September 10, 2025 • 21 mins
Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally stuck? In this episode of Somatic Healing for Wellness-Focused Women, I'm sharing 9 powerful tools, practices, and perspectives to help you navigate anxiety, emotional stress, and dysregulation through a somatic, holistic lens. 🧘♀️💛
These are the exact tools I return to in my personal life and with clients when working with anxiety, grief, fear, sadness, or self-doubt. Whether you're new to nervous system work or a seasoned practitioner, this episode offers grounded, trauma-informed insights you can apply today.
Inside, you’ll learn:
🔹 How to create your personalized “Toolkit” in the Notes app
🔹 What the Window of Tolerance and 4 trauma responses reveal about your nervous system
🔹 The power of shifting from “I am anxious” to “I’m experiencing anxiety”
🔹 How sensation association and inner child healing support lasting regulation
🔹 Why emotional inclusivity = deeper healing
🔹 The 3 types of breathwork (mindful, integrative, meditative) and when to use them
🔹 How to deepen self-compassion and become your own safe place
💌 Want to take this work deeper? Get my Free Somatic Breathwork Bundle when you join the Somatic Healing Newsletter. You’ll receive 20+ guided breathwork practices to support you through anxiety, stress, emotional blocks, and more.
🎤 Have a question or aha moment? Leave me a voice note at SpeakPipe. I might answer it in a future episode.
WORK W. ME
Somatic Breathwork Experiences
Events
Return to Soul Retreat
CONNECT
The Monthly Newsletter
DM on IG
Website
Subscribe & Review Apple Podcasts
Follow & Rate Spotify
Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast is intended to inspire, educate, and support you on your personal journey. It does not substitute for professional mental health advice. I am not a psychologist or medical professional. If you are experiencing distress, mental health challenges, or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified professional.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the podcast.
If you are new here, I'm Rae,I'm a somatic coach and
breathwork facilitator, and ifyou aren't new here, welcome
back.
I'm so glad that you are tuningin for today's episode.
So for today's episode, we'regoing to be diving in and
talking about a few differenttools, resources or perspectives
(00:22):
that can help with navigatingany kind of emotional challenge,
any kind of anxious thoughts,feelings, anxiety.
That is what we're going to bediving into, and when I first
started my business, I chose toreally specialize in anxiety
specifically because it'ssomething that I've been
(00:46):
navigating and I've felt since Iwas very, very young, like my
first memory of anxiety is likeseven years old.
So when I discovered breathworkabout nine years ago, that is
really the thing that changedeverything for me and it opened
me up to a whole world ofsomatics and somatic healing.
(01:06):
And so what I'm going to sharewith you today is about nine
different resources,perspectives or tools that I
think it'd be helpful to chatabout, nor know more about, when
it comes to working withanxiety or, like I said, any
really kind of challengingemotion, grief, sadness, fear,
(01:27):
self-love, self-compassion,finding more joy, more safety,
things like that.
So that is what we'll be divinginto today.
So the first tool that I wantto share with you is something
that I may have mentioned on thepodcast previously, but I
really like using the notessection in my phone to, you know
, write down different things,keep track of things and help
(01:50):
things to stay organized.
So what I would invite you todo is, in the notes section of
your phone, create a note andcall it something whatever you'd
really like.
You could call it toolkit, andthis is going to be like a
living library and ongoingresource that you can add to.
And as you start to create thisnote, I want to invite you to
(02:12):
ask yourself, like what is?
What are some tools, someresources, some books that maybe
have worked for you already sofar?
Like, if you've been tuninginto this podcast, what are some
resources that you've alreadylearned and know about and like
to use to add to your toolkit?
And I like to use a perspectiveof if you are struggling with
(02:37):
something every day, like when Iwas really struggling with
anxiety.
It's something I was feelinganxious like every day, and I
kind of had this moment where Iwas just like, if I'm struggling
with this every day, there'ssomething that I need to be
doing for this every day, evenif it's a five minute morning
practice before work or, youknow, a five minute breath work
(02:57):
during lunch, like I need to bedoing something every day to
help learn more about my nervoussystem, regulate my nervous
system, work with, you know,more positive thinking, mindset,
like whatever it might be.
So invitation to create thattoolkit and write in the notes
section of your phone and allowit to grow and be a resource
(03:18):
that you can work with and comeback to whenever you think you
might need it.
Come back to whenever you thinkyou might need it.
The second thing I'd love toshare with you is to check in
with your basics.
So I find that sometimes we canovercomplicate things that can
be sometimes more simple.
