Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / How to Feel Safe in Your Body (A Somatic Approach Using Your Senses)

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How to Feel Safe in Your Body (A Somatic Approach Using Your Senses) · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story Podcast.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I am coming to you today with a solo episode, one that I very intentionally and perfectly timed with Taurus season, which just started on Sunday, the week that this is airing.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I really wanted to do this episode sooner than later because it's really such a beautiful and a powerful invitation for you to explore as we are moving through tourist season, as we will continue to explore the themes of tourist season.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And specifically in the northern hemisphere, we're in the season of spring.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And spring to me is such a sensory time.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: There are, you know, plants growing and life beginning to bloom and bud.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And even just as I'm walking around in my day-to-day, I will like catch whiffs of these beautiful flowers.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the birds are chirping and the sun is shining, and we can feel the warmth on our skin.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so, as always, such such intention, intentionality here with the timing of things, really working with the natural rhythms and cycles, which is something not only that I teach, but also something that I really embody here in the work that we're doing.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much for being here for today's discussion.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: This one feels really important and I think is something that is easily misunderstood.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel that more people could benefit from really understanding this information, which by the way, you already know all of this already lives within you.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's more about me reminding you.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And today we are talking about something that I've touched on in the past.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: So if it feels familiar, um, I want to remind you that sometimes when we hear something again, that it can land differently or it can land in a deeper way, especially when you've been on your healing journey for quite some time.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: There are layers to this work.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if this is new for you, I trust that this conversation is finding you at exactly the right time in your perfect right time and way.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Today, as I sort of alluded to, we're talking about the senses and how they are an instrumental part of feeling safe.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because here's what I see often, especially in the healing journey.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that I was, I don't want to say guilty, but it was something that I did as well.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't until I understood this where I was really able to actually see the changes that I was wanting to see and to experience the changes I was wanting to experience.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of times that people try to think their way into safety, usually with affirmations or mindset work.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it can come with this, you know, repeating phrase, I am safe, or if you've ever been in like a yoga class or you know, breath work, and the facilitator, the teacher says, you are safe.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um as beautiful as the intentions may be behind those words, you really you can't outthink biology.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I am I'm saying this with so much love, so much love in my heart.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's just a misunderstanding that I just want people to understand a little bit more.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Your thoughts, they matter, yes, 100%.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: They influence your inner world.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, 100%.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's it can be helpful to tap into a positive mindset, a sense of hope.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, your body is the ultimate truth barometer that comes straight from my teacher, Tira Tan.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'll say that again.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Your body is the ultimate truth barometer.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Safety is not just about mindset, it's a nervous system state.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's research on polybagel theory from Dr.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Stephen Porridges, who's one of my teacher's teachers.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of his work is on animals, interestingly enough.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And he does, or maybe that's Peter Levine.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's Peter Levine, excuse me.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Going back to polybagel theory with Dr.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Stephen Porridges, his work shows us, tells us that the nervous system is constantly scanning your environment for cues of safety or danger.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And our our very wise systems have been doing this since the beginning of our civilization, since the creation of man.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: We have been using our environment to gather information that lets us know that the environment is either safe or it is dangerous.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And back in early civilizations, there were more immediate threats such as wild animals or perhaps other civilizations or tribes coming to to threaten or to take, or perhaps maybe colonialists coming in to threaten or to take.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we've always been using these pathways to gather this information, and all of this happens unconsciously through a process called neurosception.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: And this is how your body gathers information, and it gathers the information through your senses.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's gathering information through what you see, what you hear, what you feel, what you smell, and what you taste.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And these sensory inputs communicate with your nervous system, signaling to your nervous system that you are either safe or that there's a threat and you need to protect yourself.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or there's, you know, maybe somewhere in the middle where you're on guard, but not actually fighting or flighting at that point.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, with that information, if it's new to you, maybe you already knew this.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you did, great.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Tell a friend, tell the little ones in your life how this works because we all need to remember this wisdom that lives within our system.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're telling yourself, I am safe, but your environment and your senses are telling your body otherwise, your body will always believe the sensory input over your thought 100% of the time.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of just talking about this, what I'm gonna invite us to do is to experience this.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is a simple practice developed by Peter Levine, and it's something you can do anytime, anywhere, even if you're driving, or even if you're doing something else in the background.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you are driving or doing something else in the background, I'm gonna invite you to kind of like notice how you're driving or how you're doing might shift as we go through this practice.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And all we're gonna do is tune into our senses.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna do this practice with you, and we'll go through this together and just kind of notice what comes up for us.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll invite you to start by looking around your space, and I'll invite you to notice five things that you see.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm looking at my desk, and I see a painting in front of me.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: I see a couple photos here I have on my desk.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: I see a plant that I have here on my desk.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: I see some artwork that I have hanging up in my space, and in front of me I see a closed door.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you noticed that when I took a deeper breath there, I noticed that I didn't.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you heard it, but I did take one without even thinking about it, just something that my body naturally did.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: So now let's move on to our hearing.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And tuning into four things that you can hear.