Clear Your Anxiety While You Sleep

Ever crawl into bed at night and then you replay your day over and over and anxiety kicks in about all the things you should have done or could have done or shouldn't have said or needed to say. Yep, you get it! This meditation is for you. It's time to release anxiety and reclaim your power as you drift off for a good night's sleep.

Transcript

Sit back,

Relax and just close your eyes.

In a very few moments,

You're going to be more relaxed than you've ever known yourself to be.

I'm going to mention certain parts of your body and I want you to just feel that part begin to relax.

Just feel that part begin to relax.

As I mentioned certain parts of your body,

You're going to feel that portion just begin to relax.

So that in a few moments,

You will be more relaxed than you've ever known yourself to be.

Starting with your forehead,

I want you to feel all the little frown lines,

All the little worry lines in your forehead just seem to disappear.

The forehead smooths out,

Feeling so relaxed and you feel this relaxation coming now around your eyes.

The eyelids seem to become very,

Very heavy and as the relaxation comes down around the facial muscles now,

All the muscles in the facial area just begin to relax.

Relaxation comes further now around your mouth and all the hundreds of little muscles around the mouth just start to relax.

So much so that the lower jaw becomes heavy and the teeth part.

Your mouth may even open up a little bit with relaxation as you continue deeper and deeper relaxed.

Feeling this relaxation now around your lower jaw,

Behind your ears,

So all the little nerve endings behind your ears just seem to relax.

As you continue deeper and deeper and even deeper into relaxation.

The relaxation goes to the back of the neck now,

Down around the shoulders and so much tension seems to go to our shoulders.

Now you feel the shoulders just begin to relax.

You can even feel them drop a bit.

The relaxation goes to the backbone now and as it goes down the spinal column,

It seems to go out to the sides so that every muscle,

Every nerve and every fiber in your back just seems to relax.

This relaxation seems to come now to the small of your back and around the curve of your back.

A warm sense of relaxation comes to the back of your thighs,

To the hollow of the knee,

Around the calf of your leg,

Around your heels,

To the bottom of your foot.

And each and every tone just relaxes even more as you go deeper,

Deeper and even deeper.

Feeling calm,

Very peaceful and relaxed.

Your whole head and back area are very,

Very relaxed.

Allow yourself to drift deeper and deeper,

Drifting and drowsy,

Drifting down,

Down,

Down into total relaxation.

As you drift deeper and deeper into this calm,

Relaxing feeling,

You know that you can feel safe and secure and very comfortable.

So just continue to drift deeper and deeper down as you listen to the sound of my voice.

Now because you are so very calm and relaxed,

You can become aware of the most minute movements of your body,

Both within and without.

And you are conscious of the gentle beating of your heart and the steady rhythm of each breath,

Breathing gently and slowly,

Slowly and evenly.

Now I would like to create a picture in your mind's eye,

An image of a beautiful woodland scene.

Take your time as you allow this picture to form in your mind until you can visualize yourself sitting down,

Perhaps on a chopped log that lies by a gurgling stream that runs through the woods.

Maybe you prefer to find yourself leaning against a special tree in those woods,

Feeling the texture of the rough bark against your back.

Listen carefully and you may hear the sounds of a little songbird up there in the tops of the trees as the little birds trill and call,

Perhaps courting a mate.

The dabbled sun shines down patches of grass and those delicate wildflowers in the clearing nearby.

And you can see the warm sunshine sparkling like glittering diamonds on the gently flowing stream just across the view.

Perhaps you can recall the earthy aroma of the leaves and the fresh woodland growth as you listen to the sound of the wind's gentle breeze in the upper branches of the trees.

There may be an occasional creek as a branch touches another,

And merged with the ripples of the stream and the birdsong,

You sense this as music to your soul.

Every now and again you hear other little sounds in the distance,

Yet it is so peaceful here and you feel very calm and relaxed.

While we're here,

I want you to think of all of the times,

Or a particular time,

When you felt anxious.

Anxiety completely consumed your body,

Heart racing,

Sweating perhaps.

And I want you to realize that by being aware of these responses,

We can immediately discharge them,

Freeing ourselves from the feelings that panic and anxiety brings.

Every time you discharge one of those symptoms of anxiety,

You immediately feel very proud of yourself.

And this reinforces the positive cycle,

And you need,

Or want,

To do.

And all you need,

Or want,

To do,

Is relax.

Remember,

Your body cannot feel two conflicting emotions at one time.

So whenever you feel yourself tensing,

Or the anxiety rising,

All you need to do is slow down,

Breathe in,

Breathe out,

And allow your body to relax.

Now I'm going to show you another technique which you will find useful should those old panic feelings return.

To do this,

You will need to locate the area of your body where you feel the anxiety or panic.

For some people,

This may be in their chest,

For others their throat,

The back of their neck,

Or somewhere completely different.