So if we are, you know,struggling with an emotion or
(03:41):
really feeling dysregulated, arewe getting enough sleep?
Are we drinking enough water?
What does our diet look like?
Could we be benefiting fromsome vitamins, some supplements?
And it's not about gettingthings like perfect here.
You know, different seasons ofour life are going to require
some of these basics to changeand not everything is going to
(04:03):
be in balance at all times.
But it's about being honestwith yourself.
And if you are running on nosleep, chances are you're going
to be dysregulated in some way.
And if you're eating, you knowreally poorly and your gut is
all funky, chances are that'sgoing to dysregulate you in some
way.
And so it's about checking inwith these areas, checking in
(04:25):
with yourself and really seeing,okay, like, what areas might
need some extra TLC right now,where might I be out of balance
and is this out of balance areacontributing to my emotional
health?
The third thing I would love toshare with you, something I jam
about a lot on the podcast andsomething I'm passionate about,
(04:45):
is learning about the nervoussystem.
When I first started workingwith anxiety, I had no idea,
never even heard of the nervoussystem, didn't know what it was,
and I have a lot of episodesthat you can dive into on the
podcast, a few in the past fewweeks actually.
So if you just scroll back alittle bit, you'll see that
there's a deep dive into thewindow of tolerance and nervous
(05:08):
system regulation and the fourtrauma responses freeze, fawn,
fight or flight.
So I think, scrolling back,listening to those few episodes,
really diving in and learningmore about the nervous system
and understanding where doesyour nervous system default to
when you look at what you'restruggling with from this
(05:29):
approach.
And I find this helpful inparticular because, like I
mentioned, when I was strugglingwith anxiety and I first
started diving into this world,I had never heard about the
body-based perspective and neverheard about the window of
tolerance, never heard aboutworking with the nervous system,
and the first time that Ilearned about it and heard about
it, it was so eye-opening to methat, yeah, our bodies are
(05:53):
brilliant, like our mind, ourbody.
They are connected, they'reworking together.
Sometimes, you know they mightnot be working out the way that
we would like it to, when we'refeeling anxious and
uncomfortable, but it'ssomething that everybody's
bodies and everybody's nervoussystem is regulating or being
dysregulated.
And really finding what yourwindow of tolerance is working
(06:15):
with in your optimal window, howcan you expand it, how can you
find safety and really, yeah,scroll back, listen to those
episodes.
They're just absolutelywonderful.
The fourth tool that I wouldlove to share with you is called
working with observation versusidentification, and observation
and observing is a practicewhere you are able to really
(06:39):
slow down and see what ishappening in your experience,
what is happening with youremotions, your thoughts, your
feelings and what it does isthis ability to pause, slow down
, have that you know extra levelof awareness.
It's creating a strongerconnection with the part of you
that is called, like the innerwitness.
(06:59):
So it creates some flexibilityand some space within emotion,
rather than identifying withthat thing.
So an example would be oh mygosh, I'm so anxious, I'm so
anxious, I am, I am, I am,whereas observing the emotion is
I'm experiencing the sensationof anxiety, or these XYZ
(07:24):
feelings are really coming upfor me right now, but you are
not that thing.
So the feelings, yes, are real,the thoughts are real, the fear
that might be present is real,the anxiety is real, but it
doesn't define who you are.
That doesn't mean like you arenot the anxiety, it's a part
that is activated, and I'll talka little bit more about parts
(07:44):
in a moment here.
And then, the fifth tool andperspective that I'd love to
share with you is calledsensation association, and
working with sensationassociation to help you to find
a deeper sense of safety.
And so sensation associationwill help you to shift the
meaning that you give asensation in your body.
(08:05):
So, for example, when we feelanxious, that might feel really
uncomfortable could show up aslike tightness in the chest or
tightness in the throat, andwhen we feel that way, we're
feeling really, yeah,uncomfortable, unsafe, maybe
some other things, depending on.
You know what's going on inyour body, but by creating space
(08:27):
and sitting with the sensationin the body, you'll create an
awareness of what your body isactually trying to communicate
to you.
And this can also be used, youknow, proactively.
So, when I mentioned using itfor creating safety, this is
something I love, to start with,because you can find a
sensation of safety in your bodyand it can help you to reframe
(08:52):
how you access safety.
So we're super familiar withanxiety and super familiar with
how that might feel in the body.
But are we familiar with howsafety shows up in the body and
what it feels like to feelgrounded and resourced?
And do we have a few, you know,memories or moments where we
(09:12):
can look back and resource froma place of safety?
