Somatic Healing Meditation: Releasing Triggers

So hi everyone and welcome.

Now today we'll explore something that I've very much witnessed in my own life and something that I see often in the journeys of people that I work with.

Something I feel is very human and very natural.

How the past can continue to show up in our present.

Now you may have noticed this too for yourself.

That you're going about your life and you're perhaps facing a situation which may feel ordinary to another person.

Anybody looking from the outside may say that hey this is such a small thing.

Why is this bothering you so much?

Why is this triggering you so much?

And your reaction or how you feel in that particular situation is disproportionate.

Maybe you overreact or maybe you shut down.

Maybe you panic.

And deep inside you do realize the reaction that I'm having right now does not really belong to this moment.

And this is often the first clue.

It's the first whisper from my body that something deeper,

Something older is happening under the surface.

Now all of us carry memories in our body,

In our nervous system and in our subconscious mind.

Sometimes some things in your present life,

They may mirror a certain experience from the past.

And then suddenly the wound that was lying dormant in you becomes active.

Now this is not your fault.

This is not a sign of weakness.

But it is simply an old unhealed imprint resurfacing in your life.

And what does it need?

It needs our presence.

Now this is an example.

It's not the best example but I often use this with clients that just imagine for a second that the very first movie that you ever saw in a theater was a horror film.

You were really young,

Three,

Four years old and it terrified you.

Now you couldn't sleep for a few days but time passed,

Your nightmares went away,

You came back to yourself.

Now that experience probably was stored somewhere in your nervous system and that might linger in your life for decades if it's not seen or heard or made aware.

Now years later,

Even when you walk into a theater,

Maybe see a comedy film,

Each time your body begins to tense,

Your heart might race and you have absolutely no idea why that's happening.

This is where we bring in the principle that the body remembers.

So the experience that I had as a child which was left unhealed,

Unprocessed,

Is still very much in my body.

Not only that,

It has been with me for a good few years under the surface.

And my body becoming tense in the theater or my heartbeat becoming fast is just my body confirming that there is something going on there.

Now coming,

Bringing this into the present in the same way,

Life offers us countless theaters,

Meaning there are moments,

There are places,

There are people that feel familiar but are not the same.

But our system responds as though they are and this in clinical terms is what's defined as trauma.

Sometimes complex trauma,

Sometimes simple trauma,

Sometimes there is one experience,

Sometimes there is multiple experience that have stayed with me.

Now from a holistic lens,

We can simply look at this and say there is a part of me that still feels unsafe.

There is a part of me that's frozen in time.

There is a part of me that never got to complete the experience.

And the reason it's re-emerging now is to be seen.

Not to frustrate you,

Not to limit you,

Not to sabotage you,

But just to be seen.

Now this is something we can explore.

Instead of saying why am I still like this,

We can maybe bring our mind to this statement instead.

That there is a part of me calling for my attention and I'm being shown where I still need healing.

The invitation is rather than fighting what's triggering me,

What if I turned towards it?

Rather than fixing it,

What if we simply listened?

Now there is a powerful shift that happens when we stop trying to fix that unsafe,

Scared part of us and instead just go and sit beside it.

Now the same way you wouldn't walk up to a frightened child and say stop being scared,

You shouldn't do that to yourself either.

So you'd sit down next to that scared child,

You just stay close and you'd let your presence be the medicine.

And I'll say this again,

You let your presence be the medicine.

Remember healing is not about erasing the fear but it's about creating conditions of safety so that the fear no longer feels the need to protect you.

So today we'll go on this journey together and in this journey we'll try to meet the part or parts of us which possibly still live in the past.

Maybe that part of you formed a limiting belief,

A reaction,

A habit.

So we'll today try and meet that parts or parts in our body.

We will not force,

We will not analyze,

We will simply listen and we'll bring that part into your awareness.

Once again I am going to journey today to meet a part of me which feels frightened,

Which feels unsafe.

I am only doing this journey to go and listen,

Sit next to that part.

I will not ask this part,

This pattern,

This belief,

This behavior to change.

I will unconditionally listen,

Watch,

Observe.

Now let's begin by finding a quiet space,

Somewhere you can sit or lie down comfortably and if your body allows at this stage you can gently close your eyes.

You can let your hands rest gently by your side.

Let's bring our attention to our breath.

You can just let my words guide you from this moment on and trust that anything that shows up for you today is for your highest good and that is possibly exactly what you need to sense,

See or feel.

Now if your body allows and try breathing in through your nose and gently breathing out through your mouth and we'll do this again in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Now every breath in you start to feel more and more and more relaxed.

As you inhale you're falling deeper and deeper and deeper into presence,

Into softness,

Into yourself.

As you continue to breathe I want you to now feel your body supported by the earth,

By the floor,

By the chair,

By the mat,

By gravity.

Just let yourself be held and now you're continuing to fall deeper into your body.

Any thoughts that you have right now,

Honor them,

Welcome them but just don't engage with them.

Any physical sensations that you have right now,

Honor them,

Watch them,

Don't ask them to go.

Everything can stay exactly as it is right now.

