Hello and welcome to this guided meditation.
My name's James and today I'm going to be taking you through a practice that's all about reconnecting to your inner sense of power,
Resilience and strength.
Now those of you that have come across my meditations before will know that I'm a big advocate of nervous system attunement and regulation,
And beginning to relate to ourselves from a greater sense of softness and self-compassion,
Whether that's towards what's happening in our mind or in our physical body.
But I'm also aware through my own experience that a hyper focus on this kind of work and a hyper focus on our internal world and nervous system can be a slippery slope.
And I found myself at the bottom of that slope many times before where I've ended up feeling a sense of real fragility in myself.
A sense that I cannot handle what I'm experiencing or the outside world even.
And it leads to a pattern of being fearful and timid.
And my world coming a little bit smaller.
And so if you find yourself in that place or a flavour of that place,
I'm hoping that this practice will be a counterbalance to remind you of the resilience you have inside the capability of your nervous system to handle what's ahead of you.
And just to rediscover that feeling of strength.
Can do in your mind and your body.
So find yourself a nice comfortable spot to do this meditation.
If it's accessible to you,
I'd encourage you to be seated or to be upright in some way.
But of course,
If that's not available,
Then you can do whatever is best for you and your body today.
Wherever you land,
Beginning by finding a grounding,
An anchor.
Maybe noticing the feeling of your feet on the ground or the support beneath you or what's against the back of your body.
Sense that you're connected to something and as you lean into that connection you can just let go of any surplus tension you're holding in your body knowing that there's something else to take it for you.
Just a little softening as we arrive.
And before we flow into the main part of this meditation,
Let's just create a little bit of space together in the breath and the body.
So with me,
You're going to be taking five nice deep breaths.
It's going to be in through the nose and out through the mouth,
But we're going to Breathe in with two sips of air.
So with me,
Breathing in through your nose all the way to the top.
And then just take an extra sip of air through the nose at the very top before letting it all out through your mouth and a nice big sigh.
Again in through the nose all the way to the top and then just taking a tiny extra bit of air and letting it all go on the exhale,
Releasing.
And flowing through that three more times by yourself.
Really letting everything go on the exhale,
Creating space,
Leaving behind what's come before.
And from this grounded place and this spacious place,
Just allow your mind to wander to the past and reflect on a time when You really showed resilience.
Maybe a time you got through something really difficult or challenging.
Maybe you achieve something unexpected.
Or just survive despite it all.
Something that on reflection you're really proud of,
You're really.
.
.
Villeneuve-Saint-Germain did that.
I got through that.
So just see what comes to mind and just.
.
.
Stay with that for a moment.
Seeing what you notice about that time putting yourself back in that moment.
And as you do that,
Just notice where you feel it in your body.
How does that experience or that series of experiences live within your physical body and sensation.
What are the characteristics it holds?
Is it a sense of your shoulders being back?
Is it a sense of strength in some part of your body?
Is it an openness,
A power,
A posture?
Or a sense of energy moving somewhere in your body.
Whatever it is,
Just invite it in now.
Breathe it into your being in this moment.
Noticing how this energy,
This feeling of resilience,
Of power,
Strength,
How does it want to express itself through you?
And letting it move if you need to.
Adopt a new posture.
Just feel that energy moving within you.
And as you do that,
Let's anchor this.
So maybe placing a hand on a part of your body,
Or maybe it's your feet on the ground,
Or maybe it's something to do with the sensation.
But creating an anchor so that you know how you can revisit this feeling or remember this feeling.
A somatic reminder of your strength and your power.
Something you can revisit and come back to and then taking another.
Nice long deep breath through the nose and sighing out through the mouth again just to release that feeling for a moment,
That memory.
Coming back to that grounding beneath you.
Now allowing your mind to wander again but this time to A situation where perhaps you have felt slightly overwhelmed in your nervous system or fearful of something you're about to engage in or do.
But where you got through it and actually you surprised yourself,
You anticipated the difficulty,
The challenge,
But.
.
.
Your nervous system readjusted.
And you had a more nourishing and enjoyable experience than you thought you might.
Something that shows you that our predictions or our alarm system and our nervous system isn't always correct.
And again,
Allow that feeling into your body.
What does it feel like to know that you can do things you didn't expect.
Your nervous system is flexible and learning and sometimes it's you as the adult that needs to show it the way.
Again,
Noticing the characteristics of this feeling,
This memory.
How it wants to express and be held in your body.
And again finding somewhere to anchor this.
Part of your body,
Physical touch,
A posture,
Remembering it,
Feeling it,
Being able to return to it.
Anchoring it in some way.
And then again a nice deep breath in through the nose all the way to the top.
An extra sip of air and just releasing on the exhale,
Letting all that go.
And now from this place of feeling more connected to your inner sense of resilience and power and capability,
Allowing your mind to wander to the rest of your day,
Your week.
Maybe something you've got coming up soon.
I'm just noticing how maybe you feel a little differently about it now.
Maybe observing that as you flow into that.
Time and that activity that you're able to hold yourself a little differently.
Maybe there's different behaviors or actions that you want to take.
And just noticing as you visualize what's ahead of you.
How it feels to have that balance of that self-compassion,
That connection to yourself,
But also that.
Power and strength in what you can do and what you're capable of.
And that perhaps your nervous system isn't as fragile as you think it is.
And knowing that through this time if you ever come across doubt or feeling unsure that you can revisit those anchors or this practice to support you.
So allowing yourself a final moment to look ahead whilst connected to that somatic sense in your body that you've explored and those anchors.
And taking a few final breaths just to embed that,
Breathing however you want to,
Just a way to invite it in.
And then reconnecting finally with where we started,
What's beneath you,
Feet on the ground,
Here and now,
You in this place,
In this room.
And then whenever you're ready,
Allowing your eyes to open up.
And reorient to your surroundings.
I really hope this practice has given you a resource and a reminder of the power inside of you.
And as ever,
I always love to hear your experience,
So please feel free to let me know in the comments or the ratings and reviews.
And I really hope it supports you through the rest of your day.
All right,
Everyone,
Take care and I'll look forward to sharing another practice with you soon.