So, working with the sensationsin your body, understanding
them and also doing that samepractice to help you understand
and find a place of safety inyour nervous system too.
And tool number six is aperspective and I also think
(09:33):
it's a felt feeling, but it'scalled emotional inclusivity.
And this is a frame of thinkingand a practice that includes,
you know, every thought, everyemotion, every feeling in an
experience to be able to processit completely.
And so this is a perspectiveand an idea that allows you to
(09:54):
really lean into what you'refeeling like, lean into the
anxiety, lean into the grief,lean into the discomfort and
allow it to help you to feelsafe and knowing that all
feelings, all parts, are welcome.
And this can be challenging,you know this is, I think, this
is a learned practice, andespecially with emotions that
(10:18):
might feel heavier or moretender, like shame or grief or
guilt, those are hard emotionsto feel and I would even say
sometimes joy and bliss and loveare hard emotions to feel too.
So, leaning into thisperspective that all your
emotions, feelings and thoughtsare welcome, none of them are
(10:39):
bad or wrong, it's this idea offinding that comfort and
understanding to be withwhatever might be arising for
you and meeting yourself in thatarising.
Whatever might be arising foryou and meeting yourself in that
arising.
And tool number seven you knowthat I could not skip breathwork
in my list of tools andresources.
We know this, talk about it allthe time, but the practice of
(11:01):
breathwork is an activemeditation technique.
It supports you in clearing outthe body, the nervous system,
of any unprocessed or stagnantemotion and energy, and when we
connect with our breath toaccess different subconscious
parts of ourselves, we're reallyable to experience shifts,
breakthroughs and change therelationship that we have with
(11:24):
the parts of ourselves thatmight be wounded or vulnerable.
And so this is a verysupportive daily practice for
anxiety, for any emotionality,and I like to break it into like
three different kinds or formsof breathwork.
So the first is mindfulbreathing.
That is like the four, seven,eight breath or box breathing,
(11:48):
and this is like you're using,you're pausing, you're using
mindful breathing, countingbreaths, kind of like a 4-7-8
container or 4-4-4 box breathing, and this is using your
mindfulness to connect with yourbreath.
The second practice, or thesecond form of breathwork that I
like to refer to, is calledintegrative breathwork, and this
(12:11):
is about eight minutes or lessof active breathing.
It's a guided practice and thisis going to allow you to really
pause, let some energy move inyour system, depending on your
intention, find that place ofgrounding and safety and move
through what might be coming upfor you in that way.
(12:31):
And the third form ofbreathwork that I like to refer
to is called meditativebreathwork, and this is about
eight minutes or more of activebreathing, and so this is a
longer experience typically donelaying down, and this is going
to allow you to, you know, openup your system, connect with
your heart, release any stuck orstored trauma in the body and
(12:54):
really move and move that energythrough your system, depending
on your intention.
Same thing, it can help you tofind safety, more connection
with your heart, more creativity, joy, bliss, all of these
wonderful things creativity, joy, bliss, all of these wonderful
things.
I love having breathwork on thelist of resources and tools.
(13:15):
I think it's super importantand nowadays it is so accessible
to find, you know, online onYouTube.
If you check out the show notes, I have a free resource that
you can download that has like15 or 20 free breathwork
practices, and I add to it abunch as well, so you can
definitely dive into breathworkand find a form of it that feels
(13:38):
good for you, and I also offer,you know, individual sessions
for both the integrative and themeditative breathwork as well.
Okay, and tool number eight isinner child work and parts work,
and inner child work is aconcept that throughout our
lives we've had experiences atall different ages and during
(14:00):
the time of zero through 14years old.
There are parts of ourselvesthat had different kinds of
needs that went unmet, and so wehave these like wounded,
vulnerable parts of ourself.
And so inner child work is theability to discover these
different parts, the practice offinding out what they might
(14:21):
need and allowing ourselves toreparent them to meet our inner
child needs, and these needscould range from love to
attention or acknowledgement oracceptance, but the practice is
really unique to each individualperson and their lived
experience.
So this is super supportive ifyou're navigating anxiety,
(14:42):
because it gives you anotherlevel of awareness of what you
might need and what might becoming up for you in your system
.
It also empowers you to meetthe need for yourself through
reparenting.
So it's a very specialized andindividualized practice and
approach because it's reallydependent on you know what you
(15:05):
need and what might be coming upfor you.
And then, when it comes to partswork being supportive for
anxiety, it's really helpfulbecause parts work is this idea
that we all have these differentparts of ourselves and they all
serve a different role orfunction, and so we have the
(15:25):
idea of self which is at thecore of us.
