“That’s the biggest gift I can give anybody: “Wake up, be aware of who you are, what you’re doing, and what you can do to prevent yourself from becoming ill.” – Maya Angelou
She is so right!
The audio lessons for Day 1 The Power Of Orienting revolve around self-awareness and awareness.
For me, self-awareness is being present to your inner experiences and being able to “scan” and “track” what is going on inside, whereas awareness is having “an awareness of your surroundings” and being present and “orienting” to that which is around us.
Find out what you can do to bring awareness to your body and your surroundings while listening to these tracks – try to bring all attention to the lesson and resist any urge to multi-task (fold laundry, check emails, etc.).
Practice Tips
- Listen to Audio #1 first (13 minutes). This is your introductory lesson to get you prepared for orienting.
- Then do Audio #2, “Basic Orientation” (11 minutes).
- I’ve also included Audio #3, Mini Orientation (5 minutes) so you have a shorter version to play with. Sometimes it’s good to vary our practices, as the “brain” will anticipate the familiarity and think “Oh, I know this already.” In others words, this is to “shake it up a bit.”
Suggestions for this lesson:
Here is a simple script to bring some self-awareness and awareness to your body and how you sense its contact with your environment:
If you are sitting:
Simply notice your butt on the chair. If your back is against the back of the chair, sense the pressure and contact you make with your back and the seat. There is no need to change how you are sitting, unless of course you sense the need to re-adjust to make yourself more comfortable. Just notice.
If your feet are on the ground, simply pay attention to the pressure of each foot. Notice your breath. Don’t change it – just notice it.
If you are standing:
Bring your attention to your feet. Shift your weight a little bit from the left to right foot. Perhaps even move a few steps forward or to the side, or take a few steps back. Move your toes a little bit.
Maybe even try both body positions, sitting, and then standing.
This simple exercise of paying attention to the physical sense of your body and how it contacts your environment is you orienting to your body and surroundings.
Share Your Experiences:
Is scanning and pausing to notice your environment something you do on a daily basis or hourly basis? Or maybe never? (Be honest!)
What do you think would happen if you started to find small subtle ways to scan and pause throughout your day?
Would you be willing to experiment and find more moments throughout the day to orient?
Audio Exercises
COMMENT BELOW AND SHARE!
- Was this first lesson of orienting and bringing conscious attention to the external environment new to you or is this something you consciously practice already?
- Did you find orienting soothing? Or was it a bit agitating? Know that your response and experience is the right one and we’d love to hear about it!
IMPORTANT: If you have a QUESTION for this lesson, please start your comment below with the word: Question. This way we can easily find the questions ?.
For all other comments, shares, observations, and the like, simply share below!
Thank you in advance, Irene & Team Lyon.
Question. Can this still be effective if I do this while walking? I know the instructions advised to do this distraction free. Just wondering if I will still get the full benefits if I do this on my daily walks.
Question I’ve been trying to do this lesson for the last few days and no matter what time I try I fall asleep. I would like to ask if this is a freeze response? This falling asleep is one of the main reasons I am taking these 21 days, if there is any advice for working with this I’d be so thankful 🙏
Really interesting stuff. I didn’t realize how totally disconnected I was to my external environment. When I walk outside, it just feels different.
It was challenging to go slow while orienting, my eyes wanted to move around fast. Because of that I wasn’t noticing details, more just a general overview. This exercise forced me to notice more detail like book titles etc. I noticed both exercises made me very tired and I actually took a nap after finishing.
Question: So is the point to pay attention to the external, or more just to get away from your thoughts and into sensation? It seems like there’s a dialogue between noticing things around me and noticing my own body – but the main takeaway is to let go of thoughts. Correct?
I did find this soothing. I was super stressed this morning when I started this exercise, and at first was sore tempted to look at my phone, check my work calendar and email, look at the work project peeking out behind the browser I’m using for these exercises- anything to escape from the stressful thoughts … but I resisted and did feel myself calm down quite a bit.
