Emotional First Aid Exercises

Thymus Thump

When to do it. When…

starting to cry and feeling as though you are going to fall apart and are trying to hold it

together

feeling anxiety suddenly

feeling upset in an argument & wanting to stay more centered

feeling stressed in general

starting to catch a cold, fighting an infection or other challenge, bombarded by negative

energies (Donna Eden)

What it helps:

Increases emotional resilience

Calms the nervous system

Reverses the acceleration of anxiety

Boosts immune functioning

Stimulates all energies (Donna Eden)

How to do it:

With either hand in a soft fist, pound lightly to vigorously on the center of the sternum (center of the upper chest). The thymus gland lies directly underneath the sternum and is activated by the percussion. Do this until the wave of reactivity recedes, until some resilience is regained. May take a minute to several.

Why it works:

It has been postulated that as the thymus is the first structure in the body to react to stress and that it does so by shriveling up. Its functioning can become sluggish and chaotic. Since it is heart of the lymph system, when stimulated, it plumps back up pumping lymph through the system. Activation increased perceived emotional resilience.

Heart Breathing (Bi-Lateral Version)

This is, hands up (!), one of my main go to suggestions for everyone! If you’ve done any work with me, at all, you will already know it. I teach it along with the Thymus Thump, telling everyone to use it for a more tender soothing and reassurance, while using the Thymus Thump for strengthening resilience. They are great used together!

When to Use It:

You want to release stress and negativity
As self-soothing when worried, sad or feeling lonely
Connect with your heart center & activate heart energy
You wish to ‘shift gears’ from rational brain focus to heart focus
You’re seeking guidance & wish to re-connect with the wiser, more loving wisdom of your Heart

Common Results:

Release of stress and ‘negative’ feelings
A greater sense of calm, balance and reassurance
A sense of re-connecting with a deeper part of yourself
Deeper breathing

The Steps:

Heart Focus: Place both hands over your heart. Focus your attention on the area around your heart, in the center of your chest. Press into your chest with your palms slightly. This works like a weighted blanket, giving a feeling of being contained. Try to feel your heart beating. If you can’t actually feel (or hear) your heart beating, imagine feeling its beat and rhythm.
Bi-lateral Activation: Tap alternately and softly just under collar bone on K27 (last point in Kidney meridian-where collarbone and first rib separate, just outside the sternum). This helps to calm the hemispheres of the brain & increase the connection and the releasing.
Heart Breathing: Breathe gently and deeply, as if you are breathing in and out through your heart area. As you inhale, feel as if your breath is flowing in through your heart, and as you exhale, feel it releasing and flowing out of your heart. Continue breathing gently and easily until you find a natural inner rhythm that feels good to you.
Heart Feeling: Feel into your heart center. This may be all you can do if the feelings you are experiencing are intense enough. If you can, it will help to recall a positive feeling, of Love, Appreciation or Gratitude. A good way to do this is to think of someone you love, who also loves you, in a positive, supportive way. Feel, savor and enjoy these warm feelings in your heart, and imagine that you are bathing your heart, chest and mind in these warm, nurturing positive feelings.
Continue the tapping with gentle pressure in your palms for as long as you wish. Gently notice and acknowledge the shifts and changes you are experiencing, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Include the Heart Focusing, Heart Breathing, And Heart Feeling as you can.
To conclude: Gently express appreciation and gratitude for all the Love and Blessings in your life.

There are many variations on this emotional first aid action, including the ‘Quick Coherence’ technique from the Institute for Heart Math: www.heartmath.org.)

Smoothing Your Field

Place your hands lightly on opposite shoulders.

On the outbreath (through the mouth is best), slowly draw your hands down your upper arms, lower arms and then pull fingers along the palms and off the tips. Breathe in and repeat.

Do this for as long as you wish.

You likely will feel the energy tingling above and on the surface of your body down into the fascia.

You can switch which arm is over the other when crossed to give the experience on both sides of your lower arms and hands.

Drs. Ronald and Steven Ruden and tested variations of this practice and have discovered that they decrease the speed of brain waves and are capable of activating Delta wave length frequencies, usually only activated in deep sleep and through years of deep meditation, though much technologically enhanced music now also claims to do the same). They have coined the term “electroceuticals,” to describe how to activate the body’s inherent pharmacy for emotional well-being. Claims to reverse traumatic reactivity with great ease and speed.

There are various ways to do this practice., whether it’s smoothing the field or doing havening I’m focusing here on just one aspect of it.)