We have a self, and that partof us is very calm, it's very
compassionate and it's verycapable of leading yourself
through an experience of meetingall the different parts of
yourself.
And then the other parts wehave protectors, and so I've
talked about protectors a bit onthe podcast before, but this is
(15:48):
the part of us that is reallytrying to protect us from the
pain, maybe shield us from anydiscomfort, and they can also
try and like manage what mightbe going on, or what's called
like a firefighter, which is thepart that tries to like put out
the fire as well.
Then we have another part andthat is called exiles, and these
(16:10):
parts, the exiles, are woundedparts that can carry different
types of trauma, shame or partsthat feel emotionally heavy from
the past, and so when we startworking with the inner child and
we also start working withdifferent parts, we end up
finding you know the differentparts of our identity that have
(16:32):
different needs that influenceour emotion and behavior.
So when it comes to anxiety,this can be super helpful
because you're going toexperience knowing so much more
about yourself with curiosityand you're going to be able to
be that much more compassionateto yourself because you have so
much more information aroundwhat you need.
And then the last tool thatI'll dive into with you, the
(16:53):
last concept, is this idea ofhaving a really compassionate
relationship with yourself, andthe relationship with yourself
is the most important one thatyou have.
It's the way that you talk toyourself, it's the way that you
handle the inner critic.
The way that you speak toyourself.
What happens when things gettough, when things get uncertain
(17:15):
and there's heightened anxiety?
Do you turn on yourself or doyou feel like you have your own
back?
And this definitely builds offof inner child work and parts
work.
And the narrative of how youspeak to yourself is really what
you hear all day.
So can we make that a positiveone, a compassionate one, an
empowering one, a safe one?
(17:37):
And I like to use this idea of asnow globe, because when we're,
you know we're in the snowglobe and things are fine, maybe
it's like all the snow issettled and then all of a sudden
, something happens in life andthe snow globe gets all shaken
up and now there's just likesnow everywhere and we can't
really see what's happening whenwe're in it.
You know, like when we're, inour experience, we're inside the
(17:59):
snow globe, like things arejust like like everywhere and I
like to share that analogybecause someone shared it with
me and I found it so powerful.
But it really gives us thislike insight of having another
perspective and being able toco-regulate with somebody else
can be such a game changer toreally understand what's
happening for us in the snowglobe.
So if anything that I'vementioned in this episode so far
(18:23):
, you're like I really want todo that, but I'd love more
support in that area, like Iunderstand the idea but I really
want a felt feeling of it.
Ask for support.
You know, when we're in thesnow globe, it's hard to see
past the snow that's happening.
It's really nice when someone'sable to give us a different
perspective or help us toco-regulate through something
that might be challenging.
So a quick recap for you.
(18:44):
The first tool that we dove intowas creating a note section in
your phone and titling ittoolkit and adding to that and
revisiting that in times thatyou think that you might need it
.
The second is checking in onthe basics.
Are you getting enough sleepWater?
How's your diet?
Are you taking, do you need totake, some vitamins.
Are you taking vitamins?
The third is learning about thenervous system, and you can
(19:06):
look back at a few episodes thatwere just released on the
podcast to dive deeper into that.
The fourth was observing versusidentifying with an emotion.
The fifth was working withdifferent sensations in the body
and finding a place in yourbody that feels really safe.
The sixth was inviting in allof the different emotions,
(19:31):
different ways of thinking,thoughts and feelings into your
experience and using what'scalled emotional inclusivity,
and that also builds off ofparts work.
Actually, now that I'mreflecting on this episode, the
seventh tool was breath work.
The eighth was inner child workand parts work.
And the ninth was reallyworking with that relationship
with yourself and making it aplace that feels
self-compassionate, that feelssafe, empowering and positive,
(19:55):
and that can also take some timeand take some work, depending
on where you are in your journey.
So asking for support andreaching out if you need support
in any of the areas that wewent over in today's episode.
So, as always, thank you somuch for tuning in for today's
episode.
I really enjoyed recording thisone for you.
(20:16):
It was a bit of a longer one,but we covered a lot of
information.
So if you have any questions,you can always send me a DM.
You can send me an email.
I love chatting with you, Ilove hearing from you and if you
want to check out that freeresource of the 20 or so
meditation breathworkmeditations, it's free.
(20:36):
You can sign up for that in theshow notes by signing up for the
somatic healing newsletter.
The newsletter goes out on the1st and 15th of every month and
includes all different types oftools and resources and
perspectives.
Similar to today's episode,deep dives into all different
stuff.