This reminded me that I used to be someone who just enjoyed myself all the time, just by observing the simple things. I could be so happy just making myself breakfast, lighting some incense and watching the smoke in the sunlight while I enjoyed the scent, listening to music, etc. I used to make rituals out of my everyday and I was happy. And I’ve lost that. I live in an irrational fear state now, all the time. I really hope this help to re-orient me to the person I used to be.
“Don’t make the practice a mere habit…” So many years and it is still god to always come back to some guidance and beginners eyes to bring back true “consciousness” into the orienting practice, so not to simply “slip over it”.
Still feel the “refresh” of a settling nervous system. As a person with the “well trained pattern” to push through, my body inhabits this “leaning forward” and moving more direct and reaching quick.
Pausing, looking around, really taking in and connect, “receiving” is always needed and option to find more ease and “starting to rest”…
I feel relaxed x 100! At first I didn’t think I could sit still and finish the audio clips, but I slowly let myself unwind and now I feel amazing. Thank you!
I found that orienting helped me feel less frazzled, although it took me a good chunk of the audio lesson to start feeling a tiny shift. At first I found it hard to just observe my environment and not interact with it. I saw items that I started to put away or fidget with.
This was incredibly soothing but challenging. I noticed my eyes constantly wanted to move faster than the slow orienting Irene recommends. I had to bring them back each time.
The first times I did this exercise I cried, perhaps overwhelmed with the sensations.
It is very comforting to hear Irene’s voice. It’ probably my favorite part of the audio exercises. Otherwise to be honest none of the exercises calm me down – it seems all these exercises only open up floodgates of intense repressed energy and it’s always a challenge to calm down before bedtime…
Today as I did the exercise early afternoon, I felt a sensation I usually only feel late at night – perhaps when I finally feel safe enough watching my favorite stuff on TV – it feels like “I want to demolish / burn down everything”. Wish I could say it is a powerful feeling or something like that but it isn’t. Is it rage? 🙁
I am a textbook case of developmental trauma it seems. Whole childhood of bowing down to a hyper controlling (step)”father”, never able to say no or be silly, never having my emotions or thoughts validated or seen… barely ever talked to as a child, as someone with independent thoughts and feelings – often times in the afternoon I am sweating under my armpits which tells something about the state of fear my body is in.
I found exploratory orienting for my first time to be incredibly challenging. Felt anxious, blood pressure felt high, felt a bit dizzy. My body didn’t feel safe to observe without defence. Really clarifying. Really challenging. Curious to see how this evolves.
Question:
Hi Team Lyon!
I commented a week or so ago about an orientation exercise Irene had posted that I cannot seem to find. I was just wondering if there had been any luck in finding it? It included practising looking at spaces in between objects, looking at the different depths of objects around us, combining keeping in mind breath, physical sensation and sight together, noticing the space behind us, and starts with her talking about assuming we are in a safe space and out of danger. I’m sorry to ask again but I find these exercises so helpful and would love to find out where this one is.
Thank you!
I was very soothing to have Irene orient to orienting (ha!). It is something that I know but don’t do frequently. It is like there is a voice inside my head saying “hurry up” “next! next! Next!- you know this stuff.” WOW many insights and great appreciation.
Whenever I am doing this exercise, I feel I am doing it wrong because I am dissociating too much, going back to my head too much, and my thoughts pull me. Then in the middle of it, my mind finds it boring.. Really struggle with it
Old memories rise today while orienting. I felt anger.
I liked the old version of the orientin where we took the feeling in our body and where we sit first snd then the gaze.
Orienting was pleasant today. I’ve been doing it a while now, sometimes it’s really hard – I try too hard and I’m not able to bring the ease full attitude to it whilst looking around. Today i felt depth in my belly area, which is unusual – I usually just feel the front, if that. Historically, I’ve been quite numb in my gut region. Today I felt a heart beat and blood being pumped through my belly. I felt a soothed by the fresh air coming through my window and sound of church bells. I also felt more clarity in my vision after doing this for a few mins. Each orienting session is so different for me so I don’t want assign any meaning to any of them but will stay consistent in my practise. My aim is 5 minutes a day, anytime during the day, every day and to keep that up consistently for at least 6 weeks! Who’s with me?
these helped me very much very quickly:) thank you!
