Five-minute practice to release stress!
A simple framework that I use all the time to be with the energy and life that is right here, right now.
We each have the capacity to hold our experience and meet ourselves in truth. AND we can grow that capacity!
The more I practice finding my feet, meeting myself right here, holding myself with compassion, and deepening my curiosity.....the more connected, present, free, and alive I am!
Let me know what you think, wild one!
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hello, everybody, I'm Aspen, I am an Embodiment Coach. And today I want to share just a short, juicy simple practice in helping release and reduce stress. Because I think we can all admit that being a human on the planet was stressful. And yes, it's important to look at the stressors in our life and eliminate and deal with those as best we can. And also to empower our relationship to stress. And so this is just a little offering for you to practice how you deal with stress. And I want to say first, that stress, anxiety, fear, shame, self-doubt, all of these, it's just energy. And we can build our capacity to be with that energy. I know. I've done it in my body, and I have worked with others. And trust me that there is so much more capacity that you have, than you may feel or think in this moment. And so this is a way to relate to that energy. So first, find your feet. If there was one thing that you take from my videos, find your freakin feet. Oftentimes, when we are super stressed out or in any of the feels and stuck in any of this stuff, we're not here, we're spinning out, we're projecting to the future, or we're stuck in the past, or we're just making up things that don't even exist. So finding your feet being like, okay, here I am literally looking down and feeling your feet, possibly getting barefoot and putting them on the earth, that's even better, but finding your feet and being here.
The second is as best as you can, from that place to drop the story. To set it aside, we are constantly making meaning and narrating and storytelling in case you haven't noticed. And that can be just feeding the stress feeding and ruminating and increasing the feelings in the body. So as best you can set it aside and you may have to do that, I don't know a million times. But for the moment set aside and see if you can just drop into the felt sensations. So to become physical. So what I mean by this is literally feeling okay, heat, tingles, shakes, tightness, spaciousness, shakes, tremors, like all of the different felt sensations of what that word that we put on it, stress or anxiety or fear or grief feels like in the body. Because from there, it opens up a lot more choice, there's a lot more agency when we're actually able to get to where the energy is and feel it. And this takes practice. Like, it's like going to the gym. And so know that if you drop in, and you don't feel anything, or it's way too overwhelming, or it's just like, really confusing, it's learning a different language. And we all have different windows of tolerance for being with felt senses and different traumas in which we've learned to really disconnect. And so it's always important to have support to have guidance to, to get the help that you need in order to strengthen your muscles and to be able to feel and grow that container and capacity to be with whatever energy is here. So that is something that you can always continue to deepen into.
The next is to notice to choose one area of the body, where your attention pulls you where you feel more contraction or tightness or heat, like the one place, choose one place, that's really who pulling you. And then to over effort that just for 10 seconds. So if it's a contraction to contract it a little bit more, if it's a tightening, if it's a stiffening, if it's a heat, like just to increase it for about 10 seconds while breathing. And then begin to soften and undo and release and deepen the breath. Because if you've ever noticed, okay, I'm like super tight and tense and someone's like, relax. It's kind of hard. So by going into it, by leaning into it, we give ourselves someplace to go. So, find your feet. satisfy the story drop into the felt sensations. Notice what is here what is alive in your body, choose one area that's pulling your attention that feels like it's kind of louder than the rest. Or if you can't tell, choose something, contract or increase or over effort, whatever is happening in that area. Tighten and then begin to soften, undo release.
And from there, see if you can practice letting the body lead. So what happens what does that energy once you've contacted that energy, what does it want to do? Does it want to shake out? Does it want to make sound? Dance with it Move with it, as opposed to like up here in this story, separated from it and making up things about it, we're dropping down into and being like, okay, let's Tango. Let's go, like letting the energy do what it wants to do, which is to move emotions are energy in motion. And so it's really just getting into your body giving yourself permission to move. And if you're unsure, because once again, this is a new language, this is a practice that you can deepen if you're unsure. A good place to always start is just shoulders and face, doing some movement, shaking it out. Just doing anything that becomes more physical and more of you in your body. Using what you have as an animal to be with the energy that is here.
So to review, find your feet, okay, I'm crazy. I'm stressed out like life is just that. Okay? Find your feet. I'm here. Can I set aside the narrative? Can I set aside the story? Can I set aside even this word, I'm stressed out? Can I just feel it in the body? I feel heat, I feel shakes, I feel tightening. Oh, I feel kind of like a wave of nausea. I feel tired. I feel like this, like tweeky neck thing. Okay, I'm going to choose one. This I feel like super tight and like it's just like a knot. Okay, I'm going to go into I'm going to lean into it a little bit, I'm going to contract a little more, I'm going to collapse a little more, I'm going to tighten a little more. I'm going to keep breathing. And then I'm going to start to soften and release and get super curious about what that energy wants. Like okay, I really want to just shake my hips and move and like stomp my feet. I want to let out some sounds and shakes. Oh, there's like a wave of sadness. Okay, can I say yes to that? Can I let that flow? Okay, cool. There's like a wave of rage. Can I say yes to that? How does that want to be physical, it wants to push it wants to move. Ah, I want to let out sound deep in my breath, open my face. So then you're just letting the body lead and be with that energy.
And that can go a million different ways. It can go slow and soft, it can go wild and crazy. But it's about incorporating that energy back into your body, letting go of what's not yours, so that you are coming back to more of the wholeness of you a greater expansive sense of self. So it's important at the end of whatever practice to take a moment to notice who is here now, what sensations are here? How am I feeling what's happening. Because the more that we can learn to trust that state and to feel and to deepen our capacity to to be in alignment with what's true, like what's really going on and feeling and sensing and hearing, the more that we trust that the more that we're living from that place. And if we're connected to that we're connected to life. And that gives us a more tangible, visceral experience of being alive. So always take time afterwards to just notice. And it's not that like, who everything's fantastic. I have zero stress. Most of the time, like there's still stuff happening, you're still a human and a body. But perhaps there's a little bit more space, perhaps there's a little bit more room to navigate, or just more options or choices. Or if anything, maybe there's less contraction, and a little bit more energy. So just to notice, and sometimes that's not the case, sometimes there's more activation, and then that can be your starting place in Okay, can I find my feet and meet myself here. It's always that practice really, in the most simple form is, can I find my feet and meet myself here, hold myself with compassion, and deepen into my curiosity.
So if you desire to practice this stuff, and really get to know what it's like in your body, I have a monthly membership that is incredibly powerful two 90 minute live calls a month plus a guided audio practice. And you are being led through breathwork and embodiment practices and somatic practices so that you're learning in your body, how you relate to your experiences, to your emotions to your energy, and so that you get more of you back, you are living from a more whole place. So there's a free trial going on right now. You can try it for 30 days for free. And after that, it's only 22 a month and it's so powerful to do this work in a collective like I cannot stress that enough. We as humans not meant to do this alone. So it's a beautiful, beautiful place happens on zoom so you can do it anywhere and you get the recording. So if you can't make it live, no worries, the membership portal is there for So check out that check out all the free downloadable resources on my website. Subscribe, comment. Let me know how you are in your life and what's happening. Follow me on Instagram, all the things, I'm sending you so much love and have a beautiful, beautiful day.