10 Min Calming Nervous System Reset

***If seated in a chair, please sit at the edge of the seat so you have room to move a bit.

This short seated (on floor OR chair) practice was designed to provide a brief, but effective break from what might have you activated in some way. That being said, the tools in this practice are only suggestions. Change them up by changing your pace, intensity, breath, etc. Make it your own. Nervous system regulation is learning how to read your body's cues and intuit what might bring it Closer to regulation. We're not trying to fix or do away with what's there. We're trying to work with what's there by meeting ourselves exactly where we are. Your emotions and your state are information, not your enemy.

Transcript

Hi, Everyone. My name's Whitney. Welcome to your short, Calming nervous system reset. For today's practice, You can either be seated on the floor or be seated in a chair. If you're on the floor, You might want to have a couple of blankets. Underneath your seat. You could have a cushion, Just depending on what kind of cushion it is. So with that, We'll just take a few seconds to come into our space. So you can have your eyes open or closed. I'm gonna take my hands to my heart, But wherever on your body feels good for you. Eyes open or closed, Go ahead and take a deep breath in. Exhale it out your mouth. Again. Feel your shoulders drop, Your jaw release, Your seat soften. And one more on your own. And just briefly here, Feel your body here in your space. And you might just. . . Think of a couple of words that represent kind of what you came into your practice with. Absolutely no judgment. I'm just letting you know where you're at and kind of how you want to move today. Alright. If your eyes are closed, Go ahead and open. And you can just take your hands down to your thighs or your knees here. And we're just going to begin to rock from side to side. And start to get a sense of your seat and the surface underneath you. And as you start to move in just small motions, Small rocks, Or even bigger ones, Your seat can keep in contact with the surface underneath you, Or you might pick up one sits bone and then the other. I call this walking on your seat. And as you do this, Just start to allow your body to become a little softer, A little loosey-goosey. And you can keep with this rocking motion, Or you might start to make some circles here. And they can be smaller circles. They can be a little bigger. And as you move back. You might even start to kind of round and as you come forward you can kind of Have the heart a little more open. And if you're still rocking from side to side, Just kind of moving in a way that feels appropriate for you. If you're moving in circles, Go ahead and change direction. And start to make contact with your breath once again. And then once you feel evened out with wherever you're at, Start to kind of come back to the center. And come back gradually. So the rocks become a little smaller, The circles become a little smaller. Until they're like so tiny that an outsider might not be able to see that you're moving. And then once you find some stillness, Take a breath in, Maybe your hands to heart and belly. And exhale, Make your exhale really long. And then place your hands on your knees. On your next inhale, Kind of lean forward. And on your exhale, Round and rock back. You might tuck your chin to your chest. And then just at the pace of your own breath, Rocking forward. And then exhale and rocking back. Again. Just going at your own pace. The movements are small or big or medium. And as you're breathing and you're moving in your own way, You have the option to start to add a little sound on your exhale. And don't overthink it and just try it out. Hmm. Inhale. Hmm. So we're just starting out with kind of a side. So think about all the ways that you sigh throughout the day. And you may not even realize that you're doing it, But we use size to. Release stress. To bring us into a different, More calming nervous system state. Or it could even be just like. I, Um. . . Assign that you're feeling relieved. Think about whenever you. . . Crawl into bed at night, And it's like, Ah, Finally. All right, Once you feel evened out. Go ahead and come back to center. And again, Let's just pause here and notice. Notice if you can access a deeper breath. You might even feel a yawn coming on. These are all signs of regulation as well. And then for the last part of our practice, Go ahead and open your eyes and you can take your fingertips down to the floor if you're seated on the floor or even to the sides of your chair. On your next inhale, Circle your arms out and overhead. As you exhale, Press the hands down in front of your body slowly. And as they move in front of your body, Imagine each part of your body releasing tension. And then inhale, Reach out in front of you, Gather whatever you need today to feel more balanced. And then exhale, Arms out and down. Come back to beginning. And then we'll begin again. Inhale. Exhale, Hands pressed down in front of the body. Releasing. Washing away. Any surface tension. And then inhale, Scoop up courage, Love, Strength. Calming energy. And exhale. Inhale, Circle out and up. Exhale, Press down, Release, Relax, Calm. Inhale, Gather. Exhale, Press out and down. And let's do a couple more together on your own. Change the pace if you need to. Exhale, Press down, Relax your face. Your neck and shoulders. Your belly, Your seat, Your legs. Inhale, Gather. Exhale, Circle out and down. Last one, Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. And exhale. Good, And then again. Place your hands somewhere on your body just to connect. Take a deep breath in. And a long, Complete exhale out. And just pause, Take a notice of any shifts or settling. And thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you feel calmer. I hope you feel more grounded and I'll see you next time. Take care.

Reviews

Lovely, as usual.
I liked that last section where you were using a qigong influenced flow with the breath.