Softening Nervous System Shutdown

Hello everyone and welcome to this guided practice where we're going to be exploring the experience of stuckness.

Now when we think about that experience of being stuck,

A lot of the time that has a connotation with a lack of,

I guess,

Movement or possibility,

That sense that what we're experiencing is something that's going to last forever,

Maybe that there seems to be no way out,

No matter how hard we try,

Or maybe the feeling that it very much seems out of our control.

And now often that is as a result of the situation we might find ourselves in,

But it's also a real hallmark of a nervous system that is leaning towards a more frozen or shut down state where access to that hope,

That possibility,

That movement is not necessarily fully accessible.

So in this practice today we're going to be exploring through a meditation how we can find different ways to bring in just the right amount of gentle movement and navigation in our experience that can help really move us away from that feeling of stuckness,

Even if it's just by a percent or two.

So as ever I encourage you to do this practice however it meets you and your body today in this moment.

You can do it seated,

You can do it lying down,

You can do it standing up even if you'd like to.

So just find the place,

The posture,

The position that feels good to you in your body.

Take a couple of moments just to get yourself nice and settled and comfortable.

Knowing there's no right or wrong way to do this.

And once you're there just really feeling into whatever's beneath you.

Take a moment to land,

To be supported.

Maybe feeling the weight of your body against the sofa,

The chair,

The floor,

The bed,

Whatever it might be.

In a sense as you begin to settle and allow your eyes to close down as you relax.

You can be grounded,

You can be anchored during this practice.

At any time as we explore this concept of gentle movement in our internal experience that you have this solid,

This grounding base,

Your body supported,

Held,

Safe.

And using this arrival time and this pause just to gently check in with yourself and really just allow whatever is here for you today to come to the surface,

To come to your awareness.

Maybe just noticing or appreciating any feelings or sensations of stuckness that are here.

Acknowledging them for what they are and and recognizing that these are difficult feelings to be with.

And today we're really going to start by acknowledging and sending ourselves compassion for this experience.

Really challenging one to feel trapped,

To feel a lack of empowerment,

Maybe to feel we have an obvious way out of our situation.

It's a really hard place to be so encouraging you now to send yourself or meet yourself in that place in a way that shows your body,

Your nervous system that you care and that you're acknowledging it.

And if you're comfortable doing so I'm going to encourage you to use physical touch to do this.

So maybe it's a hand or two over your heart area.

Maybe it's a hand on your chest and your stomach.

Maybe you're wrapping your arms around yourself.

Maybe it's a little massage of the head or whatever it might be.

An opportunity to tune into what your body needs and how you want to meet yourself in this moment to send acknowledgement and compassion to this difficult experience.

And this often feels like we're not really doing anything to help the situation.

But in fact so often that internal challenge and that internal intensity just wants to be heard to begin with,

To be acknowledged.

Maybe noticing how that feels in your body as you've done that.

Acknowledging the time and the space that you have now.

And so as I mentioned often if you're anything like me this experience comes with a sense of immobility,

A sense of lack of movement being possible,

Lack of forward movement being available.

So to begin with we're going to explore how we can use the mind and visualization to bring a little bit of gentle movement and possibility into the system without having to move the body in any way.

And so we'll draw nature to do this.

So allowing your mind to wander to something in nature that you find really peaceful and nourishing to observe.

Maybe your mind's already drifting to your favorite place in nature.

Maybe it's the gentle lapping of the waves by the sea.

Maybe it's watching the branches of a tree or woodland just sway in the breeze.

Maybe it's watching animals play or move or maybe it's just watching the clouds as they gently float by on a sunny day.

And noticing in your favorite place of nature how things are moving.

They're not in a rush,

They're not doing anything with any great intensity.

But there's movement,

There's an ebb and a flow to everything that happens in nature.

Maybe noticing anything in this environment that's expanding and contracting.

That sense of opening and closing,

Of starting and finishing.

Maybe the wave is always coming and going,

Flowing and receding.

It's a lovely reminder that whatever I feel in any given moment is only temporary.

With every contraction there becomes an expansion.

And so maybe just using this external resource of nature and this visualization to invite that possibility into yourself and your body in this moment that you're in.

The only guarantee is that this experience will shift and change some way over the coming hours and days.

But your nervous system,

Just like the natural world,

Is wired for expansion and contraction,

For opening,

For closing,

For change.

Maybe noticing where you feel that invitation of expansion and contraction and movement in your body.

Maybe beginning to observe it in your breath as you breathe.

A reminder that even with the sensation of stuckness there is movement,

There is flow.

And then finally what I'd like to invite you to do is just open to a sense of duality in your experience.

So at the start of this practice we really deeply acknowledge the experience that we're having and send deep compassion to that.

And so finally what I'd like you to explore is how you can hold that experience in your body,

How you can hold that sense of compassion and love for the experience that you're having.

Alongside also opening perspective to something else that is true in this moment.

That might be a sense of I am having a really challenging time and experience in my body right now.

And I can also feel myself really grateful for spring arriving outside and the beautiful flowers.

Or it might be that I have a difficult situation I'm navigating in this area of my life.

And I can also appreciate a really lovely feeling right now of my feet being anchored and connected to the ground.

Just reflecting on a few of those that are true for you as you allow that breath to be gentle and flow in and out of your body.

Exploring a couple of those lovely and statements.

A lovely reminder to your system that you can be with and you can meet yourself exactly where you are.

And you can also acknowledge factors that are nourishing to you in this moment.

And just letting that drift.

No need any more to place your attention on any particular words or areas of your body.

Or thoughts or anything at all.

Just letting yourself rest.

Just create a little space to observe any shifts.

Anything you notice from when you started the practice.

And knowing that as you move forward that these resources are always there for you.

To meet yourself where you're at with compassion,

With physical touch.

To use nature as a source of inspiration for impermanence,

For flow,

For expansion and contraction.

And for being able to hold possibility even in the challenging experiences.

So I hope that's helpful for you.

And has helped bring some gentle movement back into your system.

And whatever,

I'd love to hear how you found the practice.

So let me know in the comments any feedback,

How your experience was.

And I look forward to guiding you through another practice soon.

All right,

Everyone.

Take care.