Winter Healing Visualization

The holidays can be especially stressful and difficult for those of us with chronic pain, sleep issues and anxiety. If you find that your nervous system needs a bit of extra rest & relaxation, take a break from it all with this winter healing visualization. This guided meditation focuses on healing, stress reduction and improved sleep. Please do not listen while driving. This recording does not include background music. However, if you subscribe to Insight Timer, you can easily add your own background sounds by clicking on the music icon on the bottom left side of your screen.

Transcript

All right,

So to get started,

Go ahead and start with a few nice,

Deep belly breaths in.

Yeah,

Let those eyes shift up towards the ceiling and as you breathe out,

Just let your eyes get nice and heavy.

And a few more nice,

Deep breaths,

Good,

Allow those eyes to close on down and just enjoy that relaxation.

As your breath begins to just settle your body,

You don't need to necessarily change it,

Maybe elongate the exhale just a bit if that feels good to you.

And as you continue to settle,

Maybe just consciously give yourself permission to relax right now,

Just acknowledging that for this next little while,

No one needs anything from you.

For this next little while,

No one has any expectations or demands.

This is your time to relax and travel inward.

Begin to calm down the nervous system even more,

Accepting suggestions of safety and calm that will carry with you throughout your day and even into your sleep tonight.

So if you haven't already,

I'd like to invite you to just imagine that soft,

Calm,

Relaxed,

Healing,

Colorful light shining down on the top of your head.

And you might,

In your mind's eye,

Just transform yourself into this space and place of calm and comfort.

Imagine whatever color that light is that to you today represents calm,

Safe,

And relaxed.

And imagine now that gentle,

Colorful light touching the top of your head.

And as it does,

It brings even more relaxation,

Breathing in calm and comfort and safety.

Allow that to begin to travel and spread throughout your body into those spaces and places that might need a little extra attention today.

And on the exhale,

Just letting go.

Letting go of any stress or tightness or tension or worry,

Any tasks or random thoughts that try to pop into your mind and interrupt,

Which is completely normal.

Acknowledge them.

Let them go.

Bring your attention back to following along using your imagination,

Your creative imagination as that light,

That color,

That wave of relaxation,

Calm,

And healing spreads across your forehead,

Softening the space between your eyebrows,

Spreading across your eyes,

Relaxing them so much that even if you wanted to,

It's just not worth the effort to open them as that relaxation spreads down across your face,

Relaxing your cheeks,

Allowing your jaw to soften,

Maybe allowing your tongue to drift up towards the roof of your mouth,

Relaxing your throat.

And as that beautiful,

Colorful,

Relaxing,

Safe light spreads down your entire face,

It moves towards the base of your skull,

Relaxing the back and sides of your neck,

Unwinding all those tiny muscles,

Nerves,

Relaxing,

Smoothing away any tension,

Any tightness you can maybe see in your mind's eye,

Imagine,

Feel,

Sense,

Pretend that beautiful,

Colorful,

Healing light drifting and spreading down across the sides of your neck,

Your throat,

And the tops of each of your shoulders.

Any random thoughts that try to interrupt,

Acknowledge,

Bring your attention back as you continue to imagine,

Sense,

See,

Feel,

Whatever color you've chosen.

That light spreading down each of your arms,

And that feels so good.

You might notice that relaxation is a pleasant heaviness or maybe a little bit of lightness,

Perhaps a little bit of tingling spreading down into your elbows,

The lower parts of your arms,

And as it spreads down into your wrists,

Hands,

And fingertips,

You can notice how good that feels.

Allowing that relaxation to spread across your chest and upper back,

So it's almost as if on the inhale,

You can imagine or sense,

See,

Or feel yourself breathing in actual molecules of calm and comfort,

Safety,

And healing,

And as that healing spreads down the length of your spine,

Connecting directly to your nervous system,

You can notice how good that feels as your nervous system rebalances,

This rebalancing of energy within and around you,

And that feels so good because you deserve to feel,

To be safe,

Calm,

And relaxed,

And with that safety,

Calm,

Relaxation,

You can allow that colorful healing light to spread across your belly,

Wrapping around,

Relaxing the lower part of your back,

And as it spreads down across your pelvis and into your hips,

You can feel how safely your body is supported right now,

Noticing the structure beneath you,

Safely holding you,

Supporting you as you allow yourself to drift or float or sink or simply just be in this space of beautiful relaxation,

Nowhere else you need to be,

Nothing else you need to do except just relax and let go as that beautiful,

Colorful light spreads down each of your hips,

Moving into your legs,

Relaxing down into your thighs,

Knees,

Calves,

Pay special attention to those spaces that might need a little reminder to let go of old symptoms,

Sensations that no longer serve you as that relaxation spreads down into your calves,

Grounding you secure and safe as that colorful light moves into your ankles.