So definitely check that out ifthat interests you.
And yeah, I hope you have anincredible rest of your week.
(20:57):
I hope you have an incrediblerest of your day and I will talk
to you soon.
Thank you for being here andtuning in to Somatic Healing for
Wellness Focused Women podcast.
If you were moved or inspiredby today's episode, please take
a moment to leave a rating andreview on Apple Podcasts.
It truly helps the podcast growand helps more people find me
(21:20):
on their healing journey.
Make sure to check out the shownotes.
To sign up for the monthlynewsletter links to more
resources, opportunities to workwith me and ways that we can
stay connected If we aren'talready connected on social
media.
Head over to Instagram tofollow me at raythesomaticcoach.
Send me a DM.
I'd love to connect with youand I answer each note that
(21:43):
comes in.
I am so happy you're here and Icannot wait to talk with you on
our next episode of the podcast.
Welcome back to the podcast.
If you are new here, I'm Rae,I'm a somatic coach and
breathwork facilitator, and ifyou aren't new here, welcome
back.
I'm so glad that you are tuningin for today's episode.
So for today's episode, we'regoing to be diving in and
talking about a few differenttools, resources or perspectives
(00:22):
that can help with navigatingany kind of emotional challenge,
any kind of anxious thoughts,feelings, anxiety.
That is what we're going to bediving into, and when I first
started my business, I chose toreally specialize in anxiety
specifically because it'ssomething that I've been
(00:46):
navigating and I've felt since Iwas very, very young, like my
first memory of anxiety is likeseven years old.
So when I discovered breathworkabout nine years ago, that is
really the thing that changedeverything for me and it opened
me up to a whole world ofsomatics and somatic healing.
(01:06):
And so what I'm going to sharewith you today is about nine
different resources,perspectives or tools that I
think it'd be helpful to chatabout, nor know more about, when
it comes to working withanxiety or, like I said, any
really kind of challengingemotion, grief, sadness, fear,
(01:27):
self-love, self-compassion,finding more joy, more safety,
things like that.
So that is what we'll be divinginto today.
So the first tool that I wantto share with you is something
that I may have mentioned on thepodcast previously, but I
really like using the notessection in my phone to, you know
, write down different things,keep track of things and help
(01:50):
things to stay organized.
So what I would invite you todo is, in the notes section of
your phone, create a note andcall it something whatever you'd
really like.
You could call it toolkit, andthis is going to be like a
living library and ongoingresource that you can add to.
And as you start to create thisnote, I want to invite you to
(02:12):
ask yourself, like what is?
What are some tools, someresources, some books that maybe
have worked for you already sofar?
Like, if you've been tuninginto this podcast, what are some
resources that you've alreadylearned and know about and like
to use to add to your toolkit?
And I like to use a perspectiveof if you are struggling with
(02:37):
something every day, like when Iwas really struggling with
anxiety.
It's something I was feelinganxious like every day, and I
kind of had this moment where Iwas just like, if I'm struggling
with this every day, there'ssomething that I need to be
doing for this every day, evenif it's a five minute morning
practice before work or, youknow, a five minute breath work
(02:57):
during lunch, like I need to bedoing something every day to
help learn more about my nervoussystem, regulate my nervous
system, work with, you know,more positive thinking, mindset,
like whatever it might be.
So invitation to create thattoolkit and write in the notes
section of your phone and allowit to grow and be a resource
(03:18):
that you can work with and comeback to whenever you think you
might need it.
Come back to whenever you thinkyou might need it.
The second thing I'd love toshare with you is to check in
with your basics.
So I find that sometimes we canovercomplicate things that can
be sometimes more simple.
So if we are, you know,struggling with an emotion or
(03:41):
really feeling dysregulated, arewe getting enough sleep?
Are we drinking enough water?
What does our diet look like?
Could we be benefiting fromsome vitamins, some supplements?
And it's not about gettingthings like perfect here.
You know, different seasons ofour life are going to require
some of these basics to changeand not everything is going to
(04:03):
be in balance at all times.
But it's about being honestwith yourself.
And if you are running on nosleep, chances are you're going
to be dysregulated in some way.
And if you're eating, you knowreally poorly and your gut is
all funky, chances are that'sgoing to dysregulate you in some
way.
And so it's about checking inwith these areas, checking in
(04:25):
with yourself and really seeing,okay, like, what areas might
need some extra TLC right now,where might I be out of balance
and is this out of balance areacontributing to my emotional
health?
The third thing I would love toshare with you, something I jam
about a lot on the podcast andsomething I'm passionate about,
(04:45):
is learning about the nervoussystem.
