Hello and welcome.
So in this practice,
We will be exploring the felt sense of the internal and external boundary field from a somatic perspective.
So let's begin by just taking a moment to arrive to this moment,
To this practice,
However you got here.
And as you're arriving,
You might take a moment to notice things like the contact between your body and what's supporting you.
The chair,
The floor,
The ground beneath you.
And knowing that there's nothing that you need to change or force to make happen.
Just allowing your body and nervous system a few moments to slow down,
Even if it's a bit,
And settle at its own pace.
And if it feels supportive,
You might notice the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Without controlling it,
Just noticing the body breathing itself.
And it might be helpful to just check in and notice what it's like to be in this body today,
In this moment,
Whatever shape or form or condition it is.
Just noticing what it's like to be a body in this space.
Breathing into this body and breathing out from this body.
Making just a little bit more contact with what's here in this moment,
Through this instrument that carries us throughout our days.
And so it's from this place,
This connection to the body,
That we're going to explore the felt experience of boundaries.
But before we begin,
We always start with orienting.
Orienting helps your nervous system register the present moment and that you're safe.
So if it feels comfortable,
Let your eyes just gently look around the space you're in.
Letting the eyes go on a walk about.
Not searching,
But just noticing shapes,
Light,
Colors,
Distance.
You might notice something neutral or mildly pleasant.
And see if you can allow your eyes to rest there for a few seconds or so.
And maybe in that process,
Just noticing how that visual input is landing in your nervous system.
How your nervous system knows,
Oh yeah,
This is okay.
This feels good,
Or this is safe.
And you might take a moment to also notice sounds.
Orienting to your environment through your auditory sense.
You might notice sounds near or sounds far.
And again,
Not searching,
But kind of landing on something that your nervous system says,
Ah,
Yeah,
That's nice.
I'm getting curious about how your nervous system in this moment signals that,
Communicates that to you within your body.
Not making anything happen,
Just noticing.
And when you're ready,
Maybe tuning into your tactile senses,
What you can feel and touch.
Perhaps it's the feeling of air on your skin,
A blanket,
Your back being supported on a comfy chair.
Again,
The question is,
How does your body and your nervous system register that information?
How does it know,
Okay,
Yeah,
This feels good.
This is supportive.
Perhaps breathing into and through that,
If you'd like.
And so starting to come back just to the overall experience of being here.
As we start to gently tiptoe into the main content for this practice.
Before we begin,
Please remember that you are in charge of the pacing.
If anything ever feels too intense,
You can pause,
You can return to orienting,
You can open your eyes or simply rest your hands somewhere supportive.
You have that freedom in this practice and you have choice.
So we are going to explore the concept of boundaries.
It's something so many of us are working with or working through,
Or have had challenges with.
And we'll talk about this a little bit from the mind,
But we're really trying to get into the felt experience of boundary work.
We'll be exploring boundaries through two dimensions.
And that is the external field.
And that is what is outside of your skin,
The room,
The environment,
Other people,
Space,
That thing out there.
And we'll also explore it from the internal field.
And that is what is inside your skin or your bubble of protection.
It's your sensations,
Your impulses,
Your emotions,
Your internal space.
So we're not necessarily analyzing these boundaries psychologically,
We're going to sense into how the body experiences the meeting point between outside and inside.
Because from a somatic perspective,
A boundary just isn't an idea.
We often think it is,
But it's something that your nervous system actually feels.
This was designed this way for survival.
But so we'll be moving gently through sensing the external and sensing the internal,
And noticing how your nervous system organizes around that.
We'll also be working with a little bit of movement here.
But if it feels okay,
And when you're ready,
You might place one or both hands on your chest,
On your body,
Or on your torso,
Or anywhere that feels supportive.
And I'd like to invite you to very gently,
Very tenderly,
Let your attention start to shift inward.
If it feels like too much to go deep in with the sensing,
Just notice the edges,
The boundaries of this space.
We're not searching for anything specific,
We're just noticing what is present here.
Maybe you notice sensations,
Or temperature,
Or a sense of movement,
Or pressure,
Or a heartbeat,
Or a breath,
Perhaps very little.
No right experience here,
Everyone's having different experiences right now.
But we're just sensing the internal field.
Just trying to come into contact,
Or at the very least a recognition of it.
You might even notice the subtle sense of me-ness.
This is me.
A sense that lives in the body.
You're welcome to take a few moments here,
As long as you like.
Just noticing what it's like to have this space that's yours.
Breathing into it,
Using the breath to support you,
And guide you in this process.
It's always here for you.
Now we'll work with a little movement.
So if it feels comfortable,
You might slowly bring your hands outward,
And forward,
Palms gently facing outward.
We're not pushing,
We're just starting to sense the difference of that felt experience,
And just sensing the space in front of you now.
What's out there of the internal field?
And if it hurts to put your arms up all the way,
You can bring your elbows into your chest or your torso to support you.
And so we're just going to get a little curious about what is the distance between you and the external field?
And you're welcome to play with that a little bit.
Maybe moving the hands forward,
Or back a little.
Or keeping them right where they are.
But seeing if there's a space where you can differentiate between what's out there,
And what's in front of you.
