Nightmare Reset and Downshift

Sleep

Hi, I'm Beth, and this is a practice to support the nervous system after experiencing a nightmare or a nighttime panic. So an important piece to name is you don't need to recall the details. You don't need to understand why. All we are trying to do is reestablish a sense of safety in the body and be in the present moment. The present moment in which you are awake and you have a sense of agency and connection to yourself in a way that feels safe. So if you would like to join me in placing the hands on the body, invitation to try hand on heart and hand on belly, and notice does that work for you. And if not, feel free to adjust and place the hands somewhere that feels comfortable, that feels easeful. And just allowing yourself to drop into that connection. Your hands placed on your body in a way that is supportive. And if you are experiencing a heightened sense of activation, it may be more supportive to have the eyes open. If it does feel safe to close them, go ahead and do so. And if not, just maybe soften the gaze and dim the lights to create a little bit more of a peaceful environment for your body and your nervous system. From here, we'll go into some breathing together. So again, eyes open or closed, whatever you prefer. Nice easy breath in through the nose, and big exhale out the mouth. Feel free to make a sound on exhale if that works for you. Breath in, breath out. And again, breath in, And staying with that at your own pace. And if it feels like the breath is constricted or shallow, that is completely all right. We are not trying to force it. We are just giving it enough space so that it can settle. Gently lengthen the exhale, even if it's just a count. Staying with the easy breath in through the nose, easy breath out through the mouth. Beautiful. And keeping that, we'll begin to add a gentle rocking motion in. So a little movement from side to side. Whether you're seated or lying down, finding a little movement from side to side. Easy breath in. Easy long exhale out. Good. And landing in the rhythm here that works for you. That hopefully feels calming. Good. And we'll stay here a few more breaths, moving at whatever speed works best for your body. Your movement could be big and obvious. It could be slow and barely perceptible. Totally up to you. Just finding connection to the rhythm of rocking. The bilateral stimulation that sends the signal to the nervous system, along with those deeper, longer exhales, that it is safe and it is okay to downshift. And after your next exhale, you can come back towards stillness, whatever that means for you. And adding in some specific words, letting the body know, in this moment, I am safe. You can repeat that silently or out loud. In this moment, I am safe. That was then, this is now. Good. And noticing here if there are any other words that would be really supportive for you to hear. Go ahead and share those silently or out loud. And after your next exhale, you can soften the hands down. You can gently reopen the eyes if they're closed. And notice if there's still a feeling of heightened activation in the body, it's a great opportunity to bring in pressure as a resource. So that could be the simple pressure of pressing the hands together. Could be the simple pressure of pressing the feet into the ground. So finding one or both of those and just feeling into the layer of stability and support beneath your body, whether you're seated or lying down. Whether you are connected to your bed or the ground, feeling that. And just gently pressing your body into that support. Good. Another invitation here to reach for a pillow. Wrap your arms around the pillow. Feel that gentle pressure. You can even bring your blanket up tighter around your body. Snuggle yourself in. Good. Pressure in this gentle way can be really supportive for calming the nervous system, for bringing us back into a felt sense of safety in the body. So let's take a few more breaths here, whatever feeling of pressure you have chosen. And from this place, invitation to now connect to three things inside of the room that you're in. So whether the lights are dim or if they're off, you can see or you can sense three objects in your room. And let yourself connect to each of those. Good. And then notice two sounds that you hear right now. Two sounds apart from my voice. And then let's take one final breath here together. I am safe. I am here. I am connected to my body. Feel free to use this any time you are up at night feeling a sense of panic or dysregulation due to nightmares.