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I can hear sort of cars driving in the distance.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like a big truck or something.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: I can hear a sort of like air system just kick on.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's mine, but maybe it's my neighbors.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I hear the sort of flickering of this flame.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's a candle here on my desk that I'm burning.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I hear some sort of like creaking-ish sounds from the roof above me.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And interestingly enough, without even thinking about it, I noticed myself take another deeper breath there.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll invite you to notice anything that you might have noticed in your system.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I just heard another one, I also noticed my stomach growl there, which is a really beautiful sign that my body is in the rest and digest state.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: So if you ever hear your stomach growling, that's a beautiful message from your system letting you know that there's some softening and some settling happening here.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's turn into touch or sensation.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'll invite you to notice three things that you feel.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I notice the air on my skin, the chair underneath me, and some kind of like energy moving through my body.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm also starting to have some somatic releases that let me know my body's kind of letting go, usually through shaking.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I actually noticed a yawn there.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: A yawn, which is another sign that the system is settling and softening.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's move on to smell.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And these can be a bit more subtle, so if you don't pick up on anything, that's okay.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Just seeing what you do notice.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I notice the scent of this candle I have burning on my desk, and yeah, there's not much else that I can smell in this moment.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'll smell my hands or like my clothes and see if I can pick up on a smell there.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And noticing how your system may have responded to that.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: I've got another yawn myself.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, I'll invite you to notice one thing that you can taste or to just become aware of what you can pick up on in your mouth.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then just taking a moment here to notice what's happening in your body now, noticing how you're feeling now.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely and myself feel a lot more grounded and calm and connected.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe there's something that you've noticed in your body, in your system, and in yourself as well.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted us to actually go through this practice today because this is how we create safety.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Not just by talking about it or thinking about it, but by giving the body real-time sensory evidence that it is safe.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Your body looked around, gathered information, and said, I am okay right now.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: In this moment, I am okay.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to name something here that feels really important, especially in the day and age that we are in.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a world that is not always safe.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, specifically, there is a lot of violence, a lot of instability, a lot of uncertainty.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And some of you listening may not currently be environments that feel safe.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I really want to honor that because this work is not about bypassing reality.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: And even within that, I do want to offer some access points if that does feel like a situation that you are in currently.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because even within the instability and the uncertainty and the violence, yes, there can be moments of safety, even if they're brief ones.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you, those micro moments, or maybe you've heard the term glimmer moments, they really do matter.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: We really do need these moments that can allow some reprieve on our system, especially if we do find ourselves in an unstable or unsafe environment.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: And interestingly enough, I saw such a beautiful example of this the other day.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: I was on a walk by the river yesterday, and I saw a man who was presumably unhoused.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: He had a bike and a lot of stuff with him.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: And he was resting on the bench.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like he was literally laying down on his back on this bench.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I just remember thinking, wow, he knew exactly where to go.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: He chose a quiet place in nature near the water.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And my guess is that his system could soften here, even if it was just for a moment.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: And especially that laying down, like on the bench, giving that sense of support to his back, that can be really, really impactful, especially if you don't always feel the sense of support.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I didn't have the chance to check in with him, but my guess is that, you know, he was able to get some sort of reprieve.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, why would he have been there in that specific place?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: And nature can also be such a powerful co-regulator because it offers this consistent rhythmic sensory input that signals safety to our nervous system.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: So when we look out in nature and we see the green and the leaves and the trees, there's there's something about that input process as well that sends those messages of safety to the body.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why just even being out in nature can be um so soothing to our systems.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: So your invitation this weekend, and not just this weekend, but really over the course of Torah season while you're tuning in with these episodes, I'm gonna invite you to begin noticing your senses and really seeing them as a pathway, a way to come back into your body and a way to come back into the present moment.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so you're very welcome to take this practice that we started with here today and to integrate it into your day, your day-to-day in any way that feels right and supportive for you.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also offer another layer of support if you're really wanting some deeper support, building this felt sense of safety.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've included a bonus practice for you this week called Creating Your Felt Sense of Safety.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's a donation-based trauma-informed somatic meditation over on Insight Timer.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I will give you a small warning here.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: There is an imaginative component during the practice, and during that moment, you are invited to imagine someone you feel safe with.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I have gotten some feedback from this specific meditation that that part has felt a little activating for people sometimes.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have someone that you feel safe with, so I may re-record the practice at some point.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know that others have gotten great benefit from it, so it is there for you.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: But if that is the case, if it is activating for you, I just encourage you to move gently or to maybe turn on the volume when it comes to that part, or just skip it all together if it's not helpful for you.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: And just really do what you need to do to honor your system.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I'll leave the link for that meditation for you in the show notes.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I do thank you so much for being here and I look forward to continuing this conversation with you as we move through Taurus season, exploring sensuality, the body, luxurating, and really tuning into the wisdom of the senses and the wisdom of the natural world.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to seeing you in the next episode.