Hello and welcome to The Tonic Method.
My name is Taryn and today we are going to be doing a meditation about emotional flooding.
If you've been feeling particularly overwhelmed or stressed or dysregulated,
This is for you.
So let's just take a moment to arrive.
You don't need to change anything yet.
Just noticing that you are here.
Becoming aware of the space that you are in.
How your body feels in this moment.
Start to notice the rhythm of your breath.
And if it feels safe for you,
Gently close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Allow your body to settle into whatever is supporting you.
If you are listening to this,
It may be because the intensity feels like too much.
Maybe the waves feel very unpredictable right now.
The emotions maybe feel bigger than your capacity.
So before we go any further,
I just want to normalize something for you.
Overwhelm is not weakness.
Being anxious is not weakness.
These are all just nervous system responses that our body perceives too much input.
Whether it's emotional or relational or psychological.
It shifts into a survival mode.
You may experience fight,
Flight,
Freeze,
Fawn,
Flooding,
Activation,
Urgency.
This is not an attempt to minimize any of that.
This is an attempt to increase your capacity to feel it all safely.
So place one hand on your chest,
One hand on your lower belly,
And notice your breathing exactly as it is in this moment.
No need to force anything.
Just feel.
Feel the natural rhythm of your breath.
Now gently begin to lengthen your exhale.
So often we take very deep breaths in and very shallow breaths out.
So my challenge to you is to lengthen the amount of time that you are exhaling.
Begin to inhale through your nose for a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And now exhale for a count of six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Again,
Let's inhale for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hold.
And gently exhale for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Keep that rhythm of breath going.
Longer exhales signal safety to the vagus nerve,
The largest nerve in our bodies.
They tell the body that you are not in any immediate danger.
So just continuing at your own pace.
Now bring the awareness back to the edges of your body.
Notice where your back meets the chair.
Notice where your feet meet the ground.
Maybe your shoes,
Where your thighs meet the seat beneath you,
Or your body softens into the space below you.
Overwhelm can often feel like falling.
And right now we're just reminding our nervous system that you are supported.
Let your spine gently lengthen,
Whether you're seated or lying down.
Allow yourself to just be fluid,
Not rigid,
Just upright enough to feel contained.
And just saying silently to yourself,
I can feel all of the things that I'm feeling and still stay grounded.
If any emotion arises now,
Do not push it away.
But don't worry about diving into it or making a story out of it either.
Maybe just imagine that you're standing on a shoreline,
Watching waves.
You're close enough to see them,
But not so close that they would pull you under.
If the intensity increases here,
Just return to your breath.
Return to the feeling of your body being held and supported.
You are allowed to move back and forth between feeling grounded and just feeling.
This is regulation.
Gently look around the room.
Even if your eyes are closed,
You can imagine this.
If your eyes are open,
You slowly turn your head to the left and then to the right.
Let your eyes land on something neutral.
If your eyes are closed,
You can still be sensing the space around you landing on a neutral object.
Maybe a plant or a piece of furniture.
Just orienting yourself in the space and telling your brain that there is no immediate threat in your environment.
Overwhelm decreases when safety increases.
Bring your awareness back to your chest.
Just feel the subtle rise and fall of each breath.
Notice if the intensity has shifted even slightly.
We're not aiming for calm.
We're just aiming for a little bit of calm.
More space,
More steadiness.
Take one slow inhale.
You don't need to process everything today.
You don't need to address every emotion,
Every feeling,
Every thought.
Just this breath.
Just this moment.
Remember that you are supported.
You are safe.
And you are loved.
Whenever you are ready,
Start to bring your awareness back into your body.
Scanning from the top of your head all the way down into your fingers,
Into your belly,
Into your hips,
Into your legs,
Into your toes.
Feeling yourself fully here,
Back in this amazing physical body of yours.
You're wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Taking time to stretch,
Yawn,
Breathe,
Move in whatever way is supportive for you.
And as you're ready,
Opening your eyes,
Returning to your day,
Knowing that you are safe,
You are supported,
And you are loved.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Until our paths cross again.
