Soft Touch Meditation

Hi. I'm Cleo. Welcome to Practice. Today, we'll be exploring soft touch. As a method of moving from the outermost, the skin layer to the innermost, the nervous system. The longest nerve in the body is called the vagus nerve, and it goes from the brain all the way down to the colon, touching through all of the vital organs in the whole body And it's the primary controller for the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest and digest, So this is a wonderful practice if you have insomnia or a kind of restlessness, anxiety, also digestive issues.

Sometimes they also call the parasympathetic nervous system mending and befriending a way of healing, even inflammation and triggering the hormones that allow us to connect to other people and be in love So you can do this practice lying down or sitting up or standing. You will wanna have hands free, and we'll start simply by placing the hands over the eyes Try to place the heels of the hands over the eyelids with the fingers running up into the hairline, and a very slight pressure into the eye sockets. The eyes have an element of fire to them constantly, vigilantly seeking, searching for information, for insight, And the hands over the eyes can allow for a cooling, darkening, almost a watery feeling. If you've been staring at the computer screen, the eyes can become dry, And simply by closing the lid, we can rehydrate and allow the eyeballs to lubricate in their sockets. And you can take a couple breaths here.

Move your hands to your ears. Hold the top cartilage of the ear. And pull up towards the top of your head. And then grab around the rim of the ear, and you'll pull back the back of the ear towards the back of your head. And you'll keep going down to the ear lobes and pull those down.

You'll do this three times around the rim of the ear, pulling the cartilage up and back. And down. It should feel nice. The brain listens as one of the first indications of our safety. And you might just notice that you're safe right now that it's okay to breathe Next, you'll slide your hands around your cheeks. Holding your face the way someone who loves you might hold your face I'm wearing a mic, so I'm not touching mine, but do cup your cheeks in your hands.

And you might say something very caring. I care about you. I love you. You can call yourself by your name or some term of endearment sweetheart. And then slide the hands down to the chest, put one hand on top of the other. And feel your breath, your rib cage expanding as you inhale.

And the rib cage hugging in softening as you exhale. You might feel your heart beating. You could pat your chest or make a small circle with your hand communicating comfort and kindness. Go ahead and slide the hands down to the belly and switch which hand is on top. And take a few breasts into the valley.

Again, feeling the sensation, not just of your hand touching your belly, but also of your belly being touched. And then allow the hands to rest, palms up. If you're lying down, it may feel like Shivasana. Or they can rest on your lap if you're seated. This kind of open palm, easy come, easy go.

Also the longer exhales, the slower exhales, help to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system to slow down the heart rate, the respiration rate, So we'll move through this whole sequence two more times. Your rhythm is perfect. I'll queue you through it. Starting with hands at the eyes. Moving to tug on the ears.

Tracing the rim of the ear, pulling, opening the canal of the ear three times, And then holding the cheeks. One saying some caring words, you know, especially if there's some anxiety or up set even to care about this anxiety. I care about this upset. Nothing needs to be disowned or changed. Just cared for.

Lumming your hands rest on your heart, the center of your chest, maybe some rocking, soothing movement, And then sliding the hands down to the belly switching which hand is on top, feeling the belly breath, filling up like a balloon, softening and sinking back into itself. Rusting with the palms facing up. Really resting. Not this just be easy. And move through that sequence one last time.

Again, your own rhythm is perfect, and I'll cue you to begin at the eyes but stay longer in any one of these places. If it feels right, if it feels helpful, Sometimes even covering the eyes can initiate a kind of emotional quality like a tears might come, let that. And then holding on to the rim of the ear and opening it. Letting the sound waves travel in. Listening.

Sometimes moving in meditation can be easier than staying still Sometimes touch can be such a helpful way to bring the mind into the present moment. Hold your face. They're okay. Rests the hands down at the heart. Just the sweetness of breath nourishing, supporting you.

Let the hands rest at the belly switching which hand is on top. This practice is a way of holding ourselves through whatever's going on. And then let the palms face up. Really resting, relaxing, Long exhales. Before we close this session, if there's any words you need to hear, Any reminders that are helpful?

Just even the reminder that you have the capacity to breathe the capacity to love to care. It can be a great cloak to wrap yourself in. As you move through this world. Take a deeper breath and when you're ready, go ahead and blink your eyes open. Thank you so much for exploring this practice.

Hope to be with you again soon.