Hi! Jenny here with Somatic Therapy Partners. Today I’m here to teach you guys another resourcing skill for when you’re in those moments of feeling really anxious or nervous about something or feeling like you’re just really amped up. I like to use this when I’m feeling like if I have some sort of call or a conversation that I need to have with somebody that’s going to be a difficult one. I like to do this before the conversation so that I can really slow my body down and really just take some breaths so that I can go in as my best most regulated self. I invite you to try this when you’re at home or in those situations where you really just need a moment to slow yourself down. This exercise is called (I call it): Feet Seat Back or FSB. I’m going to run through this exercise with you. I invite you to ideally find a seat somewhere that’s comfortable.
Now you can do this standing up, I typically recommend folks at least begin by doing this sitting down. The reason I say that is because we’re trying to slow our bodies down. If we’re standing up there’s still work that our body has to do and when we’re sitting down, there’s a lot less work that is expected and needed for our body. With that I do invite you to find a chair that’s comfortable for you and begin by either having your eyes open or shut – it’s totally up to you. If you decide to keep your eyes open, I invite you to find something pleasant, maybe a piece of art or something that’s really pleasant to your eye so that you can just kind of linger your gaze in one place.
So right now, as you get settled in your chair, I invite you first to just start noticing your breath. You don’t need to change it, you don’t need to do anything about it, you’re just beginning to pay attention. Is there more ease or labor with your breath? Is it nice and slow or a little bit faster pace? Regardless we’re just paying attention.
I invite you to now bring your attention to your feet. You might begin to notice the feeling of a sock around your foot, or the feeling of your foot being held by your shoe. Some folks like to just gently tap their foot slowly right to left and just kind of noticing your feet beneath you. You might also notice the floor and I also invite people to try just even kind of pushing your feet into the floor. You can push one side or then the other or both at the same time. Just really feeling the support that’s being offered and you’re not having to do anything except just be held by the floor beneath you.
I encourage you now to just start gently moving your attention from your feet now to your seat. You’re just starting to pay attention to the support of the chair beneath you if it feels good to kind of move from left to right, just letting your body notice that support. Some people like to turn or twist a little bit or even have your hands on your legs; just maybe feeling the warmth between your leg and your hand or the warmth between your seat and the chair, whatever feels good. Just kind of linger in that space knowing that your body is literally not having to do anything right now except receive the support of the chair.
Now I invite you to slowly bring your attention from your seat up into your back and you might begin this by just slowly kind of pushing your back into the chair behind you feeling that pressure, feeling that cushion. You might kind of move your shoulders or just kind of wiggle a little bit – again anything that feels good and helps you connect with your back in this moment. Again, you might feel some of that heat between your back and the chair and you might even notice something new and all you’re doing is just paying attention. So I invite you to just stay with this maybe for two or three breaths.
You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to. Feel free to pause the video at this time if that’s the case. When you feel ready, I just invite you to come back to your breath again. we started there and we’re gonna end there. Again, we’re not trying to change it, we’re not trying to shift it – we’re just paying attention. You might notice if there’s been shifts at all since we began. Again, just noticing – no work. Feel free to stay in the space as long as it feels good to you.
It’s been great having you here! I look forward to seeing you in future videos. I hope you have a great rest of your day.