Eye Soften & Expand
Materials Needed:
To Support Feeling:
Defensive
How to Do It
To practice Eye Soften and Expand, find a comfortable seat and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and notice any areas of tension or defensiveness in your body. Visualize these feelings as a protective layer around you, and with each exhale, imagine this layer gently softening and dissolving. When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes and soften your gaze, allowing it to expand naturally. As your vision broadens, let your body follow by releasing any remaining tension and inviting a sense of openness.
Why It Works
This practice helps reduce defensiveness by inviting both physical and mental relaxation. By softening your gaze and expanding awareness, you engage your nervous system’s parasympathetic response, promoting calm and safety. The exercise encourages curiosity about the wisdom of your defensiveness, acknowledging its purpose without resistance. This gentle process allows outdated protective patterns to naturally release as your body feels secure, fostering a sense of openness and ease.
Guided Practice
With your eyes closed, begin to tune in to the sensations in your body. Notice any areas where you might be holding tension or a sense of defensiveness. Perhaps it’s in your chest, your shoulders, or maybe even your stomach or face. Don’t rush to change or fix anything—just notice the quality of these sensations, observing how defensiveness shows up in your body. Notice what feels familiar about this. This defensiveness may feel like an old habit, one that has protected you in the past. Allow yourself to recognize its presence without judgment, simply holding space for it.
Now, as you gently observe this defensiveness, take a moment to connect with its wisdom. What is this part of you protecting? What is it guarding? You don’t need an immediate answer—just allow your curiosity to create space for insight to arise. As you breathe in, imagine that you are breathing into this defensiveness, acknowledging its purpose. And as you breathe out, invite it to soften, as though you are offering it the space and safety it needs to relax.
Imagine this defensiveness as a thin, protective layer around your body, perhaps even over your eyes. As you breathe deeply, visualize this layer starting to dissolve, like mist in the morning sun. It doesn’t disappear all at once, but slowly, gently, as you breathe. With each inhale, you honor this layer’s intelligence, and with each exhale, you offer it the freedom to release. What does this part of you need to feel safe enough to let go? Continue to soften with each breath, trusting that your body knows what to do.
When you feel ready, slowly begin to open your eyes, but keep your gaze soft and gentle. Don’t focus on any one thing just yet. Instead, allow your eyes to expand and take in the space around you without narrowing your focus. Let your vision be wide, noticing the edges of your peripheral vision, the colors, shapes, and light that surround you. With each exhale, let your eyes relax, inviting your body to follow this softened gaze.
As your gaze expands, feel your body continue to release any lingering defensiveness. Perhaps your breath deepens, your shoulders drop a little more, or your chest feels lighter. Notice if you feel a sense of openness spreading through you as the defensiveness loosens its grip. You might ask yourself once more, “What does this part of me need to feel fully safe, to release completely?” Trust that you are safe and supported in this moment, and that your body is wise enough to know when it’s time to let go.
Finally, take a few more moments to sit with this newfound openness. Notice any shifts in your body, your breath, or your thoughts. Perhaps you feel lighter, or maybe you feel more at ease with the space around you. Honor the intelligence of your defenses—they have served their purpose. As you breathe in, appreciate the protection they’ve offered, and as you exhale, feel them dissolve, leaving behind only what is needed. When you’re ready, take a final deep breath in, exhale fully, and gently bring yourself back to the present.