Speaker 1 0:12
Hello, co-regulation conversations. Oh my gosh, Sarah here, and I'm back. It is the middle of July, and I have these next two module episodes in our summer somatics series that I am ready to share with you, record, and get back into our regular rhythm of podcast episodes. I've been a little bit behind here as I come out of my trips and had some integration work to do, and it's something I'm playing with a little bit with this podcast project. Is recognizing that I am like the flow of the creative process is the is the point, rather than the particular schedule of it. Though I am committed to weekly episodes, they just might not come out right on time each week. So I've been just trusting that if the episode I want to record isn't ready yet. That I'm in a different part of my creative cycle, which maps onto my nervous system cycle, and I should do an episode about that probably. But what it means is that I've it's been playing with just trusting the timing of my words as I want to speak to you in this format, and try to not stress when I don't meet the deadlines that I had intended, because they're made up anyways to some extent. Though I do want to keep up this thing with you, so all that to say, I am back from the Arctic and from my trip to New York City, and the episode that we're the topic we're tackling today is expansion. the expansion part of the cycle, and particularly the summer cycle, and inside of the somatic skills series for summer that we're doing our first two on pleasure, connecting with pleasure, and with dialing. dialing up and down the intensity of things, especially dialing down like downshifting. That was the second episode topic, and those two set the framework when we set the foundation. Ideally, when we do them well, for the potential for an expansive cycle, that does not-pardon the language-does not fuck us up. That does not-that-that is something that is stretchy, but doesn't like wreck us. That doesn't overwhelm our nervous systems, or you know, send us over the edge. I feel like this is the big skill of summer, and I am certainly not like saying this from any kind of like mountaintop that has it all figured out. Because at least inside of Alaska summer, this is really something to navigate these pulls toward expansive and bigness, and like having, like doing a lot, just a lotness. I was just in the in the Arctic on the on top, the northernmost part of Alaska, in the Brooks Range, above the Arctic Circle over the summer solstice time period, when the light is, the sun doesn't set and it just circles circles you, and so there's very little shade, even at night, and a lot of life and a lot of energy happening all at once. It's an incredible place to be during that time of year. Okay, gotta take a breath. So the message here. The the point here is that I've been in some big expansive cycles and learned a lot about it, and had tried to record this a couple times previously, but didn't quite work out. And now I can kind of see why, because there were some big. Been in some big learnings around this next topic, expansion and making more room, having more room for the bigness that happens during summer season and any any type of expansive growth cycle, any type any nervous system cycle. Okay, actually, but before, so that's where we're headed, and I want to make note that right now, in this very moment, I'm at home. Definitely integrating a lot. Feel very full from these experiences that I've had over the last month. Lots of learnings and really fun to be going through that kind of growth spurt and then thinking about ways to share it with you. But right now I'm home and it's been raining here for the last week or so, and I have been enjoying the rain so much, and I want to speak on this a bit.
Speaker 1 6:10
It's kind of a tangent, but it actually relates a lot to the previous episode where we were talking about downshifting, because this week of rain in South Central Alaska has is one is an example of a environmentally induced downshift, and it's really interesting to notice how people relate to that. A lot of, I mean, rain has its downsides, right? There's like some discomfort that goes with it, for sure. And like the feeling of being wet and cold in Alaska, especially, is unpleasant. And I mean, that's in some ways, yeah, it's different if you're in the back country too, on a mountain trip, and you're out in it and wet all the time, or if you're in the front country and basically comfortable and dry and have access to a place to warm up and dry off. All that to say, I have been noticing myself having a new level of access to the pleasure, the enjoyment of the downshift that comes with a rainy window. Some ask because I've been moving really fast with trips and travel and things, and I'm a little bit like I need a downshift to come out of that big cycle. I'm like really ready for some rest, physically and mentally, and so my body's hung has been hungry for it, and then to have it match with the weather system that is slowing down. Like there's just not as much pressure to go out and do summer things, which here in Alaska is a big thing. That's like maybe another tangent, or it's like a piece of this puzzle of expansion. Is the pressure to go do all the summer things when the weather is nice. So I'm really resting back right now in the feeling of a downshift that's happening and that my body was ready for and the environment is providing. And I would offer you this inquiry if this is something that's resonating for you, an inquiry around what it feels like to to experience a downshift when the weather turns for some reason, and maybe this is applicable to those of you who live in the like hot and dry places that are even experiencing like poor air quality. I'm actually curious about that. There's a forced downshift in that kind of environmental experience too, in a different way. But it forces you inside potentially, and there's a so there's a physical like a mobility downshift. Okay, let me know if you want me to talk more about that. I'm like very curious about it. One of the one of the queries is if we can if we can support our nervous systems in in downshifting into a slower pace. In and to do that through a downshift rather than a freeze or a collapse, because many of our systems, when we start to like experience that type of descent in nervous system activation levels, especially. It's kind of imposed externally, then there can be a way that tips us toward more of like a collapse or a freeze. And when we, it's a somatic like body has like almost like a physiology, like physical therapy aspect to the body learning to have a downshift instead, or like a settling ability to settle. But when that happens, amazing. Okay, so let's transition because I want to spend some time here now talking about our topic for today, which is about the expansive part of a cycle, and particularly how to experience those expansive phases, the busy times, the ambitious times, the fast-paced moments, the growth phases, in ways that are supported well, and so that we can learn from them and enjoy them and be in them without overwhelming our bodies and nervous systems, burning ourselves out. You know. know, all the things that comes from doing a lot in an unsupportive way, overdoing it intentionally or not. So the big, I mean, so the things we've already learned are very supportive because what I have come to see is if we have this foundation of things that we feel resourced by, like anything that's pleasurable for our body, and we have the ability to move into an expansion and then also back back out of it, which is the deceleration skill.
