Have you ever been asked to imagine a white light surrounding you in times of stress? This is a common enough suggestion from friends and practitioners who wish to help you manage anxiety.
I’ve used imagery work often before taking a test, before group speaking, and once when driving in an Appalachian ice storm.
I've found it very helpful.
Have you considered that your body itself can be a source of stress relief?
What if instead of asking for white light to surround you, of looking to an external source,
What if
you filled yourself up from within using your own resource of breath.
I listened to an interview recently with a leader in CranioSacral Therapy, Suzanne Scurlock- Durana and what she shared really hit home for me.
This exercise has turned imagery work on its head for me and it resonates clearly.
She brings up the idea of filling ourselves up with our own breath to define our boundaries instead of calling on an outside source to surround us.
I love this switch.
I love that it calls on me, individually, to define myself from within, to feel my own breath, my own body, to track my breath as it moves through my physical self, and to fill in my own outline using my very own breath life force.
Feeling your boundary by exploring the space of your body outlines where you end and where the outside world begins.
Try it!
Feel your feet on the floor and begin.
First belly breath in:
imagine filling in the space between your toes and your knees with your breath...exhale
Second belly breathin:
imagine filling in from your toes to your belly button….exhale
Third belly breath in:
imagine filling in toes to shoulders….exhale
Fourth belly breath in:
imagine filling in from your toes to the tips of your fingers….exhale
Fifth belly breath in:
imagine filling in toes to the top of your head and out its top....exhale.
That’s it.
In 5 breaths.
How does your body feel right now? How does it feel to be you?
I’m doing this when my feet first hit the floor each morning.
And I’m wrapping it in as an opening to longer meditative sittings before you arrive for a session.
I can’t wait to hear your experiences with this.
Please, do share.
Thank you for reading my notes.
I hope you've enjoyed it.
And check out Suzanna Scurlock-Durana