Nervous System Regulation - A Practice Of Listening

Welcome to your meditation on nervous system regulation and svadhyaya,

A daily practice of noticing.

You are so welcome to practice lying down,

Seated or gently moving.

You can keep your eyes open or closed,

Whatever is best for you today.

Notice how you are arriving today,

Not how you think you should feel and not how you felt yesterday,

But how you are right now.

This is a practice of svadhyaya,

Self-study,

The practice of noticing.

In taking your awareness to the points of contact between you and the earth beneath you.

Noticing where you are supported by the floor,

A chair,

A yoga mat.

You might quietly say to yourself,

Here is support.

And now without searching,

No forcing,

Ask yourself,

Have there been moments of stress in my body today?

You're not reviewing your life,

And you're not analyzing stress in general,

Just simply noticing today.

And if stress has been present,

How have you known?

You might have noticed tension in your jaw or your hands,

Perhaps a feeling of gripping in the depths of your belly.

Perhaps you noticed a holding of the breath or the breath being shallow.

Or maybe your mind is feeling extremely busy and rushed.

Perhaps you snapped at someone or you're feeling grumpy and you can't work out why.

These sensations,

They're not bad,

They're not a problem.

They're just signals from your nervous system telling you how it's doing.

Noticing these signals is svadhyaya,

Self-study.

And now gently asking yourself,

Have there been moments of settling or ease in my body today?

Just noticing today.

And if moments of settling have been present,

How have you known?

Was it the feeling of your jaw softening,

Your hands releasing,

Your breath slowing,

Taking your time to respond to someone?

These sensations aren't something to chase,

They are signals too.

Each time you notice them,

You are practicing svadhyaya.

You are learning how your nervous system signals to you that it is settling.

And now sensing into your whole body.

Notice if anything feels different.

And acknowledge yourself for taking this time today to listen and to notice.

And as you prepare to finish your meditation today,

Invite some gentle movement into your body.

Perhaps slightly energize your breath.

Gently blinking your eyes open if they were closed.

And remembering that svadhyaya is a regular practice of noticing.

And with that in mind,

I'll see you soon.