Welcome to this session where we will bring some calm to our nervous system and lovingly begin to face our fears or something you are currently struggling with.
When we are overcome by anxiety,
Fear,
Or a current challenge,
It can often be difficult to take the first step to use tools we have to try to overcome these emotions.
Let's aim to do that here,
Today,
Together.
Find a place to sit or lay down comfortably where you will be undisturbed for the next short while and take a moment to get as comfortable as possible.
This practice is meant to be accessible to anyone,
But if something doesn't feel right in your body,
Take some slow breaths and join in again whenever you feel.
If it feels okay for you,
Shut down the eyes,
Begin to breathe in and out of the nose,
And simply observe your breath.
Not trying to change anything,
Just noticing,
Perhaps becoming aware of its speed and depth.
Maybe you notice that the breath seems a bit shallow or rushed,
And that it feels comforting to you to extend the inhales and exhales just a little bit more.
Let's purposefully deepen the next inhale,
Feeling the belly expand,
And then lengthen the next exhale,
Slow and controlled,
While feeling the belly deflate.
Again,
Take a deep inhale through the nose,
Perhaps holding the breath at the top for a few seconds,
And then a slow,
Controlled exhale.
And once more,
Inhaling to the top,
Hold,
And release,
Slow and controlled.
Come back to your natural breath.
Let's begin this session by welcoming some relaxation into the physical body,
And then we will tune into the emotional body.
These next exercises are simple tools you can use at any time to help calm the nervous system.
First,
Let's open the mouth wide and move the jaw gently from side to side,
Helping to release any tension we may be holding there.
Then,
Let's stretch out the face muscles by first squishing the face inwards,
And then stretching outwards,
Stretching into the cheek and facial muscles by moving your mouth and jaw around.
Next,
With the eyes shut,
Bring your awareness to the eyebrows and forehead,
And try to relax the muscles there just a little bit more.
Then bringing your awareness to the entire face,
Letting the muscles of the forehead,
Cheeks,
And jaw all relax.
On your next inhale,
Bring the shoulders up towards the ears,
And on an exhale,
Let them relax fully,
Letting any tension melt away.
Once more,
Inhaling the shoulders up towards the ears,
And on an exhale,
Relaxing them fully.
Now,
Take your right index finger and bring it up just below the top of your right ear,
Into the upper groove of the ear,
And begin to massage in very gentle circles,
More thinking of moving the skin around rather than pushing.
Release the arm down,
And then take the left index finger,
Finding the upper groove of your left ear,
And again,
Massaging in very gentle circles.
Keep the jaw and shoulders relaxed.
Now,
Let's take the fingertips of both hands and tap them gently and lovingly back and forth across the chest,
And then up and down the sternum.
Relax the arms down,
Come back to your comfortable position,
And let's begin to tune into the emotional state of the body.
As you rest here comfortably,
I invite you to allow whatever feelings you may be struggling with to show up and to honor those feelings.
If there is fear,
Or anxiety,
Or a sadness present,
Instead of trying to push that emotion away,
Perhaps you welcome it in with compassion.
Acknowledge it,
Allow it to be there,
And invite it to move through you.
Whatever you are struggling with right now will eventually pass and no longer be present.
In acknowledging and accepting this current situation,
Maybe something else will show up alongside it.
Perhaps courage,
Strength,
Or trust.
Both can be present at the same time while we face a difficult challenge here and now,
Or ahead of us.
When you think of or acknowledge this difficult emotion,
Is there somewhere in the physical body that it shows up?
Perhaps the heart space,
Solar plexus,
Throat?
If so,
And if it feels right to you,
Place one or both hands on that space,
Or feel free to keep the arms relaxed.
And let's take some deep,
Slow breaths together.
On the inhale,
Thinking to yourself,
I breathe love into this space.
And on the exhale,
Thinking,
I welcome these feelings to pass through.
Take five breaths like this at your own pace.
Inhaling,
I breathe love into this space.
Exhaling,
I welcome these feelings to pass through.
When you are finished,
Relax the arms and come back to your natural breath.
Be gentle on yourself,
No matter what is showing up here.
Facing our fears is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do.
And no matter how challenging or scary it may feel,
Remind yourself how brave you are for doing just that here today.
Let's close the practice by bringing the palms together in front of the heart and rubbing them to create some warmth.
Then place the palms over the eyes and roll outwards with a bit of gentle pressure.
And then with the palms,
Massage across the forehead,
Cheeks,
And jaw.
Relax the arms down,
And once more,
Connect to the breath,
Just noticing.
Of course,
It takes time to move through some of life's biggest challenges.
By helping to calm the nervous system and bringing some gentle awareness to the emotional system,
Perhaps you can help yourself move through a little more quickly.
Come back to this practice anytime,
Maybe noticing that some days feel a little lighter and a little easier than others.
Thanks for sitting with me.
