Hello friend,
Welcome.
My name is Drew and this is a guided meditation for anyone who's experiencing Addison's disease or any other form of adrenal insufficiency.
This disease is hallmarked by our body's inability to produce cortisol,
Which is commonly referred to as our main stress hormone.
But this powerful little molecule does so much more than help us respond to stress.
Cortisol is what wakes us up in the morning.
It's responsible for the majority of the energy we feel throughout the day.
It plays a major role in regulating blood sugar and metabolism and it helps reduce inflammation throughout our body.
Of course,
As our main stress hormone,
It drives us into action and it helps us manage stress of all kinds,
Be it physical or emotional.
A healthy,
Fully functioning adrenal gland will produce exactly the amount of cortisol our body needs for the experience that we're having in any given moment.
But for those of us with adrenal insufficiency,
We now rely on medication to replace the cortisol that our body is no longer making.
And because we are now living in the 21st century,
Where stress is rampant,
Chaotic,
And unrelenting,
Knowing how to dose our medication on a daily basis is really an intuitive job.
We have to be in tune with our body 24-7.
Our life depends on us learning how to effectively identify and manage stress in all its forms.
And the practices of yoga,
Specifically asana,
Pranayama,
And meditation,
All exist to help us do exactly this.
They provide tools for helping us arrive in the present moment,
Understand how our emotions impact our body,
And to put us back in the seat of authority over our lived experience.
So in this meditation,
I'm going to guide you through a practice that you can do anytime,
And likely anywhere you are in the world,
That's going to help you cool down your body's cortisol demand by stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system through breath control and targeted muscle relaxation.
You can do this practice from a comfortable,
Upright,
Seated position if you like,
But I recommend lying down if you have the ability to do so.
So whenever you're ready,
Go ahead and get comfortable in whichever position will work best for you.
You can let your eyes close,
Make any adjustments that you need,
Just to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible.
Now tune in to your whole self.
In three words,
Try to describe how you're feeling right now,
Just to yourself.
My goal is that you leave this meditation feeling a little lighter,
Experiencing less tension,
And more contentment.
So to begin,
I'm going to start with our breath.
We're going to move through a few minutes of Nadi Shodhana,
Or in English,
The channel-clearing breath,
Or as it's more commonly known,
Alternate nostril breathing.
This form of pranayama is particularly helpful for clearing out brain fog,
Calming our nervous system,
And stimulating both hemispheres of our brain.
So to begin,
Go ahead and bring your pointer and middle finger to the center of your forehead,
Just above your eyebrows.
We're going to use our thumb and ring finger to alternate closing one nostril at a time.
So when you're ready,
Go ahead and take a full inhale through both nostrils.
Now close your right nostril and exhale out your left.
Inhale through your left.
Now close your left nostril.
Exhale out your right.
Now inhale through your right nostril.
Close the right.
Exhale out the left.
Inhale through your left.
Now close the left nostril.
Exhale out your right.
Inhale through your right.
Close the right nostril.
Exhale out the left.
Inhale through your left nostril.
Close the left.
Exhale out the right.
Inhale through your right.
Close the right.
Exhale out your left.
Inhale through your left.
Close your left nostril.
Exhale out your right.
Inhale through your right nostril.
Close your right.
Exhale out the left.
Now continue on at your pace.
We're going to be here for a few more minutes.
Try to go slow and steady,
Taking full and complete inhales,
But without any kind of rush.
See if you can't slow down the pace of your breath.
Alright,
Go ahead and take one more full breath on both sides.
Then when you're finished,
You can let your hand come back down to rest on your lap or by your side.
Alright,
Great work friend.
Try to take note of how you're feeling now compared to before we started.
Now we're going to move into a wave of breath.
We do this by bringing one hand to our belly,
One hand to our chest.
You can empty your lungs completely on an exhale.
On your next inhale,
Let your belly rise first.
Then allow your breath to expand up into your chest.
On your exhale,
Let your belly drop first.
Your breath can recede back down towards your navel center.
Inhale,
Your belly rises.
Breath expands up and out,
Maybe going all the way to the crown of your head.
Exhale,
Your belly drops.
Your breath begins to recede back down towards your navel center.
Inhale,
Your belly rises.
Breath expands up and out.
Maybe you imagine it going down your arms to the tips of your fingers.
Exhale,
Your belly drops.
Breath recedes back down.
Inhale,
Your belly rises.
Breath expands out and up,
Maybe even this time going down your legs all the way to the tips of your toes.
Exhale,
Your belly drops.
Your breath recedes all the way back to your navel center.
