COMFORTING TOUCH
When: to bring awareness, containment, support, to the body. You can do upon waking up, before going to bed, any time that you feel like you need support for the emotions that are coming up, and also to explore what you really sense in an area.
Why: Touch is your care, your slowing down, your compassion, your curiosity, and it does not require thinking or analyzing or spending energy. You can simply place your hands on your body and allow your body to respond.
You can try from many different touch variations, hold for 3 minutes each time.
Comforting touch – there are pictures and explanations in this file
ARMS AND LEGS AS DRAINPIPES
When: to create energetic flow from center to periphery; to help with digesting emotions that may feel large or overwhelming; you can use alongside opening the peripheral vision
Why: Remembering we have arms and legs gives us the ability to have more structure to process the energy of emotions and activation in the nervous system. Remember a lot of emotions go in or up. Using our arms and legs as channels to process the energy of the emotion helps us directly work with emotions and not think about them, which usually makes things worse. Be gentle with you, yet remember you are powerful when your whole body is engaged in processing.
Audio:
Peripheral Vision
When: To create space to process our emotions.
Why: Orienting to the environment is linked to how our eyes and nervous system work together under threat and under conditions of safety and peace. By opening up your peripheral vision you allow your system to sink into the magnocelullar pathway of vision, a part of which is connected to emotional processing, ability to sense yourself in the world and ability to come out of fight or flight into safe ventral engagement.
Practice: Sit in a place where you can lean back or stand against a chair, a wall or tree. Allow your vision to expand, softening your eyes. Let yourself see the environment, but also see yourself as a part of it.
WHAT DOES THE EMOTION WANT/NEED
When: after you have worked with the emotion energetically; after arms and legs, peripheral vision, self touch, once the emotion is not so strong in the body
Why: This practice is best done once you have worked on the previous ones and you are able to allow the energy of the emotion to rise and dissipate into your field, and once you can give your body some support through touch.
Once the waves on the ocean of emotions have quieted a bit, ask yourself this: “What does this emotion want or need?”
For example frustration might be asking you to set a boundary with a colleague or make adjustments to your work space. Feeling sad and hurt might be asking you to have a conversation with a friend who mistuned and called you “crazy” when you were struggling. And grief might be asking you to witness it and make some space, to stop running away from what’s hard and to face it head on.
We meet emotions as sensation and an energetic movement in the body, and then we meet them as wise messengers through the wise function of the mind.
CHILD CONSCIOUSNESS
When: if you find yourself in black/white thinking, overly rigid, inflexible, collapsed, helpless, hopeless, like you don’t get it, like you can’t do it, like no one can help you – clear signs a younger part has been touched
Why: You will notice times when emotions feel very overwhelming. It helps to attune to those parts of you that might be needing your support. You can ask these questions to give yourself support in these moments
- What am I noticing right now?
- How old does that vulnerability feel?
- Can I sit with that smaller person and give them support and care?
- Can I open to self compassion and self-kindness right now?
- Who gets me and who can I connect with right now?
PENDULATION
When: if a sensation is too much – for example if you have pain or discomfort in your body, or if a sensation relating to an emotion is strong and you need some space from it and a way to help it process gently
Practice shifting your attention back and forth between a sensation and another sensation, a sensation and an image, a sensation and something in the environment, a sensation and a thought that is naming it, etc.
For example, notice an ache, and then shift to a sense of openness in another body part. Or notice the ache, and then shift to a color or image that you associate with it. Move your attention gently back and forth. If you choose, you can also move your attention to something in your environment (orienting), or you can offer comforting touch and shift between the sensation and the support of the touch.
Notice how this moving back and forth at a pace that feels right for you creates a shift.
EMOTIONAL FIRST AID KIT
When: anytime that you feel you need emotional support and care
I cannot tell you how powerful this kit you made is. It not only contains meaningful objects and inspiration, it also contains your love and care for yourself from another time. It reminds you that you made something for yourself at a time that you knew you would one day need it. It’s a way to connect to the deep nurture you carry inside. I hope you use it and keep it in a place where it’s easy to see!
Leave a Reply