When I first started workingwith anxiety, I had no idea,
never even heard of the nervoussystem, didn't know what it was,
and I have a lot of episodesthat you can dive into on the
podcast, a few in the past fewweeks actually.
So if you just scroll back alittle bit, you'll see that
there's a deep dive into thewindow of tolerance and nervous
(05:08):
system regulation and the fourtrauma responses freeze, fawn,
fight or flight.
So I think, scrolling back,listening to those few episodes,
really diving in and learningmore about the nervous system
and understanding where doesyour nervous system default to
when you look at what you'restruggling with from this
(05:29):
approach.
And I find this helpful inparticular because, like I
mentioned, when I was strugglingwith anxiety and I first
started diving into this world,I had never heard about the
body-based perspective and neverheard about the window of
tolerance, never heard aboutworking with the nervous system,
and the first time that Ilearned about it and heard about
it, it was so eye-opening to methat, yeah, our bodies are
(05:53):
brilliant, like our mind, ourbody.
They are connected, they'reworking together.
Sometimes, you know they mightnot be working out the way that
we would like it to, when we'refeeling anxious and
uncomfortable, but it'ssomething that everybody's
bodies and everybody's nervoussystem is regulating or being
dysregulated.
And really finding what yourwindow of tolerance is working
(06:15):
with in your optimal window, howcan you expand it, how can you
find safety and really, yeah,scroll back, listen to those
episodes.
They're just absolutelywonderful.
The fourth tool that I wouldlove to share with you is called
working with observation versusidentification, and observation
and observing is a practicewhere you are able to really
(06:39):
slow down and see what ishappening in your experience,
what is happening with youremotions, your thoughts, your
feelings and what it does isthis ability to pause, slow down
, have that you know extra levelof awareness.
It's creating a strongerconnection with the part of you
that is called, like the innerwitness.
(06:59):
So it creates some flexibilityand some space within emotion,
rather than identifying withthat thing.
So an example would be oh mygosh, I'm so anxious, I'm so
anxious, I am, I am, I am,whereas observing the emotion is
I'm experiencing the sensationof anxiety, or these XYZ
(07:24):
feelings are really coming upfor me right now, but you are
not that thing.
So the feelings, yes, are real,the thoughts are real, the fear
that might be present is real,the anxiety is real, but it
doesn't define who you are.
That doesn't mean like you arenot the anxiety, it's a part
that is activated, and I'll talka little bit more about parts
(07:44):
in a moment here.
And then, the fifth tool andperspective that I'd love to
share with you is calledsensation association, and
working with sensationassociation to help you to find
a deeper sense of safety.
And so sensation associationwill help you to shift the
meaning that you give asensation in your body.
(08:05):
So, for example, when we feelanxious, that might feel really
uncomfortable could show up aslike tightness in the chest or
tightness in the throat, andwhen we feel that way, we're
feeling really, yeah,uncomfortable, unsafe, maybe
some other things, depending on.
You know what's going on inyour body, but by creating space
(08:27):
and sitting with the sensationin the body, you'll create an
awareness of what your body isactually trying to communicate
to you.
And this can also be used, youknow, proactively.
So, when I mentioned using itfor creating safety, this is
something I love, to start with,because you can find a
sensation of safety in your bodyand it can help you to reframe
(08:52):
how you access safety.
So we're super familiar withanxiety and super familiar with
how that might feel in the body.
But are we familiar with howsafety shows up in the body and
what it feels like to feelgrounded and resourced?
And do we have a few, you know,memories or moments where we
(09:12):
can look back and resource froma place of safety?
So, working with the sensationsin your body, understanding
them and also doing that samepractice to help you understand
and find a place of safety inyour nervous system too.
And tool number six is aperspective and I also think
(09:33):
it's a felt feeling, but it'scalled emotional inclusivity.
And this is a frame of thinkingand a practice that includes,
you know, every thought, everyemotion, every feeling in an
experience to be able to processit completely.
And so this is a perspectiveand an idea that allows you to
(09:54):
really lean into what you'refeeling like, lean into the
anxiety, lean into the grief,lean into the discomfort and
allow it to help you to feelsafe and knowing that all
feelings, all parts, are welcome.
And this can be challenging,you know this is, I think, this
is a learned practice, andespecially with emotions that
(10:18):
might feel heavier or moretender, like shame or grief or
guilt, those are hard emotionsto feel and I would even say
sometimes joy and bliss and loveare hard emotions to feel too.
