Hello friends,
I am Whitney Korman.
Thank you so much for joining me today for this somatic anxiety release.
You will need possibly two blocks.
That's just to bring the floor up to you.
Maybe a blanket,
And I'm sitting on a meditation cushion,
But it's not necessary.
To give you an overview of what today's practice will look like we're actually going to start standing and that's just going to be a gentle somatic short flow to release what's on top then we'll come down to the floor and then we'll end up on our backs but i find that whenever i have a lot of anxiety the last thing that i want to do is just sit on my cushion and be still So I've really learned that discharging energy in the beginning allows me to find some stillness.
Shortly after that and of course sometimes it takes longer than usual so what we're gonna do is start at the top of our mats I'm gonna move my cushion until the end So coming towards the front of your mat,
You might keep your feet about,
I don't know,
Shoulder distance apart.
And I already am kind of rocking from side to side.
That's just kind of natural for what I'm needing today.
And you might place a hand on your heart and a hand on your belly.
Certainly not necessary.
And then maybe your eyes open,
Maybe they're closed,
Maybe in between,
Just a soft gaze.
And this gentle motion rocking from side to side might feel nice.
Let your knees be nice and soft.
And as you're rocking from side to side Just a reminder that in this practice and in any practice,
You get to choose the pace.
The intensity.
And it's all about being intuitive in a way to where you're really listening to your body.
And this is a practice of turning our attention.
N word.
And when we're filled with anxiety,
Of course,
We're sitting in the mind kind of ruminating,
But our energy is reaching out.
And so let's bring it back in.
You might start to circle the hips.
You could even figure eight the hip.
And then as you're doing this,
As you're moving in whatever way feels right for you.
Notice how the contact of your feet against the earth changes.
Notice how you start to feel pressure maybe in your heels.
Or the edges of your feet.
Notice how the pressure changes throughout your toes.
Switching direction if you're moving in circles.
And then you might just kind of slow it down and you can continue some gentle movement or maybe you find a little bit of stillness.
And maybe just naming what's on top there.
And see if you can name it to where.
You kind of compartmentalize it for a moment.
So you're kind of the observer and you're just accepting what's there,
Just befriending it.
And maybe it loses a little bit of its power now that you're recognizing what's there.
And so the point of today is not to get rid of,
But to work with and to soften.
So you might just start to release your arms from your body.
And you can just let them be heavy and notice as you let them be heavy,
They might want to sway from side to side.
And it's almost as if you're not even moving them.
And as they're moving from side to side,
You might encourage some bilateral stimulation by crossing the arms in opposite directions.
Across your body.
This is really nice for balancing the brain.
You might start to cross them upwards a little bit.
And then maybe back down.
And then just kind of letting them slow down a little bit at a time.
And maybe they come to stillness or maybe they still rock a little bit.
And now take a deep breath into your nose.
And exhale it out.
He couldn't even allow some sound.
To join the exhale,
Breathe in deep.
Fill your feet.
Exhale it out.
And one more for good measure.
Inhale.
And exhale Notice any settling.
Even if it's 1%.
And now reach your arms up overhead and just take a nice long stretch.
Maybe it's morning time,
Afternoon,
Or even evening.
And then you'll soften your knees and.
.
.
And just let the arms kind of swing back.
And then inhale,
Come on up.
Exhale.
And now keep it going again at your own pace.
And maybe your breath is really soft and long.
Or maybe it's a little bit more intense,
Like,
Ha!
And just working with wherever you're at today.
Just meeting yourself right where you're at.
Just a couple more here.
Ah.
All right,
Inhale.
And then exhale let's go ahead and fold it down let your hands just trace down your legs And then inhale and come up halfway.
If you need to,
You could take blocks.
We're going to step one foot back.
And you can take baby steps back.
And then speaking of a baby.
We're going to drop the back knee so slow as if you're lying down a sleeping baby.
Inhale,
Let your heart come forward.
Exhale,
Rocket back.
Your exhale can be through your nose or your mouth.
And then we're just going to rock back and forth.
Your own pays But for this movement,
See if you can practice it like 70%.
Release your jaw.
Release the need to perform.
And really the slower you go with this kind of movement,
The more you can feel in your body.
There's one or two more depending on your pace.
I've got one more.
And the next time you come forward,
Go ahead and lift your back knee.
And then baby steps are a giant step forward.
Inhale when you get there.
And exhale,
Fold.
Inhale,
Come up halfway,
Soften your knees here.
Walk your blocks or your hands forward a bit.
And then you're halfway here,
Kind of lean forward just a bit and you might lift your heels a little or a lot.
And then drop your heels down and fold.
You might even lift your toes and rock back a little.
But your knees have a micro bend at the very least.
Inhale,
Come forward.
Lift your heels.
Snap,
Crackle,
Pop.
And then lower your heels,
Lift your toes,
And fold.
One more.
And exhale.
As you're folding here just pause.
And you might shake your head,
Yes and no.
Notice if you want to sigh or maybe even yawn.
This is a sign of your nervous system settling,
Shifting.
And then lift halfway.
This time we'll step the other foot back.
So you might scoot your hands or your blocks back.
Baby steps,
Giant step back.
And then lower that back knee nice and soft.
When you get there,
Lift your heart,
Roll your shoulders back a bit.
And then exhale and rock back.
Inhale forward.
