Excerpt: Grounding Exercise - Breathing in Hope - Trauma Session 5
Course: Moving Through Trauma
Speakers: Matthias Barker
Finding Calm in the Storm: A Simple Breath and Color Exercise
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, with racing thoughts and an unbearable present moment, you’re not alone. That feeling of being stuck in a never-ending cycle can be incredibly distressing. Let’s try a different approach together, a simple exercise using breath and visualization.
The Exercise: Breathing in Hope, Breathing Out Fear
Identify Your Colors: First, bring to mind the fear, the overwhelming feeling, the self-criticism – whatever is most present for you right now. Imagine a color that you associate with this feeling.
Imagine Hope: Next, imagine a color that you associate with hope.
Breathe with Intention: Now, let’s breathe. As you inhale, imagine breathing in that color of hope, visualizing it entering your lungs. As you exhale, imagine breathing out the color associated with your fear or struggle, perhaps seeing it like smoke leaving your body.
Continue the Cycle: Repeat this gentle breathing exercise:
Breathe in hope (visualize the color).
Breathe out fear (visualize the color).
Continue this cycle at your own pace.
Stay Present: Remain in this mindful breathing practice for as long as you need.
Finding Okayness in the Present Moment
Remember this: you don’t need to force the thoughts to disappear or the storm to calm down in order to feel okay right now. You don’t need to make that “fear color” vanish instantly. Simply focus on the rhythm of your breath and the gentle visualization of breathing in hope and breathing out fear.
It’s going to be okay. Breathe in hope, and breathe out fear.
If you like the content, you can continue in a few different ways…
- See the outline below and check out other sections from the Moving Through Trauma course.
- Take the full small group course to your church community! The first course your church runs is free! Reach out to us here to learn how.
- Connect with a Share The Struggle Coach for one-on-one support. Let’s face it, some of us have tried kicking this thing, and we’ve had no luck. It’s time to start looking toward forms of support that can help us see and feel the beautiful life God has in store for us.
Session 1
Welcome to the Moving Through Trauma Course
Video: Welcome
Video: Guardrails & Grace for the Journey
Video: For Those of You Who
Topics: Hypoarousal; Hyperarousal; Grace
Session 2
Video: Grounding Exercise - From a Place of Calm
Video: Unpacking Trauma
Video: Our Trauma Threshold
Topics: Embedded Trauma/Traumatic Event; Traumatic Threshold
Session 3
Video: Grounding Exercise - Breath and Bilateral Stimulation
Video: How Trauma Functions in our Emotions, Brain, and Body
Video: Our Three Primary Responses to Trauma
Topics: Neuroscience Terms; Fragmentation/Dissociation/Isolation
Session 4
Video: Grounding Exercise - Lowering Stress in the Nervous System
Video: How Family & Collective Systems Impact How We Experience Trauma
Video: Trauma’s Connection to our Health and Wellbeing
Topics: Attunement; Containment; Rupture & Repair; ACE Study (Third Video)
Session 5
Video: Grounding Exercise - Breathing in Hope
Video: How We Heal
Topics: Healing: Reconstruction; Release; Acceptance
Session 6
Video: Grounding Exercise - Grounded in the Present
Video: Relationship with God
Topics: Relationship with God; Prayer Practices
Session 7
Video: Relationship with Self
Topics: Cold Water Treatment; Developing Story Awareness
Session 8
Video: Grounding Exercise - From a Place of Calm
Video: Relationship with Others
Video: Redeeming Trauma
Topics: Building Support; Listening Triad
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