Inhale,
Your belly rises.
Breath expands out in all directions.
Exhale,
Your belly falls.
Breath recedes back down to your navel center.
Keep going just like this,
Taking it at your pace.
Now there is really no rush here.
We'll be here for a few more minutes,
Just creating waves of breath in our bodies.
With each inhale,
Create space throughout your body.
Then with each exhale,
Try to sink down into that space.
Alright,
Beautiful work friend.
Now I'm going to guide you through a progressive muscle relaxation to help alleviate tension that you might be holding anywhere in your physical body.
To start,
Bring your attention to the back of your head and towards your jawline.
Take a breath in through your nose and as you inhale,
Press your tongue firmly against the roof of your mouth and press your lower jaw forwards.
Exhale,
Open your mouth as wide as you can and then stick your tongue out.
You can let your mouth relax.
You might gently move your jaw from side to side and then let your jaw relax down completely,
Bringing the tip of your tongue to rest on the roof of your mouth.
You may want to swallow to clear your throat if you need to.
Then start to bring your attention to the back of your neck.
Take an inhale and flex the back of your neck.
Exhale slowly and release the tension as you exhale.
You might want to now rock your head from side to side a couple times,
Just allowing your neck to fully disengage.
Next,
On an inhale,
Draw your shoulders up towards your ears.
On your exhale,
Roll your shoulders down and away from your ears,
Helping create space across your chest.
You can do that a couple times if you need to.
Your shoulders are an area where we hold a ton of tension and that tension is almost always related to stress that we may be feeling or perceiving.
Try to use your breath and some gentle movement just to help them loosen up.
Start to bring your attention to your arms.
On an inhale,
Begin to flex your biceps and squeeze your hands as tight as you can.
Then exhale,
Relax your arms down completely.
You may want to flutter your fingers or roll your wrists a couple times in a circle just to help your hands completely relax.
Alright,
Once your head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
And arms are all relaxed down as much as possible,
Go ahead and take an inhale and flex your chest muscles as well as your abdomen.
Exhale,
Relax everything down.
Do that as many times as you need.
Moving downwards,
On your next inhale,
Flex your glutes and then on your exhale,
Relax them down completely.
You might need to rock your hips from side to side a couple times,
Trying to release out any tension or agitation that you might be holding there.
Then moving down your legs,
On an inhale,
Engage your quadriceps,
Flexing your knees.
Then exhale,
Relax them down as well.
You might need to rock your legs from side to side a couple times before bringing them back to stillness.
On your next inhale,
Flex your feet forwards,
Engaging your calf muscles.
Then exhale,
Relax them down.
Again,
You might need to shake your legs from side to side a couple times,
Just helping your calves to completely relax.
This time,
Inhale and flex your feet towards your shin,
Engaging your shin muscles.
Exhale,
Relax them down as well.
Go ahead and take a few more breaths to rock your feet from side to side and then when you're ready,
Find stillness,
Allowing your body to sink down,
Fully disengage.
For the next five minutes,
Try to stay here in this relaxed and restorative state.
If you notice your mind starting to wander,
Rather than judging yourself or getting frustrated by the thoughts that are coming in,
See if you can instead just notice that you are having the thoughts.
By noticing that you are having the thoughts,
You've become an observer and are distinctly separated from your thoughts.
This is the heart of meditation and as an observer of your thoughts,
You have the choice to continue to allow them to float through your mind if you like or you can gently guide your attention back to your breath.
Perhaps focusing on maintaining that wave of breath we just did,
Where your inhale begins at your belly button,
Expands up into your chest.
Exhale,
Your belly falls and your breath recedes back down to your navel center.
Alright,
I'm gonna be quiet now for about five minutes.
Just allow you to soak up the stillness.
I'm gonna be quiet now for about five minutes.
Allow you to soak up the stillness.
Alright dear friend,
Gently begin to deepen your breath.
Perhaps finding a little movement in your fingers and toes.
Maybe even taking a full body stretch,
Reaching your arms up overhead,
Straightening your legs.
Whenever you're ready,
You can just gently blink your eyes open.
Welcome home.
As you go forward into the rest of your day,
Week,
Month,
Or year,
Try to pay attention to any time that you begin to feel stressed,
Particularly emotional stress.
In those times,
See if you can separate yourself from the situation and move through one or all of the practices that we just did.
This is a powerful way to manage life with adrenal insufficiency and it gives you more autonomy in this disease.
If you have any questions or comments,
Please always feel free to reach out to me.
Alright,
I'll see you next time.
Thanks for joining,
Friend.