And finally,

Your feet,

Your entire body now bathed in that safe,

Calm,

Relaxed,

Colorful light.

Every part of you supported.

Every part of you allowed to rest safe and secure,

Relaxed and calm.

And as you know,

You can go down even deeper into this beautiful state of relaxation,

This relaxation and safety that you can carry with you into the future,

Into your day,

Into your night,

Into your sleep.

So I invite you to use your creative imagination to imagine that soft,

Beautiful,

Safe staircase with 10 steps down.

Today,

This staircase of relaxation softly glows with that healing,

Calming,

Safe light and in a moment as I count backwards,

From 10 to 1.

I invite you to imagine,

See,

Feel,

Sense yourself moving down deeper with every number and every step going down deeper into this beautiful,

Healing,

Safe relaxation with every number and every step.

Double your relaxation,

Whatever that looks and feels like for you,

Beginning with 10.

You might imagine or see in your mind's eye,

Notice what material those stairs are made of today,

9,

Because the deeper you go,

The better you feel.

8,

Doubling that relaxation,

The better you feel,

The deeper you go.

7,

Noticing how good that feels,

Perhaps drifting or floating.

6,

Sinking safely deeper.

5,

Halfway down.

The stairs of relaxation,

This peaceful,

Colorful,

Glowing light surrounding you for this is your opportunity,

Your time that you have set aside for yourself to continue in your healing journey.

3,

Old worries,

Symptoms,

Sensations that used to bother you,

Insomnia,

Fade away to that beautiful,

Safe place,

Your safest space.

1,

At the bottom of the staircase,

You can enter your safe place,

Creating in your mind's eye,

This place where nothing can harm,

Bother,

Or disturb you,

A place of profound healing and change,

A personal sanctuary of sorts that you can make look and feel anyway you'd like it to.

You can notice now,

Imagine what you see in your safe place,

What colors surround you,

What objects,

Images,

Maybe there's a favorite fragrance in the air that makes you feel even more relaxed,

Soothing sounds,

Maybe white noise like a fan or the purring of a cat,

Sounds that draw you down deeper,

Feeling safer and relaxed.

You can notice perhaps how the temperature of the air in this beautiful,

Personal,

Safe space is perfect against your skin,

Maybe noticing,

Imagining the time of day it is here in your safe place.

And as you allow these feelings,

These sensations,

These imaginings,

Images to surround you,

To become more and more a part of you,

With every breath you take,

With every beat of your heart,

You can allow that to sink down deep,

Anchoring into you,

Along with these messages,

I am safe,

Maybe repeating that in your mind,

I am safe,

I am calm,

And I am relaxed.

Allow your mind and body to memorize these sensations,

These messages of safety and healing.

And as you continue to drift or float or sink or simply just be,

You can notice,

Imagine,

See,

Feel,

Sense somewhere within this place is a magical door.

It might be glowing or shimmering or quietly inviting you forward.

You can make your way towards this magical door,

Noticing its size and shape,

Color,

And texture.

And when you're ready,

At three,

Two,

One,

Stepping through this door on the other side,

You enter a beautiful,

Safe,

Relaxing winter wonderland.

Soft snowflakes drifting gently,

Trees shimmering with delicate frost,

And the air here is crisp and clean and peaceful.

Maybe you imagine yourself covered in a thick blanket or heavy,

Comfortable coat.

This winter landscape in your mind's eye holds memories and sensations,

Images of love,

Joy,

Calm,

And safety.

You can imagine feeling that surrounding you right now,

Warming you,

Comforting you.

Every breath bringing more healing to your mind,

To your body,

To your nervous system.

Every moment bringing deeper peace.

Enjoy being in this beautiful,

Safe,

Healing space.