Speaker 1 12:05
Then we can move into expansion in a way that has a has some movement to in it, because what can scare the body is when we go just into like all the big things, and we miss the moments of like pause or rest in between. So it feels like we're just like growing, growing, growing without those little mini breaks. So the the things we've been practicing already are really important, and they set us up really well here. Okay. where to start? Where where to go next? Hold on, I need to take pause. Okay, so here is how I would offer to think about and work with these expansive stages of things. The first is the somatic skill of noticing when things are accelerating inside you, inside your body, inside your the pace of life, or yeah, like the amount that it feels like you're holding. So that is that is a interoceptive skill for most people. There's lots of ways to access it. So if interoception isn't your thing, there are other ways of getting to know your body signals or your thought patterns. But the way I like to play with it, just just to do a little practice around noticing that would be to right now take a moment to notice your body in this state where we're like we've been together for a little while. We're kind of in a chill rhythm for the most part, notice how that feels like, and then do something to accelerate things, whether it's speed up on your walk or think about something that's stressing you out right now. Call a news headline, or think about something that's really exciting and fun and motivating right now. Could be pleasurable activation, and just deal, do whatever what came to mind right now. You know, maybe you're already doing it, and then notice how your body responds, like what the physiology is. Where does there tension that shows up? Where is there speeding? Like rhythmic rhythmic changes, pace changes, of thoughts maybe, or of heartbeats or breaths. You know, many see what you notice. Maybe there's thoughts or images or other memories. Memories. Who knows? So we're taking note of that, and then maybe there's also a backside of that little wave that has been able to happen now, as we spend a little bit of time kind of separating from the imagination or memory thing you called up, or the stressful thing, or the if you were speedy, yep, maybe now you slow yourself down, and we'll be in a little deceleration moment, and just give that a little bit of time to happen and be noticed and maybe enjoyed, even if there's something kind of like, ooh, that does feel good job, body. Get you decelerating in subtle ways that maybe I don't always notice, but there it is. Or if not, you know, like I always want to make room for you to have a be having a different experience. Our nervous systems are all so individual, so if you're having something different happen, that's just information about. what your your body, your nervous system is navigating or has patterns around. You know, lots of things could be not a problem. All right, so there's a somatic. That's like skill number one for working with these bigger phases, these more intense, expansive times of life is noticing when they are happening, so that we can be with ourselves and support ourselves well, because it's a different type of support generally in these phases than in the other ones. And I would love for us all to be able to notice them when they are starting, when they're kicking off, rather than noticing them when they're at an eight, 910, and we're like over it, we can support ourselves a lot better if we have the like possibility of noticing it earlier, right? That makes sense. Yeah. So once you've noticed it, then there's two questions to that I'd suggest having offering to yourself when you've clued in to the fact that you're inside of a busy phase, and we want to figure out how to like support the nervous system well during a stretchy, expansive, fast-paced time, and the two questions I would have for you there are: How am I supported? What kind of support might I need?
Speaker 1 19:04
The question is around noticing where there is support and noticing where support could be layered on. Some of those are as basic as like the Earth is supporting my body weight right now. These do not have to be profound, though. When they are, let's notice those too. But just as important is it to notice the very subtle, boring, everyday types of support. I'm supported by this air that I'm breathing right now, and by the back support on my chair, or by the co-regulation experience that I'm having.
