For many of us, holding and supporting those we love, and ourselves, can feel taxing and draining. After difficult emotional times, you might find yourself becoming irritated, tense, or exhausted. You may love supporting and holding space, but you want to find a way to sooth your own nervous system, so you can feel resourced to show up for your own heart and those of the people you care about most.

This is a feminine practice originally led by Ali Kegley Kole, Nicholette Routhier, and Erin Kinney for the 2020 Embodied Women's Relationship Immersion for moving energy, grounding, nourishing, and smoothing out your nervous system. This practice is recommended during emotionally challenging times, after holding space for a friend or loved one, or after a long day at work.

If you want to learn how to care for your own nervous system so you can show up to your life and loved ones feeling nourished and resourced, this 18-minute practice will help.

Prior to your practice, set aside an uninterrupted period of time in which you can stay in practice the entire time and prepare a comfortable and private practice space that will allow you to move your body freely.

The practice begins standing with a "Dance Break" to get your energy moving. Shake it out. Twerk it out. Bounce. Skip around your room. Jump on your bed. Swing your hair around. Breathe deeply, and awaken, enliven and energize your entire body.

After 3-4 minutes, feeling all of that energy, find your way to relative stillness while staying on your feet. Then begin to brush with your fingers down your body towards the earth. Brush your entire body - head, front side, backside, and down your legs to your feet. Smooth out your nervous system with this movement.

Then, after few minutes, let the brushing and downward movement gradually take you down to the floor on your hands and knees. Feel the stability of the structure of your arms and legs and release into it. Let your spine relax and move in a way that feels good. Undulating. Circling. Shaking. Deepen your connection to the earth and allow your roots to drop down. Feel the pulse of the earth through your arms and legs. Slow and deepen your breath. Soften your belly, solar plexus, and face. Let the movement be nourishing and luxurious. Let out sighs and sounds on your exhales. The sounds are like a brushing of your nervous system from the inside out.

Then, after another 3-4 minutes, make your way down to lying flat on your belly on your floor or bed. Feel free to use a cushion or blanket for comfort. Deepen your breath and press your belly into the earth with every inhale. Relax even more fully with every exhale. Imagine that the earth is responding to you, breathing with you. Imagine that you are sinking deeper into the earth with every breath. Allow the earth to nourish you. See if you can begin to feel the pulse of the earth as your own pulse. Imagine that this pulse is liquid honey flowing through your body. Nourishing. Cleansing. Clearing.

Allow the earth to hold you. Relax your hips and thighs and surrender to the earth. If any emotions come through, trust that the earth has got you. Allow those emotions to clear and cleanse, as you give them back to the earth. Let this be effortless.

After 10 minutes, staying with the breath, begin to wiggle your fingers and toes and slowly find your way to a seated position, bringing with you this new openness, availability, and connection with the earth. Then offer a bow to close the practice.

Music:
Calabria 2007 by Enur and Natasja
Aap Sahaee Hoa by Krishan and Jai-Jagdeesh
The Blessing by Essie Jain

Technical Note: Ali Kegley Kole's sound quality dropped a few times, but we believe the transmission of the practice stands well enough on its own that we decided to make it available to the members of our Virtual Workshop.

Disclaimer: Although anyone may find this practice to be useful, it is made available with the understanding that we are not engaged in presenting specific medical, psychological, emotional, sexual or spiritual advice. Nor is anything in this practice intended to be a diagnosis, prescription, recommendation or cure for any specific kind of medical, psychological, emotional, sexual or spiritual problem. Each individual has unique needs and this practice cannot take these individual differences into account. Each person should engage in a program of treatment, prevention, cure, or general health only in consultation with a licensed, qualified physician, therapist or other competent professional. Any person suffering from a sexually transmitted disease or any local illness of his or her sexual organs should consult a medical doctor and a qualified instructor of sexual yoga before practicing the sexual methods described in this practice.