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The Body as the Map of the Ordinary World — Guided Somatic Practice · Unlocking The Paradigm Portal

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  Hello everybody, welcome back to Unlocking the Paradigm Portal.
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  My name is Sarah. So this is the companion episode
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  to The Body as the Map of the Ordinary World, the episode I
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  released last week. And in that episode we talked
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  about the ordinary world and what it is and what it feels
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  like from the inside. So today we're going to do some
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  somatic practices and we're going to feel it directly in the
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  body where it actually lives. So you can do this seated or
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  lying down, whatever your body wants right now.
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  You can stand and move around if you want, though most of it is
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  with your eyes closed. So just be careful you aren't
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  going to bump into anything and definitely don't do this while
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  you're driving. And before we get into this, I
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  want to say I am not a medical professional.
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  I am a somatic practitioner. So I do work with the body and I
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  am a licensed massage therapist and a somatic breathwork
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  practitioner. However, if you are having any
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  physical symptoms that are concerning or pervasive or
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  continuous for a long time, it doesn't hurt to go get it
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  checked out. In fact, it's a good idea just
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  to make sure that there's nothing underlying.
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  OK, so today, there's no wrong way to do this.
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  You don't need to do anything or fix anything or get anything
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  right. Today is just a practice of
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  witnessing, not performing. So get yourself settled wherever
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  you are. You ready now as you're
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  settling? And before we drop into the
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  body, I want to explain why we're doing this.
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  Because understanding why changes how deeply you'll be
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  able to receive it. So the mind is a brilliant
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  negotiator, and it can rationalize almost anything.
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  It can tell you a life is fine when it isn't, and it can talk
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  you out of a feeling in under a second.
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  I know you know what I'm talking about.
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  So the mind has learned over years how to manage and minimize
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  and explain away. The body, however, cannot do
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  that. The body keeps an honest record,
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  all of your experiences and your perceptions and the trauma
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  you've been through that is stored in the brain, but the
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  body is the one that's showing you and giving you signals that
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  it's stored there. And you weren't going to be able
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  to make the connection until you learn to feel into your body.
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  So let's give a few examples of what that record actually looks
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  like, because I want you to be able to recognize it in
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  yourself, not just hear about it in abstract concepts.
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  So think about the person who is, on paper, doing everything
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  right. They have a great job or a good
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  job, they have a good relationship, they have a good
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  life, and yet their shoulders live up in their ears.
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  Does this sound like you? I know it's me at times too.
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  And it's not because anything is actively wrong in the moment,
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  but it's because some part of that person has been bracing for
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  years, anticipating the next thing they'll need to manage.
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  And the shoulders never got the message that it's safe to put
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  that down or think about your breathing.
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  Most people don't think about it because we just do it.
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  And most people who are living inside a life that's become too
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  small are breathing into the top third of their chest.
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  They're taking shallow, quick breaths that are barely moving.
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  And it's not because they're in danger right now.
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  It's because their body learned a long time ago that staying
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  small and contained felt safer than taking up the full space
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  that a deep breath requires. Or think about your jaw.
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  I know this is a big one for me. I clench my jaw all the time.
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  It's like an unconscious clenching.
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  And I check in with that when I go to bed at night, and it's
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  always doing that. And most often, it's not about
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  anything that's being said, it's about everything that's not
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  being said. The words that get held back or
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  the opinions that get softened or needs that get minimized
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  until the body just starts holding the tension where the
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  words would have been. Or even simpler, tiredness.
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  A tiredness that is so deep it doesn't make sense because you
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  sleep enough and you're still tired.
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  Now that's not always a medical mystery, however, there are
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  physical symptoms and issues that can present that way.
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  So please go to your doctor if you ever have concerns or
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  questions. Go to your doctor if you feel
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  like your doctor is minimizing or dismissing you.
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  Push harder. I am a huge advocate of self
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  advocacy. Do not back down if you know or
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  feel that something is not OK. So when it's not a medical
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  mystery, it can be the cost of years spent performing a version
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  of OK that the body never really believed.
