I love self touch for so many reasons.
You can do this practice anywhere; lying in bed, sitting in a chair, in the bathtub, lying on the floor. In the video, I'm just chilling out on the floor. I like the floor. The ground is hard and supportive and I feel really close to the earth.
I have a nice fuzzy blanket. I enjoy the softness. I like how it feels really nice against my skin. It's just beautiful and luxurious. So I encourage any kind of fabric that makes you feel sexy and sensual and just makes you feel really good in your body.
This is a Sensual Somatic™ practice so let’s break it down.
What does sensual mean? It's going to be close and intimate and involves touching your body.
Somatic is the body experience. It involves touching your own body in a soothing, loving and caressing way and noticing what sensations arise in your body. It’s a really beautiful way to give your body love and gratitude and a powerful practice for soothing the nervous system.
It helps you to remember how amazing your body is and how Divine this vessel is that you have.
To begin, lie on the floor or lie on a bed or something, but lying on your back is most relaxing. You can always prop your head up with a pillow.
A really good place to start is just placing one hand on your belly. You can place the other hand on your chest. Breathe naturally here for a few breaths. You don't really have to do anything different with your breathing except just breathe naturally.
You could breathe deeper into your womb space, the sacral chakra. This space exists for all genders energetically and if you don’t have a womb, this energetic space is there.
On every exhale, release tension from your body. Allow yourself to breathe for a few minutes with your hand on your belly and one hand on your heart center.
I'll take you through where to start, how to flow with it, and where to explore.
During this practice, as you're touching different parts of your body, you can say out loud or silently, “thank you beautiful body."
“Thank you beautiful body”
It's almost like a meditation. You may find you have mental chatter, that your mind is drifting, or you may even hear yourself judging yourself, or some kind of thought is arising.
You can always bring it back to this simple phrase: Thank you beautiful body.
It is a quick way to send pure love and gratitude to your body anytime.
Continue to breathe throughout the practice.
Start touching your hands and then caressing your arms. Look at your arms and visually take them in, all the creases, the spots, and the angles.
When you notice your mind is drifting, come back to the phrase, “thank your beautiful body.”
Tune in. Let your body tell you what it wants. Give your body what it needs. Find the language of your body.
Then, give it what it is craving.
Start moving your hands to your face and head and continue to meditate on the mantra. Direct loving energy to your body. Notice how that statement feels. “Thank you beautiful body.”
Move your hands down to your chest, breasts, and belly.
You can start moving your hands down to your legs and thighs. If you’re lying down, raise your legs up in the air and caress your thighs, the backs, the front, and the sides. You can touch your toes and feet. Discover what areas of your body have more sensitivity and sensation.
We have so many erogenous zones on our bodies: Neck, ears, breasts, belly, inner thighs, feet, groin, genitals.
Allow yourself to explore and let your body guide you as you always come back to the loving statement, “thank you beautiful body.”
Set aside 15-20 minutes for this practice. Don’t rush it.
I would love to facilitate this for you if you want focused guidance and attention.
I do virtual 1-hour sessions that are individually tailored to you. BOOK HERE.
My clients say that after working with me they had a space to be able to just express and explore and feel safe to do that. I provide a safe and loving space.
This practice has been profound in my life and I love to facilitate others to explore themselves and their bodies.
Self touch practices allow more softening into every day, learning to relax, regulation of the nervous system, and increase of oxytocin, the feel good hormone, and decrease of cortisol, the stress hormone.
Who am I?
I'm Heather!
I'm a multi-dimensional human being whose mission is to live 'outside of the box', show others it’s possible, and raise awareness of the taboos and shame that exists in our society.
My background is that of a nurse, holistic coach, yogi, dancer, solo mama, plant medicine explorer, and new author.
I'm passionate about giving permission to men and women to release shame, bypass anxiety, be moved to make waves, come home to stillness, and BE RADIANT.