So, leaning into thisperspective that all your
emotions, feelings and thoughtsare welcome, none of them are
(10:39):
bad or wrong, it's this idea offinding that comfort and
understanding to be withwhatever might be arising for
you and meeting yourself in thatarising.
Whatever might be arising foryou and meeting yourself in that
arising.
And tool number seven you knowthat I could not skip breathwork
in my list of tools andresources.
We know this, talk about it allthe time, but the practice of
(11:01):
breathwork is an activemeditation technique.
It supports you in clearing outthe body, the nervous system,
of any unprocessed or stagnantemotion and energy, and when we
connect with our breath toaccess different subconscious
parts of ourselves, we're reallyable to experience shifts,
breakthroughs and change therelationship that we have with
(11:24):
the parts of ourselves thatmight be wounded or vulnerable.
And so this is a verysupportive daily practice for
anxiety, for any emotionality,and I like to break it into like
three different kinds or formsof breathwork.
So the first is mindfulbreathing.
That is like the four, seven,eight breath or box breathing,
(11:48):
and this is like you're using,you're pausing, you're using
mindful breathing, countingbreaths, kind of like a 4-7-8
container or 4-4-4 box breathing, and this is using your
mindfulness to connect with yourbreath.
The second practice, or thesecond form of breathwork that I
like to refer to, is calledintegrative breathwork, and this
(12:11):
is about eight minutes or lessof active breathing.
It's a guided practice and thisis going to allow you to really
pause, let some energy move inyour system, depending on your
intention, find that place ofgrounding and safety and move
through what might be coming upfor you in that way.
(12:31):
And the third form ofbreathwork that I like to refer
to is called meditativebreathwork, and this is about
eight minutes or more of activebreathing, and so this is a
longer experience typically donelaying down, and this is going
to allow you to, you know, openup your system, connect with
your heart, release any stuck orstored trauma in the body and
(12:54):
really move and move that energythrough your system, depending
on your intention.
Same thing, it can help you tofind safety, more connection
with your heart, more creativity, joy, bliss, all of these
wonderful things creativity, joy, bliss, all of these wonderful
things.
I love having breathwork on thelist of resources and tools.
(13:15):
I think it's super importantand nowadays it is so accessible
to find, you know, online onYouTube.
If you check out the show notes, I have a free resource that
you can download that has like15 or 20 free breathwork
practices, and I add to it abunch as well, so you can
definitely dive into breathworkand find a form of it that feels
(13:38):
good for you, and I also offer,you know, individual sessions
for both the integrative and themeditative breathwork as well.
Okay, and tool number eight isinner child work and parts work,
and inner child work is aconcept that throughout our
lives we've had experiences atall different ages and during
(14:00):
the time of zero through 14years old.
There are parts of ourselvesthat had different kinds of
needs that went unmet, and so wehave these like wounded,
vulnerable parts of ourself.
And so inner child work is theability to discover these
different parts, the practice offinding out what they might
(14:21):
need and allowing ourselves toreparent them to meet our inner
child needs, and these needscould range from love to
attention or acknowledgement oracceptance, but the practice is
really unique to each individualperson and their lived
experience.
So this is super supportive ifyou're navigating anxiety,
(14:42):
because it gives you anotherlevel of awareness of what you
might need and what might becoming up for you in your system
.
It also empowers you to meetthe need for yourself through
reparenting.
So it's a very specialized andindividualized practice and
approach because it's reallydependent on you know what you
(15:05):
need and what might be coming upfor you.
And then, when it comes to partswork being supportive for
anxiety, it's really helpfulbecause parts work is this idea
that we all have these differentparts of ourselves and they all
serve a different role orfunction, and so we have the
(15:25):
idea of self which is at thecore of us.
We have a self, and that partof us is very calm, it's very
compassionate and it's verycapable of leading yourself
through an experience of meetingall the different parts of
yourself.
And then the other parts wehave protectors, and so I've
talked about protectors a bit onthe podcast before, but this is
(15:48):
the part of us that is reallytrying to protect us from the
pain, maybe shield us from anydiscomfort, and they can also
try and like manage what mightbe going on, or what's called
like a firefighter, which is thepart that tries to like put out
the fire as well.
Then we have another part andthat is called exiles, and these
(16:10):
parts, the exiles, are woundedparts that can carry different
types of trauma, shame or partsthat feel emotionally heavy from
the past, and so when we startworking with the inner child and
we also start working withdifferent parts, we end up
finding you know the differentparts of our identity that have
(16:32):
different needs that influenceour emotion and behavior.