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  And none of these are problems to fix.
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  Their clues, their guideposts. They are the body's record of
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  the ordinary world, the physical cost of a life lived at less
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  than full capacity, even a good life, even a life that you love.
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  The ordinary world isn't always bad, but it does have a cost,
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  and the body is where that cost gets stored.
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  So today we're going to read that record together.
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  Not to fix it or judge it, just to see it clearly, honestly,
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  with compassion because that witnessing of yourself, that's
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  the work. So now that you've settled in,
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  we're going to begin. So go ahead and close your eyes
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  or soften your gaze downward if that feels better.
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  But I would prefer, if you're able to, to close your eyes
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  fully. That way you're staying with
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  your body completely. Now, if you've struggled with
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  your body for any reason, whether it's trauma, body
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  issues, eating disorders, whatever it may be, it might
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  feel very, very difficult to be in your own body.
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  And if that's the case, just like I said, soften your gaze,
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  look downward, just pick a point to stare at and try to start to
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  bridge that gap of feeling into your body.
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  And remember, whatever you feel, it's just sensations.
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  And just like waves at the ocean, it may come up.
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  And if you allow yourself to breathe and sit with it, it will
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  recede back. Most people, when things start
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  to come up, they get scared because it feels scary and they
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  immediately shrink their breathing and they try to
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  distract themselves with something else.
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  So take a slow breath in, in, through your nose, out through
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  your mouth and let it go. And now do that again.
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  Breathe in and release. Now do one more in and out.
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  And now these don't have to be big deep breaths.
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  You can just breathe normally and notice too.
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  If breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth
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  is uncomfortable, try it in and out through your mouth.
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  That's good data too, because there's nowhere else that you
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  need to be right now, and nothing else that you need to do
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  just this. Just arrive in yourself through
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  some gentle breathing and just notice.
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  And if you're feeling any of those feelings come up, or if
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  you're feeling uncomfortable, just let your body know it's
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  safe to actually be here without bracing for what's next.
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  And if taking the deep breaths is uncomfortable, whether it's
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  physically or emotionally, then just breathe normally.
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  There's no, like I said, there's no right or wrong way to do
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  this. So I want you to bring your
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  attention to your shoulders. So just keep breathing in and
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  out and notice where they are. Are they up near your ears even
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  slightly? Are they holding up there like
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  bracing for something? And you don't need to change it
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  yet, just notice it. This is information, not a
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  problem. So keep breathing in and out
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  while you check in with your shoulders.
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  And now bring your attention to your chest.
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  Does it feel open? Does it feel maybe a little bit
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  collapse, like your shoulders are rounded forward?
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  Does it feel tight, like it's hard to get it to expand?
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  Or does it feel spacious, like it just expands easily with
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  every inhale? So just keep breathing and
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  notice all of these sensations. You're just tuning in to what
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  your body is doing right now. Now as you keep breathing, check
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  in with your breath. Where does it live right now?
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  Is it shallow? Is it staying high up in your
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  chest like it's easier to breathe up higher?
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  Or does it have room to move into the belly?
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  There's no right answer. Just notice where it actually
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  is. And if you're laying down, it
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  may be easier to breathe into your belly.
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  If you're sitting, it might be a little bit more difficult.
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  And if you've spent your life holding your core in really
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  tight, This is especially something that happens with
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  women. We hold our bellies in.
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  It can feel really weird to try to expand your belly out with
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  your breath, and you don't need to change that, just notice it.
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  So keep breathing in through your nose, out through your
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  mouth, or if that's not comfortable, in and out through
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  your mouth. And now tune into your jaw for a
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  minute. Do you feel any tension there?
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  Maybe there's a little bit of a clench, even one that you
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  weren't aware of a few minutes ago.
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  Are your teeth pressed together? Where is your tongue in your
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  mouth? Is it pushed up against the roof
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  of your mouth, or maybe pressed up against the back of your
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  teeth? Or is it laying softly in your
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  mouth? All of these are just data
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  points to collect and notice. So keep breathing and now just
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  take a moment to notice your whole body at once.
