Meditation: Get Out of Your Head and Back In Your Body
I like this meditation for helping to align body and mind, so you can use this one if:
you're feeling disconnected from your body
you're feeling up in your head with your thoughts
you're experiencing some uncomfortable sensations in your body
you want to explore trying to bring some ease and more comfort into your body
It can be nice in the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle or anytime, PMDD or otherwise!
So I invite you to check it out and see what you think about this one.
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Title: Meditation: Get Out of Your Head and Back In Your Body
Episode number: 18
Date: 03.22.24
Meditation episode: Diane is the only speaker
EXCERPT (00:00)
I like this meditation for helping to align body and mind, so you can use this one if you're feeling disconnected from your body and just really up in your head with your thoughts.
You can also use this one if you are experiencing some uncomfortable sensations in your body and want to explore trying to bring some ease and more comfort into your body. So I invite you to check it out and see what you think about this one.
INTRO (00:40)
If you want to learn how you can live better with PMDD, this podcast was created for you. This is Mindfulness for PMDD with Diane. I'm Diane, and I'm a registered dietitian and lactation consultant. I'm also a mom, a PMDD warrior, and a trauma-informed mindfulness teacher. And this is where I discuss topics related to PMDD, through the lens of mindfulness and meditation and where I share all about how mindfulness has gotten me to a place of greater peace and acceptance with my PMDD.
I also chat with people who have helped and inspired me along the way so they can share their wisdom with you too. So let's get started.
SAFETY NOTE / DISCLAIMER (01:27)
The following is a mindfulness exercise or meditation. So if you're driving or otherwise distracted, I invite you to save it for a time when you can find yourself a moment of comfortable stillness and practice safely. If now's that time, let's get started.
A MEDITATION FOR ALIGNING BODY AND MIND (01:44)
The soothing power of touch. The mind and body take cues from one another. With this knowledge, we can use our own hands to encourage states of ease and comfort in our own bodies. This information filters to our minds, which then in turn also feeds back to the body.
The human body responds to touch, and touch can change the activity in the nervous system. So let's harness that power together now.
MINDFULNESS MOMENT: GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD AND BACK IN YOUR BODY (02:24)
I invite you to find yourself a comfortable seat and close your eyes, or just soften your gaze to rest on a single spot in front of you, whichever feels right for you today.
We're going to bring ourselves into the practice with three breaths, inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth, in your own time or together with me.
Inhale,
and exhale.
Inhale,
and exhale.
Once more, inhale,
and exhale.
Coming back to breathing in and out through the nose now, slow breaths into your tummy and allowing the lungs to fully empty with the exhale.
Continue breathing slow and steady in and out through the nose, grounding into the body using your breath, bringing awareness to your body in this moment.
Without trying to change or fix anything, I encourage you to try to observe what is present for you today.
Notice what physical sensations you can feel and where you can feel them in your body. Doing a quick scan from top to toe and just noticing what you find. Stressful spots. Neutral spots. Peaceful spots. Bringing kind awareness to them all, equally, and without judgment. Dropping your awareness out of your head and coming back home to your body.
[Okay. Awesome?]
Begin by bringing one of your hands to the top of the opposite arm just below the shoulder. Gently rest the hand here with a gentle hold, maybe a little squeeze, and with the intention of offering yourself support, give the top of your arm a couple of gentle squeezes, maybe a little rub.
You might like to try both arms at the same time, crossed over the body, like a little hug for yourself.
Allow yourself to really feel the care and support you have for yourself and thank yourself for giving yourself this time and space just for you. You so deserve it. Tune into any relaxation in the mind or body.
Just rest there for a few more moments with that hand on top of the arm.
Breathing deeply,
seeing if you can breathe a little more love and calm into this area of your body.
Great. When you're ready, release your hand or hands back into your lap and take a deep breath in and out.
Now, bringing one of your hands to the back of the head where the spine meets the skull. So to the top of your neck, right where your neck meets your head. This is a place where you were held and supported as an infant, and it can offer a sense of safety and ease.
As you gently rest your hand here, allow the body to feel safe and comfortable.
Let the head gently sink a little more into your hand, feeling that sense of support.
Just let go if you can, releasing into your hand and feeling that sense of being held.
Releasing your hand from your head now, taking a deep breath in and out.
Move the hand to the center of your chest, over your heart space now. Maybe even trying two hands and see how that feels.
Allow your hand or hands to rest here, feeling care for yourself as you continue to see if you can move into a sense of letting go in the body and mind.
Perhaps moving the hands gently in small circles, in one direction. And then the other.
Just rest here with your hand over your heart, breathe deeply and see if you can embrace the stillness and the connection of your hand over your heart space.
You might even be able to sense your own heart beating here.
And finally, keeping the hand or hands here, or allowing them to rest into your lap once again, let's take one more soul-nourishing breath in. Perhaps the biggest breath you've taken all day.
And on the exhale, perhaps seeing if you can make that exhale as long as you possibly can.
And when you are ready, come back into the room.
Really well done for taking this time for yourself today.
OUTRO (10:32)
I want to share a little bit about my program, Live Better with Mindfulness for PMDD. It's three months of mindfulness and acceptance coaching developed specifically for those of us living with PMDD, and you can do it and benefit from it really at any stage of your PMDD journey, because with the tools you'll add to your toolbox, you can put the brakes on when you're freaking out or have something to help you get through life while waiting on a diagnosis.
You'll begin to invite more space between you and your thoughts and feelings so that you can identify less with your PMDD and reconnect more with your true self. And as you discover or rediscover your values, you'll find yourself able to say no to the things that really don't serve you and yes to the things that bring you closer to living the kind of life you want to live because you can live a richer, more meaningful life with PMDD.
Now, if you're thinking, I've tried mindfulness before, or all that sounds nice, but I just don't feel like I have the capacity right now to sit and do long meditations or learn something new or add one more thing to my life, I hear you. I felt the same. I knew from how mindfulness helped me with PTSD, that it could help me with PMDD.
But I needed to find a new way to do it. So I created this program where everything's really short and simple. There are no hour-long sessions to sit through and you don't have to remember to practice mindfulness or try a mindfulness exercise because I'm there inviting you and prompting you throughout the week.
So if you're interested, here's your next step. Go to the show notes and click the link to book a chat with me. There's no cost involved and it's commitment-free and we get to chat PMDD and what's worked for you and what hasn't and what questions you have about the program. I would love to get to meet you.
All right, let's get back to the podcast.
Thank you so much for listening. If you liked the show, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. For links to everything mentioned in this episode, you can check out the show notes and you can find me, Diane DeJesus, on Instagram @mindfulnessforpmdd. Now I invite you to pause, take a breath, and look around.