I did notice a couple minutes in, I got really anxious and then my body seemed to slowly realize she was okay even though I was inhabiting her. I can tell I have a ways to go, but this helped me very much. Also I did it outside and it was lovely:)
It was so interesting to recognize the bodily “impatience” I had while being with these audio exercises at this point in time…that hasn’t always been the case. It was as if my body was saying, “Come on, let’s do something else while you’re listening to this!”…multi-tasking, of course. I was able to instantly recognize a nervous energy…almost a “let’s get on with it” sensation. Now it certainly makes me curious as to how often that sensation is there. Wow! I was able to feel a lessening of that energy as I went on through the 2nd audio.
Question
I really “let go” yesterday – did this orienting practice twice and “forced” myself to cry and cry and told myself to just let go of everything. And this morning I really had diarrea and I really felt it was because of yesterday🙏 Could I be right?
I often get disconnected from body & outside. I can’t stay with me even for 3 minutes. Orienting must be a big challenge for me.
If you listen to this video or audio, would you be relaxed and listen? Or would you use consciousness to keep focus on it?
I am guessing I am the former and keep failing. I wonder what keeps me away from ‘relaxed’ focus?
I learned how to orient officially last Spring with my first round of SBSM. But, as a Reiki Practitioner and former Midwife, noticing and paying attention to nuances in my body was developed in my practice. Thanks for the basics. : )
I’m coming back to this practice again after a long time not having facilitated healthy space for my own body and psych. I feel I am constantly running around to fix my discomfort. Today doing the audioguide I found it so powerful to give myself a space to just be, and feeling gratitude in taking and being given the space to tune into what I needed.
Hello. What to do when the body is in so much chronic tension every day, so it is really hard to look on the inside?
I have tried this a couple of times before and the power of the exercise helped persuade me to take this course. Overall I find it calming, but there are occasions when I am aware of a lot of abdominal tension for example. An important realisation hit me today – just how much the objects around me carry layers of meaning – like the bookshelves I helped build, the books on them, the router, a mirror that was a wedding present etc etc. I have not been a very visual person, and this has surprised and fascinated me.
I noticed it was difficult to stay present with myself whilst focusing on the external environment at the same time. Somehow I leave myself behind when I’m scanning for potential thread, which I’m doing often I realised. Also I felt a readiness and tightness in my body to react to a thread that can appear any moment. Eventually I experienced some pleasant moments during the exercise where I managed to let go a tiny bit, and it felt like I moved from living in 2D to 3D 🙂
This was my first day of the course, so I’m looking forward to proceed!
Hello! I can’t seem to find the Orientation exercise where Irene talks about objects that are closer/ further away and whether to be aware of the space behind us. I remember doing this one last year but can’t find it on the page and was just wondering if it had been removed or its located elsewhere (like in an email) instead of the Orienting day on the Tune up.
I was feeling agitated and rushed from a busy day before doing this, but the exercise really helped calm me down and I feel a little sleepy now. This was my first time trying it, I look forward to seeing how I feel each time I do it.
Question
I love the program, i practice as often as i can, i m more aware of mt trigger, i gain a lot awareness, i am slowly getting out of freeze (ptsd), the only problem is every time i experience the abandonnement wound ,even if i a aware, it drains my energy ,i just want ton end my life (just thoughts) .or i just want to hide and isolate… when this is going to stop, doses SMART BODY , SMART MIND HELPS?? I ve tried, EMDR and breath work, so traumatizing!!