I'm aware of my body,

I'm aware of the floor holding me,

I'm aware of my breath,

Maybe aware of silence around me and my voice.

Don't judge anything,

Just observe,

Watch and as you do this you start to fall deeper,

Deeper and deeper into parts of your subconscious,

Into that part where you can let your body's wisdom guide you.

From this state where you are now,

Now let's bring to mind a situation in your life,

Possibly where you feel emotionally overwhelmed.

You can call it a situation where my reaction feels intense or it's a situation,

A person,

A place that triggers me.

Each time I'm in this situation,

Each time I see this,

Each time I see them,

Something takes over,

Something outside of my control takes over.

Just let it come to you,

Don't force it.

Even if you don't have anything consciously,

Trust that your body knows,

Just be with the process.

Now I may have something in my conscious awareness,

That this person,

This place,

This thing,

This environment brings out this in me and this,

We are calling this something that just comes up,

Takes over.

It comes up from my subconscious mind and all of a sudden I get really angry or all of a sudden I fall into being somebody that I'm not and whatever I do in those moments it's not in line with my character.

An old part of me takes over,

An old part of me takes over.

We are telling the body now that in this moment I allow myself to feel that part of me.

In this moment I allow myself to fully feel that part of me and as I've said these words just sit with this inquiry.

Maybe you feel a tightening in your chest,

Maybe there is a sensation in your stomach,

Maybe I want to stand up and run or something else.

Just wait,

Watch and observe.

This is the language of your nervous system and you are possibly now tapping where that old wound may live in your body.

Now at this stage if you have a place in your body where you're being guided to,

I'm gonna gently invite you,

If it's comfortable,

To place one hand over that part of your body.

Now if I'm feeling tightness in my chest,

I'm gonna put my hand on my chest and I'm gonna know deep down that this is that part of me that had that unpleasant experience or experiences and this is the part of me that takes over each time I'm in this situation.

This is what I call the part of me that still feels unsafe and as I'm saying these words you may start to feel the intensity of this slightly increasing.

Remember that you're connected to the floor and you are safe.

Nothing will show up today that will overwhelm you.

I allow myself to feel you fully and completely.

Now you're telling your body's wisdom now,

But this part can now take form.

You may now start to see,

Sense or feel more.

You may get a memory,

A feeling,

An image or a sensation.

You may see yourself as a younger version of you.

If there is anything your body's wisdom wants you to see today with regards to what this is,

We are now allowing that information to come in.

Let it emerge and unfold.

Just keep on holding that or be there with your awareness and breathe.

Now whatever has showed up for you right now,

You may either be seeing yourself at a particular age,

You may have a memory,

A vision or you may just be feeling something in your body.

Anything,

There is no right or wrong way.

Now very softly,

Gently we are going to repeat these words.

You can either say them out loud or silently or you can just receive my words.

You are not alone anymore.

You don't have to protect me.

I am here now and I see you.

You are not alone anymore.

You don't have to protect me.

I am here now and I see you.

Now let these words land into your body like medicine.

Let this part of you feel your presence.

That's all we are here to do,

Your presence.

And now,

Just imagine that you are breathing a sense of safety into this area,

Into this part,

Into this vision.

Imagine breathing a sense of safety around this part.

Maybe it's a golden light,

A soft warm golden light.

And with each breath,

Just imagine some softening,

Some letting go and some trusting.

At this stage,

You may well feel some emotions.

You may feel peace or you may feel nothing at all.

All of it is okay.

All of it is okay.

All of it is okay.

Now gently we'll speak again to the part and say,

You are welcome to come home now.

If you choose,

You are welcome to come home now.

If you choose,

You are welcome to come home now.

You are welcome to come home now.

Now we're just going to sit in silence for a few moments.

And remember,

You tapped into this part and you've made that invitation.

If it feels safe now to leave some of its pain,

Some of its fear,

That may start to happen in your body.

If it doesn't happen today,

We are not going to force it.

This journey today was about meeting,

Listening,

Understanding,

Not fixing.

Now at this stage,

If you choose to be here longer,

You can pause this meditation and continue to let this integration happen.

Continue to let the feelings and sensations in your body settle down.

Now let's slowly,

Gently begin to return.

I'm going to start to feel my breath again.

I'm going to feel the ground beneath me.

I'm going to wiggle my fingers,

Wiggle my toes.

I'm going to take one final breath now.

And on the exhale,

I'm just going to say,

Thank you.

Now I can put both my hands on my heart center or the center of my chest.

I can very gently open my eyes.

Now we thank the part of you that showed up today.

We thank your body for remembering.

And we thank the universe or light for bringing this to your awareness today.

Remember,

You don't need to fix anything.

You just need to return to that place within you.

That already knows that you are home.

Now you can return to this journey as many times as you need to.

Most of us have things,

Experiences in our timeline,

Which need our attention,

Which are possibly still unhealed and unprocessed.

And this process is about going back to those places,

Sitting with them,

Making them feel safe and seen.

So they can slowly come back to us.

So thank you everyone for joining and Namaste.