So when it comes to anxiety,this can be super helpful
because you're going toexperience knowing so much more
about yourself with curiosityand you're going to be able to
be that much more compassionateto yourself because you have so
much more information aroundwhat you need.
And then the last tool thatI'll dive into with you, the
(16:53):
last concept, is this idea ofhaving a really compassionate
relationship with yourself, andthe relationship with yourself
is the most important one thatyou have.
It's the way that you talk toyourself, it's the way that you
handle the inner critic.
The way that you speak toyourself.
What happens when things gettough, when things get uncertain
(17:15):
and there's heightened anxiety?
Do you turn on yourself or doyou feel like you have your own
back?
And this definitely builds offof inner child work and parts
work.
And the narrative of how youspeak to yourself is really what
you hear all day.
So can we make that a positiveone, a compassionate one, an
empowering one, a safe one?
(17:37):
And I like to use this idea of asnow globe, because when we're,
you know we're in the snowglobe and things are fine, maybe
it's like all the snow issettled and then all of a sudden
, something happens in life andthe snow globe gets all shaken
up and now there's just likesnow everywhere and we can't
really see what's happening whenwe're in it.
You know, like when we're, inour experience, we're inside the
(17:59):
snow globe, like things arejust like like everywhere and I
like to share that analogybecause someone shared it with
me and I found it so powerful.
But it really gives us thislike insight of having another
perspective and being able toco-regulate with somebody else
can be such a game changer toreally understand what's
happening for us in the snowglobe.
So if anything that I'vementioned in this episode so far
(18:23):
, you're like I really want todo that, but I'd love more
support in that area, like Iunderstand the idea but I really
want a felt feeling of it.
Ask for support.
You know, when we're in thesnow globe, it's hard to see
past the snow that's happening.
It's really nice when someone'sable to give us a different
perspective or help us toco-regulate through something
that might be challenging.
So a quick recap for you.
(18:44):
The first tool that we dove intowas creating a note section in
your phone and titling ittoolkit and adding to that and
revisiting that in times thatyou think that you might need it
.
The second is checking in onthe basics.
Are you getting enough sleepWater?
How's your diet?
Are you taking, do you need totake, some vitamins.
Are you taking vitamins?
The third is learning about thenervous system, and you can
(19:06):
look back at a few episodes thatwere just released on the
podcast to dive deeper into that.
The fourth was observing versusidentifying with an emotion.
The fifth was working withdifferent sensations in the body
and finding a place in yourbody that feels really safe.
The sixth was inviting in allof the different emotions,
(19:31):
different ways of thinking,thoughts and feelings into your
experience and using what'scalled emotional inclusivity,
and that also builds off ofparts work.
Actually, now that I'mreflecting on this episode, the
seventh tool was breath work.
The eighth was inner child workand parts work.
And the ninth was reallyworking with that relationship
with yourself and making it aplace that feels
self-compassionate, that feelssafe, empowering and positive,
(19:55):
and that can also take some timeand take some work, depending
on where you are in your journey.
So asking for support andreaching out if you need support
in any of the areas that wewent over in today's episode.
So, as always, thank you somuch for tuning in for today's
episode.
I really enjoyed recording thisone for you.
(20:16):
It was a bit of a longer one,but we covered a lot of
information.
So if you have any questions,you can always send me a DM.
You can send me an email.
I love chatting with you, Ilove hearing from you and if you
want to check out that freeresource of the 20 or so
meditation breathworkmeditations, it's free.
(20:36):
You can sign up for that in theshow notes by signing up for the
somatic healing newsletter.
The newsletter goes out on the1st and 15th of every month and
includes all different types oftools and resources and
perspectives.
Similar to today's episode,deep dives into all different
stuff.
So definitely check that out ifthat interests you.
And yeah, I hope you have anincredible rest of your week.
(20:57):
I hope you have an incrediblerest of your day and I will talk
to you soon.
Thank you for being here andtuning in to Somatic Healing for
Wellness Focused Women podcast.
If you were moved or inspiredby today's episode, please take
a moment to leave a rating andreview on Apple Podcasts.
It truly helps the podcast growand helps more people find me
(21:20):
on their healing journey.
Make sure to check out the shownotes.
To sign up for the monthlynewsletter links to more
resources, opportunities to workwith me and ways that we can
stay connected If we aren'talready connected on social
media.
Head over to Instagram tofollow me at raythesomaticcoach.
Send me a DM.
I'd love to connect with youand I answer each note that
(21:43):
comes in.
I am so happy you're here and Icannot wait to talk with you on
our next episode of the podcast.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.