Somatic Tracking 2 For Chronic Dizziness & Pain (20 Minutes)

Hello and welcome to Somatic Tracking number two for chronic dizziness and chronic pain.

My name is Yonit Arthur and today we're going to be practicing rewiring your nervous system's automatic response to your symptoms.

This is really worth doing because the danger mode or automatic alarm response that your nervous system has to your symptoms dramatically increases the volume dial on your symptoms.

In other words,

If we can teach your brain to be a little more neutral about your symptoms,

It will lead to a decrease in symptoms.

Try not to be too attached to what happens during this particular round of the exercise as sometimes this has a cumulative effect.

In other words,

It may take some time and some practice over time for you to see a difference in your symptoms.

So let's get started.

I'd like you to find a comfortable position for you.

So that might be lying down or sitting down,

But if you're more comfortable moving or standing,

You can do that as well.

And I'd like you to close your eyes if that's comfortable or if that's not comfortable,

Just soften your gaze and look nowhere in particular.

Let's start with three grounding breaths in through your nose if you can and prolong your exhale as long as you can.

Breathing out.

As you breathe,

Just start to go inside your body.

Shift your focus to what's going on inside your body.

First focusing on the breath,

Letting your breath just come back to its natural rhythm.

Just seeing that tendency to want to control the breath and seeing if you can just let your breath breathe.

You might notice your breath in your chest or your stomach,

Just notice it.

Now I'd like you to do something that at first might seem totally counterintuitive.

I want you to focus on the strongest sensation of symptom that you have right now.

It could be a symptom of dizziness or pain or tension or tightness.

Just find the symptom that you'd like to focus your exercise on right now.

And notice your natural tendency to want to run away from it or avoid it or turn it off or fix it.

And in this exercise,

For this moment,

I want you to just focus on it.

You might find as you start to focus on it that other feelings start to come up.

You might notice that you don't like the symptom.

You might notice that you want to resist it.

You might notice physical sensations of discomfort or anxiety.

You might notice anxious thoughts like,

Is this going to last forever?

Whatever those things are for now,

I want you to just notice that they happened and bring your focus back onto the symptom or sensation itself.

As you're looking at your symptom or your sensation,

I want you to really notice how you feel toward it.

Notice those reactions we just talked about.

Notice that you probably respond to it with at least a little dislike,

But maybe stronger reactions than that.

Notice the desire to fix it.

Notice if there's a feeling of hopelessness or desperation.

Whatever your reactions are,

It's completely normal and okay to have them.

Just see if you can soften yourself towards those reactions.

Let them know that you understand why they're here,

That it makes sense if they want the sensations to go away or if they feel despair.

Just let them know you really get that.

Notice what happens to those reactions when you acknowledge them.

See if now you could ask those reactions to give you a little bit of space.

Maybe take a step back just for a minute or two,

Not for long,

Just to give you some space to really get to know that sensation in your body.

You can reassure those reactions that they can come back if they need to,

Just for the next few minutes if they would be willing to give you a little bit of time,

A little bit of space to get to know the sensation.

When you do that,

You might notice a little shift in your body or not.

You might notice a little more openness,

A little more space.

It's okay if nothing changes,

But especially if you notice that space,

A little more softening,

A little more openness.

Just thank those reactive parts of you that were willing to give you some space.

And now I'd like you to draw your attention again to those sensations that we started with.

Notice if anything about them has changed.

Notice if they're softer or smaller or if they're just about the same or even if they got stronger or bigger.

That's all okay.

I'd like you to focus on them and just become sort of a curious observer about them.

It's like you're lying on your back watching clouds go by or like you're standing at the beach watching the waves roll in.

You're just watching whatever the symptoms and sensations do right now,

It's totally okay.

Just for this moment,

You're totally okay with whatever the sensations do or don't do.

They're just there and you're just observing them.

It's totally okay if your mind starts to wander,

That's normal.

When you notice that that's happened,

Just say,

Oh,

My mind wandered and bring your attention back to the sensation.

And as you observe the sensation,

Just see if you can get a little bit of curiosity about it.

How does this sensation show up for you today?

What kinds of words could you use to describe what it feels like?

Is there a pressure or a heaviness or maybe a lightness?

Is there a swirling or a pulling or a tightness?

Is there a rocking or a haziness?

Just find whatever words seem to fit it best and notice those qualities about it just from this more neutral,

Curious place.

And don't worry if you're having a hard time being curious and neutral.

This is something we're practicing and it will get easier over time.

We're just sitting with that sensation for the time being,

Not trying to change it,

Not caring which way it goes,

Whether it gets bigger or smaller,

Stronger or weaker,

We're just sitting with it.

And as you sit with this sensation,

See if you can think of any other ways to describe how it is right now,

How it's showing up for you.

For some people,

These sensations come with a visual image or shape or color.

For other people,

It's pure body sensation.

And still for others,

There are lots of thoughts that come with the sensations.

So just notice,

Notice how it shows up for you.

And just as a curious observer,

Like a scientist making notes about an observation he or she is making,

Just notice in a very neutral way how this shows up for you right now.

And as you do this,

It's a good time to check in again and notice how you feel towards the sensation.

If you're feeling neutral and curious,

Then just stay with the sensation as you have been.

And if you feel fear or anxiety or resistant or like you still want to fix it,

Just notice that reaction.

And again,

Let those reactive parts of you know that you appreciate what they're doing on your behalf,

That it makes sense that they'd respond this way to sensations that are unpleasant or uncomfortable.

And see if they might be willing to relax just a tiny bit for just a couple more minutes to allow you just to be with the sensations as they are right now.

Now,

We are getting close to bringing our exercise to a close today.

So any reactive parts that were able to step out of the way,

Show them some appreciation and start to come back to the world around you,

Noticing your body maybe wiggling your fingers and toes.

And when you're ready,

You can open your eyes if they've been closed or start to focus on the world around you.

And know that as you do this exercise more regularly,

More frequently,

You will be able to reduce the volume of the symptoms as you teach your brain not to respond with automatic danger signals.

Thank you for joining me everyone,

And I'll see you soon.