Exercise variations

Building Emotional Balance - Exercise Variations

I hope you've been enjoying the "Building Emotional Balance" report, and have been finding the exercises helpful. Below are additional variations for two of the exercises:

Grounding with the Feet - Standing version
Self-Holding - Extended Sequence

Grounding with the Feet - Variation 3 - Standing

Stand up, with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart.
Bend your knees slightly, so your thigh muscles are engaged.
Take a moment to really feel your hips and legs, and your feet on the floor.
Invite yourself to soften and relax as much as possible into your hips, legs, and feet.
Keeping your knees bent, slowly shift sideways so your weight is more on one foot.
As you’re resting more on one foot, slowly straighten your knee so you rise up slightly, then bend your knee again, so you sink back down again – all with your weight more on this one foot.
Then, with knees bent, shift your weight slowly and gently towards the other foot.
As you’re resting on this other foot, slowly straighten your knee so you rise up slightly, then bend your knee again, so you sink back down again – all with your weight more on this other foot.
Repeat this 4-5 times, slowly swaying from side to side, shifting your weight from foot to foot, and keeping your knees bent, except for the brief time when you straighten your knees to rise up over each foot.
After stopping, go within and feel into the sensations your body is experiencing.
Notice any feelings of release, relaxation, or letting go. Let yourself really open to and settle into any of those positive feelings.
If after a moment, you still feel tension, repeat the exercise 3 or 4 more times and focus on felt sensations again.
Stay with and silently name these sensations for a time.

This standing version of “grounding with the feet” is particularly powerful because it engages more of your whole body, and can be done anywhere, without the need for a chair—for example, clients have reported doing the standing version in the shower, and while in line at the grocery store.

Self-Holding – Variation 3 – Extended Self-Holding Sequence

This sequence is very helpful if you’re feeling especially agitated, since having multiple steps to go through gives you more time to focus your attention and settle your energy. In addition, the various steps make connections between different key energy centers in your body, helping to release stuck energy, and bring balance and flow in a step-by-step progression.

Base of head – Forehead

Place one hand on the back of your head at the base of your skull, covering where your neck and head meet, and then place your other hand on your forehead. Feel the warmth and contact of your hands, and invite yourself to really settle into this contact. Breathe into the contact, and notice any sensations under your hands and in your head as you do this. Hold the contact for a few moments, until you feel ready to shift to the next position.

Base of head – Heart

Now, move the hand from your forehead and place it over your heart, while leaving the other hand on the back of your head at the base of your skull. Feel the warmth and contact of your hands, and really settle into the contact. Breathe into the contact, and notice the sensations under your hands and in your body as you do this. Notice that this contact connects your head and your heart; see if you can feel that connection. Hold the contact for a few moments, until you feel ready to shift to the next position.

Base of head - belly

Now, leaving your upper hand at the base of your head, move the other hand from your heart, and place it on your belly, over or just below your belly button. Feel the warmth and contact of your hands, really settling into it. Breathe into the contact, and notice the sensations under your hands and in your body as you do this. This contact connects your head and your “hara”, an important energy center that is considered in eastern traditions to be one of the primary seats of life force energy. Making this connection between your head and hara can be very grounding, soothing, and replenishing. Hold the contact until you feel ready to shift to the next position.

Forehead – belly

Now move your upper hand from the base of your head to your forehead, while leaving the other hand on your belly, over or just below your belly button. This is another contact that helps connect your head and your hara. Feel the warmth and contact of your hands, and invite yourself to really settle into it. Hold the contact for a few moments, and notice the sensations under your hands and in your body as you do this.

Heart – belly

Finally, move your upper hand from your forehead to rest it on your heart, while leaving the other hand on your belly, over or just below your belly button. Feel the warmth and contact of your hands and relax into it. Notice the connection between your heart and hara, two very important energy centers in your body. Feel the sensations under your hands and in your body as you make this connection. Hold this final contact until you feel complete and ready to stop.