,
A racing heart,
A tightening jaw,
Tense shoulders,
Go unnoticed until.
.
.
You're already deep in fight or flight.
And with proprioception running a little differently too,
Busy or crowded spaces can feel disorientating or overwhelming.
Or it might mean bumping into things more than you'd expect.
On the sensory side,
It's common to feel real delight in certain textures,
Sounds or pressures.
And real distress in others.
Loving the weight of a heavy blanket but unable to bear the seam in a sock.
This meditation uses proprioception and interoception directly as tools to help regulate your nervous system.
And to practice feeling sensation in your body without it tipping you into fight or flight or freeze or shutdown.
Okay,
So let's do this.
This practice is best done sitting in a chair with your feet on the floor.
So if you're snuggled up on the couch or in bed,
Sorry,
You might need to shift your posture and position.
Eyes can be open or closed,
Whatever feels good for you today.
Really feeling the support beneath you.
The surface that's holding your weight.
And now crossing your arms across your chest and gently squeezing down each arm.
So left hand is squeezing right arm.
And right hand is squeezing left arm.
From shoulders all the way down the arms until you reach your wrists.
Doing this sequence a few times,
Really feeling into the gentle pressure.
Choosing a pressure that feels good for you.
This nervous system practice is deeply regulating.
It sends a powerful message to your nervous system.
This is my body.
These are my edges.
I am safe in my body and in my environment.
Letting your hands rest in your lap or beside you.
And just noticing any sensations.
And now moving your awareness all the way down to your feet.
Noticing any sensory information at the bottom of your feet.
Can you feel the texture of your socks or the feel of your shoes?
How is the temperature of your feet?
Perhaps you can also feel the surface beneath your feet,
Carpet,
Floorboards.
As a way of increasing sensation safely,
Gently pressing your feet into the floor.
Focusing on your toes.
Your heels.
Now if it feels okay for you,
Rubbing your left foot back and forth on the floor three times.
Notice sensations.
Now rub the right foot back and forth on the floor three times.
Notice sensations.
Can you take one deep breath here,
Allowing this sense of waking up to land within your feet.
Letting the feet relax and bringing your awareness to the back of your legs.
Noticing any sensations as clothing touches the back of your legs or the chair.
If it feels okay for you,
Experiment with turning the volume up on your legs.
Perhaps flexing your calf muscles or pressing the back of your thighs into the chair.
Gentle sustained pressure that feels just right for you.
You might also like to gently rub or massage your thighs,
Shins or calves with your hands as a way of really waking up your physical body.
And cultivating your capacity to be with increased sensation in your body.
Now inviting your attention to move towards your spine.
Noticing sensations here,
Clothing,
The back of the chair.
Noticing also the curvature of your spine.
If you like gently pressing your spine into the chair,
Feeling the points of your spine that experience this increased sensation.
And then relaxing.
Playing with waking up your spine in your own way now.
Perhaps it would feel good to gently press your feet into the floor and let your spine lengthen.
Space being created between every vertebrae.
Muscles in your core engaging.
And resting here in this posture.
Alert.
Gently engaged for three full breaths.
Trusting that this practice has not only regulated your nervous system.
But also helped increase your interoceptive and proprioceptive skills.
Maybe you feel drawn to taking a stretch.
Perhaps you can feel some tingling or sensation in your body.
Does your breath feel deeper or more nourishing?
Do you feel more optimistic?
Energized or alert.
Now that we have returned your body to a more regulated state,
We can invite some affirmations or intentions into our practice.
These land more authentically when we're regulated.
It's like the body can actually hear,
Digest and believe them.
So you can listen to these as words or you can repeat them silently in your mind after me.
I can feel sensation and still feel safe.
I trust my body.
My preferences are valid.
Offering yourself a smile for pressing play on this practice today.
And for expanding your tolerance for touch,
Sensation and body awareness.
Opening your eyes when you're ready.
You might like to save this practice and come back to it any time when your body feels over or under stimulated.