Over Energy Correction (OEC)—Wayne Cook

When to use it:

You feel tight, wound up, obsessive
It's like an energy switch has been turned on and you can't turn it off
You are not able to go to sleep even though exhausted (unless from caffeine--though it will still help you rest calmly)
You are feeling angry or irritated and seem unable to get out of the feeling

What it helps:

Relieves energetic flooding from the nervous system being locked in the sympathetic phase
Brings relaxation
Allows for healing to occur
Flips off the “on” energy button, so inner peace, relaxation and sleep are possible. Shifts your autonomic system from the sympathetic or active, to the parasympathetic or restive system

How to do it:

(Can be done either seated or laying down, also standing but it might be a little challenging, so distracting, to keep your balance)

Place left foot over the right one.
Put both hands in front of you, back to back.
Cross the right hand over the left, then interlace your fingers.
Fold clenched hands inward to rest on the chest.
Focus on your breathing (with eyes closed) and continue until there is a release experienced, either as a sigh, sudden feeling of relaxation, or deep yawning returns. At night, I've discovered this can take up to 20 minutes. It can be stressful on the wrists, especially. IF this happens, give yourself a break and then do it again. Also, you can prop up your arms with pillows if doing it laying down, and this will relieve some of the pressure on your arms.

Left Nostril Breathing: (can be added this for additional benefit)

It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, so the combination increases your ability to calm your nervous system.

While your hands are against your chest, raise them slightly and place the index finger of your left hand against your right nostril to block airflow on the right side. Breathe just through the left nostril until you come out of the Over Energy Correction.

The Stress Blow Out the Venom (Donna Eden)

Use this when:

-when anger, frustration, rage and stress are causing recognized tension

-before confrontations with another, intense meetings, or other times you want to feel more empowered

How to do it:

With a deep in-breath bend down and with hands scoop up all the stress, anger, venom, rage in your field. Scoop it all up until your hands are over your head. Hold your breath for a moment. Imagining/feeling it like a ball of energy between your hands, on the out-breath, shoot or pull your hands down fast as you shoot out your breath with a whooshing type sound…or whatever sound wants to come out of you. At the end of the motion and exhale, your knees will be slightly bent and your hands open. Dondi Dahlin encourages people to do that last round slowly and in a controlled fashion…increasing the capacity for empowerment. Repeat at least 3 times. Stand fully up in a relaxed position and take a few breaths feeling the difference inside.

Caution: If you are very tense and also not in very good shape, go a little easy on this at first to see what feels like enough intensity for your body.

Orienting to the Present (adapted from Peter Levine)

When to use:

When noticing that your mind keeps drifting, you are staring off into space, distracted by internal thoughts, disconnected from your body and surroundings, (ie: triggered or lulled into a version of dissociation)

How to do it:

Open your eyes and begin to look around you, noticing what is in your visual field. You might name the forms (trees, leaves porch, bird feeder, etc.; the colors you see: fresh spring green cool frown, copper, light, etc. bring awareness to your breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Then begin to move your neck around and your shoulders, noticing the release of tension, and energy, creating a feeling of more space within.

Five Finger Hold (from Jin Shin Jitsu)

What it helps: When you are feeling stressed or anxious and in the company of others or even by yourself, perhaps watching a video or listening to a podcast. You can also use it while meditating to deepen your capacity for coming into coherence and resonance, thereby deepening your practice.

How to do it: With one hand (I use my right hand on my left fingers, to further open to the restful energies of the parasympathetic), wrap your fingers around the entirety of your other thumb. Hold this thumb for at least 30 seconds…and as long as you like and breathe consciously ( as consciously as you can while attending to what is happening in your environment). Move on to the index finger and repeat and the progress through all five fingers. Repeat if you’d like or need to. You can experiment to see if it feels better doing this with your left hand wrapping the fingers of your right hand. For some people this may be more calming.

Jin Shin, as well as Polarity Therapy hold that there are 5 main energetic pathways through the body that are easily accessed at the fingers, or the width of the eyebrows.

The Four-Part PIP (Pattern Interruption Process) -

Holly Timberlake, Ph.D.

As soon as you notice you have been activated or triggered, or discover yourself to be feeling uncomfortable or tense:

This is the pause…you have noticed and a part of your awareness has freed from its captivation by the mid and hind brain dynamics.

Take a conscious breath. This simple act immediately initiates the body’s relaxation

response.

Use an emotional first aid technique (Thymus Thump is the preferred choice here), but if

that feels inappropriate or would be distracting, you could say to yourself, “Tap now.” Or give a command to your subconscious from the modality that you most use).

Offer yourself reassurance. “You’re ok; “I’ve got this;” “I’m safer than I feel;” are all great options. Repeat this as you continue conscious breathing and first aiding.

Why it works: Efforts to interrupt patterns need to be simple and easy to evoke, especially

initially, because patterns are woven deeply into the subconscious and are automated there by the particular traumatic pattern embedded. Our energy fields/nervous systems activate these patterns long before we have a conscious thought or awareness that something is present that is disturbing our peace and inner balance…and so many are living with

continually activated sympathetic systems, which can be thought of as overenergized,

hypervigilant, uncomfortable in our own bodies, etc.

By deeper, slower breathing, we are slowing our heart rates, calming the nervous system and neurotransmitter/hormonal activation, muscular contraction, etc. The emotional aid technique strengthens and speeds the reversal of the activation. And finally, reassuring ourselves that we are safe, speaks to the subconscious, where the fears of threat or challenge are activated.

In this way we help both the body and our person to calm, thereby calming the whole of the energy field.