Hey, it's Carina and welcome back to soul medicine. This month I wanted to offer you something a little different. Not something to listen to and switch off, but something to actually feel. This is a guided somatic meditation. It's designed to help you notice what your body is holding and what happens when you stop holding it in the same way.
Carina:So if you can, find a quiet space, get comfortable and let yourself drop into this.
Carina:Before we start, notice
Carina:this.
Carina:You're holding your breath just slightly. Not enough to alarm you, but
Carina:enough that your body never fully lets go.
Carina:Your shoulders are doing more work than they need to. Your jaw is tighter than it should be. And even right now, a part of you is still on.
Carina:You don't switch off. You manage. You hold, you keep things contained so nothing spills out at the wrong time.
Carina:Stay with me. We're not fixing that. We're going to feel it.
Carina:Not to help you escape, but to bring you back into your body. This is a guided somatic meditation by Carina Bone. If it feels safe to do so, find a comfortable position and gently close your eyes. Notice where your body is holding itself right now. Not where you think it should relax, where it actually isn't.
Carina:Your shoulders, your chest, your stomach. There's a quiet effort happening, even here. You've trained yourself to do this without thinking, To stay composed when something in you wants to react. To soften your tone before anyone feels uncomfortable. To keep going when your body has already said enough.
Carina:You don't call it holding. You call it coping. You call it being strong. You call it just getting on with it. And over time, that stops feeling like effort and starts feeling like who you are.
Carina:But your body knows the difference. The way you hold everything together is the same way nothing moves. So just for a moment, notice your breath again. Where it shortens, where it stops, where it stays controlled. And now let your next exhale go a fraction further than usual.
Carina:Not deeper, just less managed. Notice what your body does when it's not being held in place the same way. And I just want you to feel the air on your skin. The weight of your body. The space around you.
Carina:Nothing is asking anything from you right now. No one needs anything from you. And your body begins to register something unfamiliar. I don't have to be on. So just for this moment, you don't need to hold it all together.
Carina:Notice where your body is still gripping and internally say, I don't need to carry this the same way right now. And let your next exhale respond. Something has shifted, even if it's subtle, Because your body just experienced another way. And so I now want you to slowly begin to bring your awareness back. Feel the surface beneath you.
Carina:Gently move your fingers, your toes. And take a breath in and a full breath out. And when you're ready, open your eyes.
Carina:Welcome back.
Carina:Notice how you feel now.
Carina:What's softer? What's quieter? What feels different in your body?
Carina:And you might want to capture it.
Carina:A few words, a voice note or just acknowledging it is enough.
Carina:Because this is how things begin to change. Not by forcing, but by noticing what's already there. You can return to this whenever you feel yourself tightening again And each time your body will recognize the way back faster.
Carina:Just because it was doesn't mean it will be.
Carina:And if this stirred something in you and you're feeling ready to explore this at a deeper level, you'll find the ways to work with me in the show notes. And if you want something gentle to come back to between episodes, you can also download my free ground clear protect meditation there too.
Carina:Take what you need and go gently. With love, Carina