Welcome to today's meditation.
Today we're going to take a powerful step towards calming anxiety and bringing a sense of ease into your mind and body.
The following meditation will help you to lower stress,
Soothe your nervous system,
Regulate your heart and release the physical tension that anxiety often brings.
It's also going to cultivate feelings of safety,
Relaxation and inner peace.
As we progress through the meditation you're going to start to notice the mind shifting from anxious thoughts to a calmer,
More peaceful state of mind and the body will feel more at ease.
By the end you're going to feel more grounded,
Relaxed and ready to face whatever challenges come your way.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position and if possible we can have our back supported.
Most people feel more relaxed by closing the eyes but feel free to open the eyes if that feels more relaxing to you.
Anxiety is a natural response to stress but when it becomes overwhelming it can leave us feeling tense,
Restless and on edge.
And if we stay in a state of anxiety for too long it can sometimes take a toll on our physical and mental health.
This meditation is going to engage the parasympathetic nervous system,
Also known as the rest and digest system.
It's going to slow down our heart rate,
Relax our muscles and bring our bodies back to a state of equilibrium.
It will also help train your body and mind to stay calm and feel safe even in the face of anxiety.
Okay,
Let's begin.
I invite you now to bring awareness to the breath.
Noticing your inhale and noticing your exhale.
Perhaps we can feel the cool air coming in through the nostrils as we breathe in as the lungs,
The chest and the stomach expand.
And then we might notice a short pause as the breath changes direction,
As the body softens and relaxes and sinks deeper into the chair or into the bed.
Now,
For the next minute or so I invite you to lengthen your exhalation,
Making sure that our exhalation is longer than our inhalation.
Now a good way of doing this is to do a little count inside our minds and make sure that our exhale count is about twice as long as our inhale count.
For instance,
If I were to do it,
I would be breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Breathing out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Breathing out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Now it's up to you what you count to,
Whatever is comfortable for you.
By controlling the breath in this way we might be beginning to notice changes as we settle into this relaxing practice of lengthening the out-breath.
As we continue to breathe deeply and steadily,
You might start to feel a sense of warmth or tingling sensation spreading through the body,
Or perhaps a gentle release of tension.
And now,
Whenever you're ready,
We can allow our breathing to return to its natural rhythm.
Now we're going to shift into a second way of relaxing and move into the progressive relaxation section of the meditation.
We'll be slowly moving our awareness through the body,
Relaxing each part as we go and releasing tension wherever we find it.
Let's begin by relaxing the left foot,
Relaxing the left lower leg,
The calf,
The shin,
Relaxing the left knee,
Relaxing the left upper leg,
The thigh,
The hamstring,
Perhaps we might be noticing nice feelings of warmth or tingles or pulses moving into the area that we're relaxing.
Relaxing the left hip,
Now moving our awareness down through the right hip,
Down the right leg,
All the way down to the right foot.
Relaxing the right foot,
The sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
The heel,
The toes.
Relaxing the right lower leg,
Relaxing the right knee,
Relaxing the right upper leg,
The thigh,
The hamstring,
Relaxing the right hip,
Relaxing both hips and the pelvis,
And we're keeping the breathing relaxed as we go through this body scan,
Keeping the breath soft.
Relaxing the lower back,
Relaxing the middle of the back,
Relaxing the upper back,
The shoulder blades,
Relaxing the entire back and the full length of the spine,
And perhaps we're noticing feelings of relaxation spreading through the body,
Maybe feelings of warmth or vibrations or tingles.
Moving our awareness now to the front of the body,
To the stomach,
And relaxing the stomach.
If there's any tension or tightness in the stomach,
See if we can release some of that tension as we breathe out,
As we exhale.
Relaxing the stomach,
The belly rises as we breathe in,
And softens as we breathe out.
Relaxing the chest,
The ribcage,
Maybe even relaxing all the organs inside the ribcage.
Relaxing the heart,
Releasing any tension or tightness in the chest.
Chest expands as we breathe in,
Softens as we breathe out.
Moving our awareness to the left shoulder,
Relaxing the left shoulder,
Relaxing the left arm,
Relaxing the left hand,
Palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
The fingers,
The thumb.
Moving our awareness across to the right shoulder,
Relaxing the right shoulder,
Relaxing the right arm,
And relaxing the right hand.
We're keeping the breath relaxed as we move through the body.
Moving our awareness to the neck,
Relaxing the neck,
Relaxing the throat,
Relaxing the back of the head,
And relaxing the face,
The jaw,
Relaxing the tongue inside the mouth,
The lips,
The cheeks,
The eyes,
The temples,
The forehead.
Relaxing the entire face,
And relaxing the top of the head.
Now I invite you to expand your awareness to include the whole body from the top of the head to the tips of the fingers and tips of the toes,
Noticing all those feelings of relaxation that have spread across the body.
The tingles,
The warmth,
The pulses,
The vibrations.
When we're feeling anxious we're so often in our heads we just don't notice what this body feels like.
So right now we're letting go,
We're allowing our body to find its equilibrium while remaining alert,
Awake,
Present,
As our body and our mind become increasingly relaxed and peaceful.
We're enjoying this experience of relaxation,
Really letting it sink in.
And as we're keeping our awareness in the body,
In the sensations of relaxation,
I invite you to expand your awareness even more to include the sensations of breathing.
The breath is a sensation just like body sensations,
So we're simply noticing how the body is naturally breathing.
Noticing the body becoming increasingly peaceful and tranquil,
The breath slowing down,
The body relaxing,
The mind calming.
And as this practice comes to an end,
Knowing that you can come back here again,
This place of relaxation and peace and safety,
And hopefully we're feeling a little less anxious and a little calmer,
But even if we're not feeling more relaxed it could be one of those really difficult days and we might notice that we have even more anxiety in the mind and body,
But that's okay too.
By bringing awareness to how we're feeling we can now give ourselves some extra care and compassion.
So if we are feeling a little stressed,
Sad or anxious or overwhelmed,
Then if possible take it easy today,
Do something relaxing.
We can always leave the hard work until tomorrow.
And keeping our eyes closed,
I invite you to notice what feels different in the body and the mind.
Perhaps we're feeling more relaxed,
Perhaps we can feel an opening or lightness in the chest,
Maybe more spaciousness in the mind and perhaps a feeling of safety in the body.
I invite you now to bring awareness to sounds.
Sounds inside the room,
Sounds outside the room.
You can gently wiggle your fingers and toes and shortly the meditation will come to an end,
But you're welcome to rest in silence for as long as you like and whenever you're ready you can gently crack open the eyes and come back to the room.
Now remember we can always come back to this place of rest and relaxation.
The breath is always there for us.
Whenever we notice anxious thoughts or feelings arising we can gently return our attention to the breath,
Allowing ourselves to find calm and safety in the present moment.
Congratulate yourself on taking some time out to care for your mind and body,
Nurturing your well-being and creating space for peace in your life.
Have a wonderful day or if you're listening to this before bed,
Sweet dreams.