Question:
I struggle with chronic dissociation, and when I try to look at my environment I can only do so for a split second before I’m drawn back and lost in the kind of daze I’m constantly in. I am not really sure what to do because I cant really see my environment, or rather I cant pay much attention to it before its cut and I’m gone again. Does anyone have any insight on this? Is this something that has been seen before? Any comment would help, thank you.
I was surprised that I chose to do this exercise mostly with my eyes closed. I was still orienting to the world around me but using kinesthetic sensing. I don’t yet know why I do not use visual orientation as an option but I’m staying curious. And I will start using it now. Curious finding starting with day 1.
Ok. So this is about the 5th time trying to start this course lol. I felt really resistant to do this and start it again because I usually just fall asleep and my attention wobbles a lot and then I find it really hard to orient. Like its annoying to me (side to side) I can look ahead this is ok. But I was sat up in bed and I don’t feel my body on the bed when u asked if we can feel it being supported and I don’t feel anything at all. I tried to feel my feet on the mattress but it wasn’t there. My attention span isn’t great – although I didn’t fall asleep this time.
Question – I have got myself into the habit of scanning (possibly over scanning) my body for feeling of discomfort or danger etc and this could sometimes cause me to spiral etc. would the antidote to this be orienting for neutral things as suggested ? For those that suffer with anxiety this is something that may be overused / misused already and not new or a positive experience. Interested to hear thoughts on this.
Thanks
Steph x
Hi, This is my 1st day and just finished listening to the internal and external orienting audios. It reminded me that I used to do a lot of external orienting (almost like a detective: For example, I’m reminded of, when I was working, I heard someone coughing excessively. I got up to help, but stopped automatically* at the threshold and visually oriented myself to the office the person was in before I stepped all the way in to help. It only took a moment to do and I saw so much, in that room, in that brief amount of time.) but somehow, along life’s way, I fell off. *My body refused to move forward until I surveyed the space (for security?).
Question: I have previously purchased the 21-Day Tune Up and haven’t been on it for a while but I can’t seem to find the Orientation exercise where Irene talks about objects that are closer/ further away and whether to be aware of the space behind us. I remember doing this one last year but can’t find it on the page and was just wondering if it had been removed or its located elsewhere (like in an email) instead of the Orienting day on the Tune Up. If someone can let me know I would be very grateful!
this practice is known to me. i’m a feldenkrais practitioner and have been a student of irene’s for a couple of years. i started this program in june 2020 and am truly doing it on my own pace, with long pauses and repetitions in-between – look!, it’s the end of august 2023 and i’m re-doing this practice. each time it feels new. often it made me feel agitated in the past years, so i slowed down with the program. today it soothed me. what caught my attention the most (and could be the deep reason of the soothing effect) was the emerging of a deep sadness and tears from my chest. now i’m laughing about this description! the tears were in my eyes, of course, it was the sadness that was trapped in my chest. during the short practice (i picked up the 5 minutes version), both my eyes movement and my respiration changed: my eyes and my chest became softer. Tears filled my eyes as the image of a person I’m deeply missing filled my mind. Now, after practicing, I feel relieved and more engaged with my environment. Thank you so much! have a bright day, elisabetta
Hey – it’s my day 1 of the nervous system tune up and I’m very excited to be on this journey with you all.
I was introduced to orienting about a year ago and there were phases when I did lots of orienting and times when I completely forgot. And even though it’s not new for me, today was kind of hard. There was lots of tension and some sensations in my body that made pausing and listening very uncomfortable. Normally I would probably distract myself in a situation like this. But I just tried to notice it and after a while it got easier.
I feel that there is some resistance to this work – knowing that it really needs commitment and that it might be very intense. But I’m here for it and can’t wait to dive deep!
I find that I prefer orienting to my body sensations instead of to the external world. External orienting can feel lonely and disconnecting, especially when it is visual.
Question: Where would you recommend starting if orienting to the external environment is too much for you? I can seem to orient to my body for short bursts, but orienting to the external environment often brings up feelings of overwhelming terror. Despite the internal resistance, I do notice some level of desire toward being tuned into my external environment. I’m starting to notice as I dive into this work more and more than even some of the most basic practices feel like too much and it’s frustrating to navigate. Any thoughts?