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  Where are you holding tight? And it may be none of those
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  areas. Maybe your hands are in fists,
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  maybe your toes curled over. Maybe you have what I refer to
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  my clients as butt clench. When you tighten your glute
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  muscles, that's a bracing movement.
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  It's similar to clenching your jaw, hiking your shoulders up.
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  It's almost like preparing to run or preparing to for
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  something to come that you need to be ready for.
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  So where are you bracing in your body?
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  And as you keep breathing, just notice where is there tightness
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  that's been there so long it stopped registering as tightness
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  at all and it kind of just became normal.
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  Check in with your face, your forehead, are your eyes
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  scrunched really tight? Are your eyebrows pulled
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  together? Just keep breathing and just
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  notice. Your body works so hard for you.
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  It deserves a few moments to have you just pay attention to
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  it. So all of these sensations and
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  areas of tension and areas of ease that you have found, this
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  is the body's record of the ordinary world.
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  This is what it has cost you to manage and to hold it together
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  and to keep going. And you don't have to do
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  anything with this yet. Just witness it.
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  That's enough. So now we're going to work with
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  the breath directly, because the breath is one of the fastest
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  ways to speak to your nervous system in a language that it
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  actually understands. So we're going to do something
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  simple, an extended exhale. So the exhale is what tells your
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  nervous system it's safe to release.
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  So we're going to make the exhale longer than the inhale.
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  All right. So breathe in through your nose
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  for a count of four, and then exhale through the mouth for a
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  count of 6, and work at your own pace.
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  Everyone's ability to inhale and exhale is totally dependent on
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  your body. So if you need to go through the
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  numbers a little faster, that's a place to start.
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  That's OK. If you've been doing this for a
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  while and you can breathe slower, that's beautiful.
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  Whatever your body wants. So now let's do that again.
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  In through the nose for four counts and then out through the
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  mouth for six counts. And now one more time in and
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  then out, slow, long releasing. And as you keep breathing this
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  way, let your belly soften. Notice if you're holding your
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  abdominal muscles tight, and just try seeing if you can let
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  them soften, let them actually move with the breath instead of
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  staying braced. And if it helps, you can place a
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  hand over your belly and let it rise and fall under your palm.
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  Now keep breathing at your own pace now in through the nose,
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  longer out through the mouth, and let each exhale be a small
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  permission slip. It's safe to let go of a little
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  bit more. And with every exhale, you're
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  releasing carbon dioxide. That's toxins that have built up
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  in your system, and you're literally purging them out.
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  You're purging the worries out, the anxieties, the fears.
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  And just in this moment, it's just you letting all of that go.
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  There's nothing to force. Just let the body find its own
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  rhythm of release. So as you continue breathing, I
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  want to leave you with one question.
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  You don't have to answer it out loud.
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  Just let it land. What has become too small, Not
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  what should change and not what you should want.
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  Just think about this. What has quietly, honestly
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  become too small? Let the question sit in the
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  body, not just in the mind. And if something tightens when
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  you ask it, notice it. And if something softens, notice
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  that too. The body usually knows before
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  the mind catches up. So what has become too small?
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  Now take one more breath in and then on the release, long and
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  slow. Now let your breathing go back
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  to its normal rhythm and then slowly, in your own time, let
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  your eyes open if they were closed, and take a moment before
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  you rush back into the rest of your day.
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  Notice if anything feels different in your body right now
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  compared to when we began, even just something little and
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  subtle. And remember, the ordinary world
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  is not the enemy. It is necessary.
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  But your body has been keeping the truth this whole time, even
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  when your mind couldn't quite find the words.
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  So keep breathing, keep letting yourself come back into the
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  room, back into your body even more.
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  But now you're back with more of an awareness and every week
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  we're going to do another stage of the hero's journey and I'm
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  going to do an add on of the somatic breathing connected to
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  that stage. And my goal is to release it
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  sooner than this because my week was a little crazy.
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  So thank you for showing up for yourself today and I will see
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  you in the next one when we tackle stage 2, the call to
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  adventure. Have a wonderful day.