Begin by finding a comfortable seated or lying down position.
If you are seated,
Allow the spine to remain long.
If you are lying down,
Allow the feet to be at least hip distance apart,
If not more,
And allow the hands to be at least six inches away from the hips.
Palms facing up,
Allowing the shoulders to rotate open.
If you feel any discomfort in your lower back,
You can always place a rolled up blanket or pillow under your knees to help alleviate any strain or pressure you may experience.
Once you find a comfortable position,
Allow the eyes to close and your breath to begin to deepen.
Breathing in and out of your nose.
As your breath begins to deepen,
Feel your body settle into the support of the earth beneath you.
Invite any tension or tightness you may be experiencing in your body to let go and release into that support beneath.
If and when thoughts begin to filter into your mind,
Acknowledge the thought and let it go with the exhale as you draw your awareness back to the breath.
I will slowly go through all areas of your body and inviting them to relax.
Start with your toes.
Let your toes relax.
Let your feet relax.
Relaxing your calves and your thighs.
Letting your hips relax.
Letting your glutes relax.
Letting your hips relax.
Letting your hips relax.
Moving up to your pelvis.
Let your pelvis relax.
Relaxing your belly.
Your chest now relaxes.
Moving up to the middle back.
Relax the middle back.
Up to the upper back.
Relaxing it.
Shoulders relax.
Hands relax.
Let go of your grasp.
Forearms relax.
Relax your biceps.
Relax.
Relax your neck.
Relaxing your throat.
Your jaw.
Let your tongue relax and your cheeks relax.
Relax.
Relax your forehead.
Feel your face relax.
Let your whole scalp relax.
Should be relaxing.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allowing the body to let go and fully relax.
From this relaxing place,
Invite a whole body breath.
Inhale through the heels all the way through the crown of the head.
As you exhale,
Feel the breath come down through the crown of the head all the way through the heels.
Repeating that full body breath as you settle in and relax.
After a few more moments of breathing in this manner,
Let go of the full body breath.
And allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
As you are now very relaxed and calm,
I invite you to come with me on this guided visioning exercise.
You are about to go to a gathering where you will meet many new people.
The what ifs start showing up your mind and you quickly dismiss them.
You are safe.
You are walking toward the door.
You can hear conversations going on in the room.
There are voices that you recognize and some voices that you don't.
Hearing these voices is causing you to actually feel calm.
You know that this will be a good experience.
You walk through the door and are greeted by the host.
A smile and a warm hello greets you.
It warms your soul.
You scan the room and see many different people engaged in conversation.
You feel calm.
You are happy where you are at.
The host introduces you to a few people.
You engage in conversation.
The conversation flows easy for you.
The more you talk,
You talk.
The more confident you are.
The confidence is building within you.
The world around you is changing.
The what ifs that you were worried about are not coming true.
The conversation with the first group of people ends.
It ends with ease and with comfort.
You make your way through the room,
Seeing friendly faces that you recognize.
You are greeted.
There is no judgment.
People are happy to see you.
You are safe.
You are okay.
There are times throughout the night that conversations go quiet.
That's okay.
You're okay.
Throughout the night you make your way,
Making new friends and talking with old friends.
Is there any other things that worry you about gatherings?
Picture them in your mind.
Picture them going great.
Picture them going the way you want them to.
You have done it.
Everything that you were worried about no longer exists.
You've released all of that tension.
Okay.
We're safe.
We are free from anxiety.
Lie there for a few moments and take in that feeling.
It feels great.
When you feel ready,
Begin to invite gentle movements by wiggling your fingers and toes.
In your own time,
Stretch your arms overhead and stretch your whole body.
When you feel ready,
You may press yourself up to a seated position,
Or you can remain lying there and drift off into sleep.