Exhale,
Rock back.
And now off you go at your own pace.
Notice if you could practice at that 70%.
So practicing behind your edge.
Going slow so you can feel.
And notice if you get a little more out of what you're doing.
Being more intentional and not going to 110% if that is your habit.
I have to work really hard at this one.
All right.
So I'm going to go ahead and come forward and we're not going to go back up.
That's the last of our standing sequence.
And just kind of drag this foot back.
Let your knees be a little bit wide.
We'll move into a child's pose version of your version.
But see if it feels okay to allow your belly to come in between your thighs.
You can stretch your arms forward.
You could even stack under your forehead,
Which is what I personally like.
When you get to where you're going to,
Take a deep breath in and let your belly expand.
Just relax your belly.
Relax your pelvic floor.
Exhale the way that feels right for you.
Twice more on your own.
Now just relax with this for a moment.
Let yourself.
Again,
Notice any settling,
Any shifting.
Even one,
Five percent.
Let's go ahead and come on up.
Close your knees and then just let your hips slide off to one side and bring your legs forward.
Just going to keep my blanket there but you could always move yours if it's a little thicker Let's roll down nice and slow.
Draw your knees to your chest You can be still or you can rock from side to side,
Maybe even take the knees into circles.
And just like we started our practice with feeling our feet,
Now feel your back.
Your sacrum.
And every time it makes more contact with the earth,
Just notice.
And switch direction if you haven't already and you're doing knee circles.
And when you feel evened out,
Go ahead and bring the knees back to center.
And this time we'll lift the legs and the arms up.
Take a deep breath in.
And then exhale and just feel the whole back of you release into the earth.
Let her hold you.
And just notice,
Does this feel like self-care?
To even imagine the earth holding you as you might be holding others up.
Stay like this or you might just gently roll your wrists and your ankles.
You might roll them the other way.
You can stay with this or maybe just some light shakes of the arms.
And the legs.
Just encouraging energy flow.
And then bring your knees to your chest.
Very,
Very slowly start to drop your feet to the earth and just one part of the bottoms of your feet at a time.
And then we'll take the feet about mat width.
Take your arms and kind of a hug position so you could start by grabbing onto forearms or kind of your elbows there.
We'll drop the knees to,
Say,
The right side and let your arms go to the left.
You can let your head turn with your arms.
And then come through center.
Other side,
Knees to the left,
Arms to the right,
Head to the right.
And just kind of keep going at your own pace.
If you need to,
You could scoot your feet towards the front of your mat to take pressure off the knees.
And now if you want to,
You could hold on one side.
And instead of your arms going in the same direction,
You could take your arms overhead,
Maybe hold on to your hands.
And then bring the knees towards the center and switch sides.
And then again,
Bring your knees towards the center.
Maybe a hand to the heart and a hand to the belly.
You could keep your feet wide and then let the knees rock in.
Just notice how that feels.
Roll your shoulders back a little bit so the shoulder blades lay flat.
Take a deep breath in.
Ah,
Inside out.
And now as we're nearing the end of our class,
You could end your class like this.
Maybe you stretch your legs out.
Your hands could stay on your body.
They could stretch out to the sides.
And now.
.
.
You just lay on the floor.
Sometimes we need to move our bodies to release anxiety and big emotions.
Sometimes try just laying on the floor.
Nothing scripted,
Just laying on the floor.
And see what happens.
And as you're lying here again,
Notice which parts of you make the most contact with the earth.
Notice if your shoulders or your hips or somewhere else feel uneven and let them be uneven.
If racing thoughts start to come back into your mind.
See if you can set them aside for the next few minutes.
Maybe you kind of.
Tie him up in a box with a pretty bow.
And then instead,
Could you imagine a big,
Beautiful blue sky?
You might notice birds flying overhead.
Clouds in the sky changing their shape.
Maybe it's your favorite person that is smiling really big in front of you.
Notice how you have the capacity.
To hold both big emotions and Remember joy.
It is possible to hold both.
Can you relax even 5% more?
If you like to stay a little bit longer.
Please do maybe just turn off the video.
Otherwise,
Start to rub the pads of your fingers against each other.
Against your palms.
Wiggle your toes so they all touch each other And then bring your palms together and start to rub them back and forth,
Rub them in circles.
Create some warm And then cover your eyes.
Take a deep breath into your belly.
Let it expand.
And exhale.
On your next breath in.
Open your eyes in your palms.
And then you might release your hands from your face.
If your knees are not bent,
Go ahead and bend them and slowly,
Softly.
Lay your feet down onto the earth.
Bring your knees to your chest.
Maybe a rock back and forth.
And then rolling to either side.
Allow your arm to make a pillow for your head.
And just pause in this fetal position.
And then we'll take the top hand and allow it to help us come on up.
Find your way to a seated position.
We'll take a moment to close.
Once you get there,
Take a nice deep breath in.
Roll your shoulders up towards your ears.
And then just let them drop down And then placing your hands somewhere,
Maybe on your heart.
Maybe your belly.
Just a little gentle pressure into the heart and the belly.
We'll end our class in gratitude.
Gratitude for making the choice to come to your mat today.
Gratitude for this community,
An insight timer.
And gratitude for taking the time to align yourself for inner peace within.
And inner peace without.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your day or your night,
Wherever you're at.
Namaste.
Thank you for joining me.