And as you explore this winter wonderland,

As you discover an object now in your mind's eye,

Choose,

Imagine,

See,

Or sense something small or large,

Simple or ornate,

An object that draws your attention.

In this winter wonderland today,

This object carries a message,

A reminder that you have the ability within you to turn down and off old pain signals.

The ability to rest and heal and move forward in your healing journey because you know your brain is capable.

Your body is capable.

You are capable.

You can imagine now,

Sense,

See,

Feel yourself holding,

Touching this object,

Noticing its size and shape,

Texture,

Weight,

Allowing its meaning,

Its symbol,

Its learning to settle deep inside of you.

And as you imagine touching this object,

Anchoring these feelings and learnings and sensations,

Allow its energy,

Its message to strengthen these truths.

Old pain,

Symptoms,

Sensations,

Cycles are released.

You have cut ties in the same way.

You let go of those things that used to cause you pain,

Wounds,

Times where you did not feel safe and you had to be hypervigilant to protect yourself.

You can now let that go because you are now safe and capable.

And that old fear,

Hypervigilance,

Pain signals can melt away.

Your brain continues to rewire towards healing and safety and comfort.

In fact,

Each day,

Your level of activity naturally and safely increases.

Maybe that means trying out things that in the past used to be triggering.

You now know they are safe.

You can lie down at night in a way that feels comfortable and sleep peacefully,

Solidly all night long,

Waking refreshed and feeling good.

You can begin to enjoy those things that used to bring you joy,

That you've had to put aside.

They can become a part of your life once again.

As you continue to remind your nervous system,

You are now safe.

Your bind,

Your body knows how to support you.

Allow this object,

These sensations to become a symbol of your strength,

Your resilience,

Your healing.

And wherever you find yourself in your mind's eye,

You can notice how good that feels.

Maybe you've become less aware of sensations in your body,

And that can be a beautiful thing.

Maybe the sounds around you have faded away into nothing,

And so that even in the future,

When sounds that used to trigger that hypervigilance try to pop in,

You can push them aside.

They become less triggering,

Less important.

As you move with ease through your day,

Through your night,

Through your sleep,

Anchoring in these sensations of safety and healing,

This peace of this winter wonderland,

The air here,

Crisp as you breathe it into your lungs,

The healing properties in the air itself travel throughout your entire being.

Like that beautiful tapestry of healing,

The colors spreading throughout,

Within,

Around your body,

Surrounding you with this healing message of peace and safety.

So that any time you need a reminder of this,

You bring that object or color to mind.

You take that extra slow,

Deep inhale,

Elongate your exhale,

Returning to a state of calm and safety and relaxation that you can carry with you into the future.

And that feels so good because you deserve to feel good,

To continue to heal,

To let go of anything that no longer serves you.

Letting go,

Whatever that looks or feels like in this winter wonderland,

I wonder if you can imagine yourself just setting down in the snow now.

Any old images,

Memories,

Sensations,

Beliefs,

Habits that no longer serve you,

Perhaps you imagine them just in the snow there now that you can leave behind.

Perhaps they sink down into the snow until it is once again white and pure and clean and sparkling.

And as you walk away,

Feeling,

Sensing,

Hearing your feet gently drifting along the top of that snow,

Crunching softly as you leave those things behind,

Moving into a space,

A place where your mind and body is free and safe and relaxed.

That's right.

Go ahead and take another nice,

Deep,

Slow breath in.

And on the exhale,

I'll begin to count you back from one to ten.

And at the count of ten,

You'll find yourself back in this time and place,

Bringing with you all of the learnings,

Changes,

Healing,

And safety that you can carry with you one,

Two,

Three,

Even as you sleep tonight,

Four,

As you lie down tonight,

Imagining,

Remembering these sensations,

Bringing yourself into that space of safety and calm so you can sleep and rest whenever you need to,

Promoting healing,

Four,

Five,

Beginning now to feel your body,

Six,

Becoming aware of the palms of your hands,

Seven,

Noticing the bottom of your feet and imagining at eight,

A nice refreshing energy flowing from the bottom of those feet,

Nine,

Spreading all the way up to the top of your head,

Ten,

Coming all the way back now,

Feeling good.

Take your time.

That's right.

Nice,

Deep breath in.

Let it go.