Speaker 2 20:00
With
Speaker 1 20:02
you know our co-regulation community right now, and with nature that's holding us all in different and interconnected ways. So the first this first inquiry is about support, which you might recognize as the topic of the first module in this series. The second one is when can I pause? Like as things are accelerating. When are there opportunities for a pause, which might be a downshift in something, some direction, might just be a moment, but it really is that being able to find a rhythm of acceleration and deceleration, rather than just feeling the accelerative, one-directional thrust that can kind of scares our nervous system if we get if we only do that part of things. That's how we get to overwhelm. We really, our bodies are really designed to touch into something and then back out of it again. Though that's a physiological thing, and many nervous systems don't actually have smooth access to that. So, I'll also want to make sure to say that if that's not an easy, if that's easier said than done, then that's very real and normal, and it's very different to know cognitively what we want our nervous system and bodies to do, and for the physiology of our bodies to be able to actually do it regularly. Though that's like the whole point of this like nervous system somatic work that I'm trying to share with people is that we are hoping that there's a there's like a physical therapy aspect to the rebuilding of the nervous system physiology's ability to accelerate and then also decelerate. Accelerate. Notice when it's happening and then decelerate and then accelerate again, or even just pause between those acceleration phases. So, come to me from with if you want some help with that. It's a big part of what I do. All right. right, and so you might also have noticed that that skill maps onto the previous module, module two in this series about decelerating, and so then this new layer. Just like do a quick review, though I'm guessing that you'll see you're following this just fine. But to get ourselves organized, what we're doing here is noticing when building the skill of noticing and noticing early when accelerative cycles are underway, and then bringing these two questions about where do where am I supported and where do I need support? That's the support question, and the it's really pendulation. But it's am I am I am I decelerating as well as accelerating? Or the question might be when is there an opportunity to pause? Yeah, and then what might happen? And this is really important in my approach to somatics. What might happen organically in your body? And if it does, we want to notice it. But we don't. I'm not asking you to make this happen. My, it's really important to me that in the way we work with our bodies, we make this subtle shift away from top down using our mind to make something happen in our physiology, and instead of that, what we are practicing, just because it's so underdeveloped in so many of us, is creating the conditions and the support and the nervous system experience, and then lending our attention skillfully to the. the to the support to the situation that we have the support that we've added, and then noticing what happens in the body and catching those moments when they happen. I. Might need to figure out other ways to explain it, but that's very important difference for me, and I hope we can continue to work on that together. It's like freeing up or like getting out of that controlling place, even with our healing work-that's like so easy to do. All right, that's topic for another time. But then the thing here is that if we've done these steps, what I think it makes possible for is the experience of feeling like there is a spaciousness or a way the body might be able to soften or feel like it has access to more space? Because when there's times when we're really pressurized and moving fast. There's a lot of energy around. It can help to like have some extra space in the body for that energy to move around in. I don't know. There's like a phys. There's a physics to that.
Speaker 1 26:13
It's like a space problem, and it's one of the things that I love about being in the Arctic this time of year, because the Arctic has this expansiveness to it. You're when you're above tree line, above the Arctic Circle, there's not many trees, so there's tundra all over, and that means you can and these mountains, and you can see really far, especially when you get up on a ridge or on a on a higher place, and you can look across the valley and see so far, and the the vistas are so expansive and spacious, and there's a way I feel that it's like it maybe. Well, the way it feels for me, which I don't know, this sounds really weird. Feel free to like. We don't have to agree on everything, but I'm curious if it doesn't resonate for you. What would what your version of this might be? But the way there's a magpie, maybe you hear who has an opinion, like they do? Yeah, the way it feels for me is that my that expansive vista ecosystem talks to my physiology in a way that it it shows it a way that it could also be. There's part of my body that kind of my energy body it feels like organizes to meet that state that that place the energetics of that place. Okay, yeah, hard to put into words, but maybe you understand what I'm getting at or aversion. That's helpful, and yeah, that really, that really feels good in my body to be connected with the possibility of those expanded states and the way that nature and some landscapes in particular teach us about that. So you know, actually, this is just coming to mind here, but a way I feel like to maybe if that idea is something that you really like, there might be a way you could either look back through some photos if you've been to places that gave you that kind of expansive feeling, or you could do some googling online for other people's media that show the that that help you feel that kind of that kind of thing that that feels similar or or supportive for these kind of bigger phases that you might find yourself in, something I'm practicing a lot right now after my Arctic trip is bringing the imagery and the felt sense of being there back into my mind and body, and letting my system reorganize itself again back into that place, and it's been a really, yeah, it's been a really resourcing practice that I offer to you too, if it feels useful. Okay, I feel complete with this exploration of expansion and making. More room complete for now. I look forward to talking with you more about this topic. Let me know how it resonates, and we'll be back for Module Four in this series soon.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