Just be aware of where those unwanted feelings manifest themselves.

And remember,

Your body is simply experiencing a primitive response and needs a little help in order to feel better.

So just focus on that feeling,

Just for a second or two,

And imagine it shrinking in size.

Now direct that feeling to the top of your shoulder and all the way down through your arm.

It doesn't matter which one,

But bring it down from the shoulder,

Down through your arm,

And into the palm of your hand.

Feel and experience the anxiety there,

In the palm of your hand.

Hold it tight for just a moment or two.

That's right.

Form a really tight fist.

And then,

With all your might,

Just throw it away.

Discard it.

Just rid of it at once.

And as you discard that old unwanted negative feeling,

You immediately feel lighter and happier and more in control.

You feel yourself free.

Such a relief.

Such a release.

It is gone.

It had no business to be there in the beginning,

And so you took control and you rid yourself of those anxious feelings.

You take a couple of nice,

Deep,

Refreshing breaths,

Perhaps imagining breathing in that fresh woodland air.

Remembering it was simply an old,

Primitive response which needed help to escape.

And you can relax your body,

And if those old feelings of panic or anxiety return,

You can breathe deeply and calmly,

Allowing your body and your mind to relax as you gain control.

When you inhale this way,

Your breath pushes deep into your abdomen.

Deep,

Deep down.

Take slow,

Deep breaths to regulate your breathing,

And then slowly let it all go.

While at the same time,

Telling yourself to feel calm and relaxed.

You also can use the FIST technique in any situation that requires it.

And when you do this,

You inhale deeply and evenly,

And tell yourself that you are calm and relaxed.

You immediately feel much more calm and way more relaxed.

Your mind commands and your body obeys,

And when you tell yourself that you are calm and relaxed,

You instantly experience that calm,

Relaxed feeling.

And if you ever feel any of that old anxiety creeping up on you,

All you need to do is take this deep breath,

Remind yourself that you can regulate your breathing,

You can relax your whole body,

You can,

And you do.

You remember to check your body for tension,

Check your shoulders and your neck,

Letting your shoulders drop slightly and relax.

You check your jaw,

Allowing it to hang loosely and feel relaxed.

You check your forehead,

Letting it become smooth and relaxed.

You check your stomach,

Letting each breath relax your stomach.

And each deep breath relaxes your stomach more and more deeply.

You relax any part of your body that feels tension,

Any part of your body where relaxation is needed.

Always remember that you are in charge.

You have the ability,

The tools,

And the knowledge to let go of all that old,

Unnecessary anxiety and panic.

And from now on,

You find yourself feeling so much more calm and more relaxed and so much more confident too.

Those old anxieties begin to diminish because now you know exactly how to deal with them,

Easily and effectively,

By simply letting them go.

After just a few times of practicing these techniques,

These old,

Primitive,

Unwanted responses will change.

As a new response pattern sets in,

A pattern of coping and taking control,

Feeling wonderfully relaxed and at ease.

They are even changing now as you are listening to me,

For you instinctively know that you can do this.

You can take control.

You can be in charge of your mind,

Your body,

And your health.

I would like you to think of a situation that would have previously caused you to feel anxious.

That is,

Before you learned these techniques.

Picture yourself at a future date in a similar situation,

But this time the anxiety is so faint that you can barely even perceive it.

But even if there is a tiny bit of that old anxiety there,

You know exactly how to eliminate it,

And you do.

So see yourself coping marvelously,

Directing any tension up to your shoulder,

Down in your arm,

Straight into the palm of your hand.

Experience yourself closing that hand into a very tight fist and throwing the anxiety away.

Feel yourself taking that long,

Slow,

Deep breath and telling yourself to be calm and relaxed.

And notice how you instantly respond in a positive and healthy way,

Feeling wonderfully calm,

Relaxed,

And in complete control.

Do this now,

As I'm going to remain quiet for just a moment or two.

And you know,

You instinctively know that this works.

And you can feel that good.

You can be that relaxed and free from any unwanted feelings,

Replacing them easily and effortlessly with calm,

Confident feelings.

And these suggestions are firmly embedded into your subconscious mind and grow stronger and stronger day by day.

They grow stronger each and every day,

Stronger by the hour and stronger by the minute.

In a moment,

I'm going to count the numbers from one to five.

And at the count of five,

You will fall into a deep,

Deep sleep.

When you awake,

You will feel refreshed and alert and ready to allow these suggestions to work for you.

One,

Feeling strong,

Positive,

Very confident.

Two,

Feel these beautiful feelings of peace and calm flowing throughout your body.

Three,

Locking these feelings into your daily practice.

Four,

Coming back into your body now as you feel your fingers and toes.

And five,

Drifting off into a deep,

Deep sleep so that when you awake,

You will feel refreshed and alert and ready for these suggestions to work for you.