Hello and welcome back to practicing human, the podcast where every day we're getting a little better at life. I am your host Corey mascara tuning in from Punto Mita , Mexico. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about those moments when we're more or less just in survival mode and how to make space for that. More to come on it in a moment. First, let's tune into the sound of the bells.
So a lot of the conversation in this podcast is about cultivating a quality of peace, joy, optimizing the goodness in your life, mitigating discomfort and developing the skills to experience life a little more fully and gracefully. But there are other times in life, other experiences we might go through when we're just in survival mode, moments of intense pain, trauma, grieving. These are often experiences where we're just trying to keep our head above water, which is trying to survive.
There's not going to be peace per se, and we might lose some of our access to our mindfulness skills or even our ability to ground ourselves because the , the pain and the emotions are so overwhelming and this is okay . This is a natural part of the human experience and it's helpful to remember that you come from a long lineage of humans for thousands of years who have endured great suffering and have made it through it.
So it's very much within your DNA and your wiring to experience these things and be able to move through to the other side. I think that's helpful to remember and I also think it's helpful to remember that you don't need to be super present or peaceful or grounded or mindful in these moments. It's okay to cry, to feel, to be confused, to be angry, to whale , to just want to run away. All of this is very much a part of processing very difficult experiences.
So while we may not be able to find peace in these moments, we may be able to do some things to minimize the suffering or at least create a container that can hold it in such a way that we're not adding another layer of suffering. I do find that the breath is a great way to do this. Since soft relaxed breathing is directly related to a more settled nervous system.
So if you find yourself in these moments now or in the future, perhaps place your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your belly. Feel the beating of your heart and the movement of the breath. Letting that be your reminder that you're , you're still alive. There is more right with you than wrong with you. And let this particular hold of the hand on the heart, the hand on the belly. Serve as a , a gentle cradling and nurturing that you're offering to yourself from this relaxed place.
You can let the abdomen soften and feel as though you're breathing up through the pelvis region so that the belly is relaxed easy and you're feeling the movement of the breath as it comes into the body. And on an exhale, just letting some of that extra tension and gripping settle. It won't make the pain go away. But like a warm, caring embrace, it should help soothe you.
And sometimes when we're in these deeper places of despair, this self kindness, compassion, and care is one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves. So if you're going through something difficult in this moment, I hope this helps. If you go through something difficult in the future, I hope he can refer back to this. And if you know someone who's going through something difficult right now, I hope you can share this with them. I wish you well and I'll talk to you tomorrow until then.
Take care.