Stop. I feel the ground underneath my feet. Look around. Breathe gently. Allow for tiny micro-movements throughout my body. I am not locked or held. I can give myself time and space to think and to choose. I’m not stuck in a pattern of worry or thought. Nothing is decided.

The direction/intention to expand and soften into the space around me is a counterpoint to the bracing and tightening that happens in response to stress. This thought is not something I have to do. The thought is itself an action. It is enough when that thought is received fully. I am not compressing myself. I let that in. Now I can look and notice what’s around me. Being cognizant of my environment is calming. Its like – there is nothing here that can harm me, nothing that can take me by surprise. I am here and all these things are there. This kind of seeing is soft-focused not grasping. Soft, smiling eyes.

When I’m nervous and my adrenaline is flowing though me (enough that I’m a little bit in a state) – I know I need extra support. I put my hand on my heart. Palm spread. Self-touch is very reassuring and activates my body’s self-soothing mechanisms. Putting my hand gently on my heart for this purpose lowers my heart rate and reduces the stress response. In this moment I can be my own friend/mother/teacher.

I love the Julia Donelson book – Tyrannosaurus Drip. Isn’t it the absolute best? I’ve read it a thousand times. And the pictures of those dinosaurs with their gigantic green tails? I use that. Strange, yes? But I imagine for myself a gigantic green dinosaur tail. Rooting me from behind onto the ground. A small shift in my sturdiness, in my anchoring. It unruffles me and sends me back to my back. I feel the slight bracing, racing and lifting that my muscles have been engaged in, lessen. The way I’m pulled forward by my own senses into the world lessens too and I can settle back into my back space, centered now. Back and up. Grounded authority.

There are many things we can give ourselves in moments of high stress, performative or otherwise. Images, breath work, somatic practices to name some. This is a vast and fascinating area and there are so many things we can draw on to become more connected to ourselves, our spaces and each other. This is the work of the confident dynamic human communicator that trusts the moment, their voices and what may come.

If you (or your team) would like to explore how to speak with confidence and presence; how to use the ground like a T-Rex when you speak or what a musical, strong and flexible voice sounds like – reach out. I would love to connect.

#voiceandpresence #confidentcommunicator #mindbody