And what's in here.
And notice what happens inside your body as your hands move outward,
Or closer in.
Very gently,
You don't have to push too hard.
Somatic work,
Small can be big sometimes.
Subtle can be strong.
But I'm curious where you might notice or feel a sense of safety or okayness.
Where maybe it starts to move into a little activation,
Or uncertainty.
Or maybe a sense of strength and empowerment of protection.
Or maybe nothing at all,
And that's okay too.
As you're moving these hands outward,
Working with that,
Experimenting with that,
You're simply gathering information.
A little closer,
A little further.
And noticing what feels more regulated in your boundary field.
And now slowly,
Gently,
You might bring your hands back towards your body now,
Like before.
You can keep the palms forward,
Or you can turn them back in.
But what happens in your body,
In your nervous system,
As you do so?
Noticing the shift.
Maybe it feels better this way,
Or maybe you liked it more the other way.
Well,
If it's okay here,
Just getting somatic information,
Or just communicating with our nervous system in this moment.
But perhaps sensing that internal field once again.
What's inside your skin?
What feels personal?
What feels safe?
Alright,
So if you're ready to take this one step further,
If it feels appropriate for you,
You might bring to mind a very small boundary moment.
We're going to play with something that might have tapped into your personal boundaries.
Now for this,
We're not going with the heavy stuff,
Nothing overwhelming.
But I'd like for you to come up with kind of a light headline,
Or hashtag statement,
If you will.
And it's like the title of a chapter,
Not the whole story.
But think of a time where maybe your boundary felt,
You know,
A little challenged.
And if you start with something small,
And it starts to move into something bigger,
You might want to just try something a bit more simple.
But I'd like for you,
And you have that in mind,
To hold it into your awareness.
But at the same time,
Explore the gesturing again.
Explore the outward hands gesture.
Hands gently forward.
Notice,
Does your body want more distance?
Does it want less distance?
Stillness?
Maybe you find the hands want to turn inward,
Or they definitely want to stay out.
But see what it feels like to play in that field,
Moving forward and moving back until you can recognize what feels like a safe distance for your boundary field,
Your external boundary field.
And then slowly turn the palms inward so we can explore what happens in your internal field now.
You're welcome to take your time moving between these positions.
If activation arises,
Please pause,
Orient,
Lower your arms,
Come back to your room.
But again,
We're just sensing into what feels right in regard to that boundary.
Whatever you find is okay.
It's a process of curiosity and experimentation.
But now as we're holding that and playing with that,
We're going to shift toward a positive resource.
See if you can recall another time,
However small it might be,
When you were able to express or maintain a boundary in a way that felt supportive.
It doesn't have to be dramatic.
It can be so simple.
Maybe you said no.
Maybe you paused.
Maybe you stepped back and took a break.
Or maybe you stayed present with yourself during a challenging time.
And if nothing comes up,
That's okay.
You can imagine a moment where that could happen.
You can imagine if.
And as you lightly hold that in your awareness,
I'd like to invite you again to notice what happens inside of your body.
Is there more steadiness or warmth or space or softening or feeling more sturdy in your spine?
And allow your body to register that experience.
Let your nervous system drink that in.
We often know very well what it feels like when our boundaries are being challenged,
But we're trying to get to know what it feels like when we are connected to our boundaries,
When we have strength in them,
When we know when they're intact.
And if at this point you feel called to bring up the hands again and work with that and just notice if anything's different.
Notice if anything shifts.
What do you find after resourcing this moment?
Breathing in,
Of course,
And breathing out.
Breath is always here to support you.
And so if you haven't already,
Let the imagery,
All of the imagery,
Start to fade.
Your arms are lifted,
Slowly lowering them,
But taking a moment to simply notice your body now.
Noticing what it's like to just be back in your space,
Letting that practice,
That experimentation start to dissipate.
And you might observe if there's any natural impulse to stretch or roll your shoulders or shift or take a fuller breath.
Again,
No need to force anything,
Just allowing your system to settle in its own way,
In its own time.
And again,
Returning back to orienting,
Looking around your space,
Noticing light,
Distance,
Sound.
Perhaps feel your feet on the floor or being held by the chair,
Noticing what support is available to you now in this moment.
And when you're ready,
Gently bringing your attention back to the fact that this practice is now closing.
You've done such wonderful work here,
And I'm glad that you were curious enough to explore this practice.
So the take-home message here is that boundaries are a felt experience.
We often think about them cognitively,
But they are something that are registering in our body.
They can be informed by previous experiences,
Of course,
But we're learning to get back into feeling that in the moment,
So we can work with it and we can use it to inform our decisions and how we navigate this life and our relationships and all kinds of things.
When you have another moment to work with boundaries,
When a boundary situation comes into your experience,
See if you can sense that external field and that internal field,
And just play around a bit.
Notice what feels safe,
Notice what feels like it's encroaching,
Just get curious as to where things feel right for you.
We can get so much into the head about this,
And while the mind has a story,
So does the body and your nervous system.
We're trying to get a little bit more in tune with that story of the nervous system.
Again,
Thank you so much for being here.
I look forward to practicing with you again.