Hi, I feel like i’m not getting the ‘WHY’ of orienting … whats the reason/ nervous system reason for doing this. How would i know WHEN i would choose do this in the moment to help support my nervous system over something else. Thanks
I’m realizing I’m hyper aware of my external surroundings in a way that can irritate me. This orienting practice made me tired, in a really soothing and lovely way. My body felt really easeful and curious. I noticed the way the font changes on my tea cup that I had never noticed before. I noticed that I felt like what a newborn must feel, taking everything in with curiosity and interest. This felt very positive. I noticed, but didn’t want to change anything (the cobwebs or the way my macrame is twisted on one end). This was big for me! Very peaceful.
I found this very comforting and it brought such presence. I felt happy and a little surprised that I hadn’t had this depth of experience before at home. It came into my awareness that I “go” places to have presence, like the beach or forest.
Now I can have presence at home and at work.
QUESTION
I’ve been orienting for a few days now. At random moments, sometimes with Irene’s excercise, sometimes not. I notice a mix of feelings: anxiety, an impulse to retract, sadness, irritation, anger, haste.
A weird sense of fear when orienting of letting everything, or life (that was my realisation), completely in. It also feels good to let it in.
Life is safe.
I am safe.
The world is safe (of course not always, I write this to state where I am at).
I also notice a shift of how ppl react to me, summarised I would describe it as “I am more in”. This is a HUGE thing for me, as I have thought for years that I was broken in some way. Again, this not always (too soon to tell) but what I noticed the other day when working it filled me with a lot of joy and hope.
However today is different. A bit too little sleep, a lovely day of introduction to cranio sacral therapy and yet now that I’m home I feel overwhelmed, irritated, and angry. The teacher worked on my nerves a lot, I could hardly stand her. Oriented as much as I could.
So with the very regulating and calming touches I received how can it be that I am still so agitated? Related to the orienting?
Question I’ve been doing orienting and other exercises for a few months.
I experienced the loss of an animal I loved two weeks ago and I experienced intense grief. It brought up so much old grief that hasn’t been processed.
I couldn’t stop crying and it felt very dark emotionally.
I’m wondering if I didn’t titrate well enough with the exercises? It really frightened me feeling so swamped with sadness. I have gone into a freeze and am trying to control more with my thoughts…scared of how much unprocessed stuff is in my body.
How can I gently move towards trust I’m myself to be in my body again please?
Hi! Curious. The way Irene does the orienting sessions is a bit too complex for my brain. I feel like i need far simpler instructions rather than needing to focus on breathe, orientation, and feet at the same time. I try to so it differently but then think im doing it wrong.
As an initial observation i feel like I have been living in my head for a long time.
I found it agitating and felt like the little girl I was (and/or still am), a little bit scary and uncomfortable, not knowing what ist going on an if I like it. And it was o.k. Normally I stopped orienting at that point, because I thought that I do something wrong or it’s useless the way I do it. But today I have learned that it might be old trapped survival stress that I experience and that I orient in a defensive way. Maybe that explains why my belly is so tense and that I have breathing issues for it is difficult for me to breathe soft and gentle. Wow! That was already very helpful!
I experience orienting as very pleasant during the day. At night, it oftenfeels much harder to do and occasionally stressful to try. This is especially true if difficult sensations or emotions are arising. Then, I may feel resistance to orienting, feel easily distracted by my thoughts or might fall asleep. What is going on and what should I do in these situations?
This reminds me of the body scanning practice in meditation except I found when using the visual sense along with the internal self awareness it was much easier to stay focused. I immediately felt sleepy which tells me I was completely relaxed and peaceful. It was very soothing.
Orienting on the 7th day of this course I’ve realised I find straight edges much more soothing when I’m feeling overwhelmed/in freeze, than looking at nature or other highly detailed objects.