Health Anxiety Relief: Calm Your Body

Health anxiety can feel overwhelming, urgent, and exhausting.

This guided meditation offers a safe, structured way to calm your body and gently relate to the part of you that fears illness.

Using somatic awareness and Internal Family Systems (IFS), you’ll be guided to meet anxiety with curiosity and compassion — without analyzing symptoms or trying to convince yourself you’re healthy.

We begin with an embodied gratitude practice to create safety and presence. From there, you’ll notice sensations in the body and gently welcome the anxious part, perhaps even thanking it for trying to protect you.

This is not about eliminating anxiety. It’s about feeling safe enough in your body to soften the spiral.

You’re always free to pause if it feels intense. Move at your own pace. If you're having any issues with this practice, please reach out — I'm here to help.

Music: D Major Pad, thanks to Vishal Bhojane

Transcript

A very warm welcome to this health anxiety practice. I can tell you from my own experience I know what it is like to have anxiety about getting sick and stuff like that so I really know the stress and the fear. So just first off you know right off the bat I want you to know that you're not alone with this and you're actually now listening to somebody who really knows very well what that anxiety can feel like. So I want you to know that you're not alone in this. Now I want you to take any break at any moment in the practice. So this is not a strict meditation it is of course meditative but I want you to really feel in charge and if ever you want to take a break or if you have your eyes closed if you ever want to open them please do that. Please make it as comfortable as possible for yourself. Now to start if you're wearing glasses I invite you to take them off and just find your position whether you're laying or sitting or walking. Just make it as comfy as can be in this moment right. I understand that you're having some anxiety but you can actually intentionally invite already some relaxation. Maybe you notice there's some tension in your face or maybe you're kind of you know holding your belly or having your shoulders up and just even just physically allow all of that to relax even if just a little bit. And if it doesn't happen that's also okay. Now next what I want you to do is to take something called a physiological sigh. So I'll explain first briefly this is something that really quickly kind of sets your nervous system into more relaxation. So the technique is very simple I'll just first explain it don't do it yet. You're going to take a long deep full inhalation in through your nose until your lungs are your lungs are completely full and when you feel that they are really really really full then you take an additional extra breath in and then you let it all out with a even with a sigh right. So it's like it's all the way in in in in in and then when you think you can breathe in no more do a little bit extra anyway. You can even help that by moving your shoulders up while you do that extra little tug and then sigh it all out. So do that now maybe two or three times. And so no matter how stressed you are mentally or physically this is kind of a hack of the nervous system. So know that you can always have this technique the physiological sigh. If you're stressed it's literally not quite literally but almost literally a button you can press to relax the nervous system. Okay with that in place let's do some gratitude practice first. It's very simple but it is important to do it right. So what I mean with that is think of something you're grateful for but don't make it something that you should be grateful for. That can be a bit of a trap. Think of something you're actually grateful for. So it can be something that maybe you feel a bit guilty about being grateful for but you're actually feeling grateful for like maybe you have like me a bag of licorice on your desk and you really love that you have it because you like it so much right. So it's not about no I should be grateful for my children or I should be grateful no. That's not real gratitude. I want you to actually feel gratitude for what you're really factually grateful for and then just simply conjure that up in your mind and then feel that gratitude in your body. And when you found it then you can find something else. It doesn't have to be big it can be very very small so also don't make the mistake that you think it has to be some huge you know earth-shattering gratitude. No it can be very very small. Maybe you're grateful for the cup of tea that you had this morning or for the way your eyebrows are feeling right now. Whatever small or weird thing it may be just invite that into your consciousness and then experience the gratitude. Then you'll notice that a gratitude is typically this kind of warm relaxing feeling. It can be in your heart. Maybe you'll notice a smile when you're touching gratitude and so do that for a few moments and really again take things that you're really grateful for. Don't get into mental loops about you know anything that may be related to it. So maybe you're grateful for the licorice but then you're feeling guilty about your weight or whatever it may be. Don't do that. Only do the gratitude part. So I'll now give you a few moments to do that and just do it with whatever you're grateful for and then you know take another little thing, Take another little thing. Do it at your ease and notice the feeling of gratitude. And then if you've done a few things you're grateful for then simply enjoy the presence of that feeling of gratitude. So let go of trying to conjure it and just simply rest in the feeling of gratitude lingering in your body. Why are we doing this? Gratitude is a very powerful safe place. So later when we're going into the health anxiety work this is something you can go back to. You could call it a presence anchor or a safety anchor. So just for a few more moments in silence enjoy that hopefully calm appreciative presence that you're feeling. All right now again just to remember that this practice is there for you. So if ever in the next 15 minutes or so you notice that the anxiety is getting a little bit too intense you can take any break at any moment and if you'd like to you can go back to doing gratitude practice or even take a break altogether from this. But the gratitude practice is actually a really pleasant and safe practice to come back to when things get a little intense okay. So this is there for you. Now I want you to bring your health anxiety into the foreground of your consciousness and if you can don't make it too big. If you can kind of dose it so that you can work with it that's helpful. If that is not available to you if it's only super big then okay let's try working with that. But if it's available you to you then take a small thing take a small part or like just turn open the faucet of the anxiety just a little bit and then what might come to you are thoughts or images or memories and of course sensations and emotions in the body. And as you're doing that I want you to check with yourself so as you're contacting this anxiety again as whether it be thoughts memories images feelings sensations emotions check with yourself if just for now just for this practice is it okay for you to be with that part that is anxious. Can you be with it? Is it allowed? And be honest about it. So if you notice that yes there is some curiosity maybe kind of a calm open feeling towards it then you can proceed. I'll first do a little explanation for if you can't. But if you have this kind of curious calm openness then you can just continue. That means you are able to be present with the anxiety. However if you're not quite able maybe you notice that there is frustration or fear or a sense of urgency maybe you notice that there's kind of a bracing happening or you're breathing more shallow you know any of that then I invite you to pause the track and then speak to that what I would call a protective part or protective layer. So if you feel that kind of hesitation or fear then I invite you to in your own time first notice that this protection wants you to keep away from the anxiety because it loves you. This protective layer that is that is connected to that fear or urgency is actually a part that loves you and wants to protect you. And because of that beautiful intention I want you then to thank it for wanting to protect you and also ask it if it is okay to spend some time with the anxiety. And just you know if that if that kind of protective fear or urgency or frustration is there then pause the track right now and have this conversation. So again thanking it and asking it if it's okay to spend some time with the actual anxiety. So you can pause the track now to work with the protective part, The protective layer. All right and either you have paused the track, You have had an inner dialogue thanking the protective layer and asking it if it's okay to work with anxiety or you already felt curious, Calm and open. And so here we are now going to be with the anxiety a little bit deeper. And so what I want you to do specifically is to locate the feelings, The sensations. Not analyzing but just gently noticing what is there in this anxiety. Is it you know is it somewhere in your chest, In your belly? So first of all where is it? And then simply investigate. Does it have a certain size? You know does this sensation or feeling have a temperature? What is the texture? Does it have maybe movement, Vibration? Is there a kind of shape to it? So just kind of feel with your feelings. We're not kind of analyzing mentally but really allow your inner sensing to sense. So you don't have to label it. So you don't have to kind of list all the things that you notice like size or it's this warm or it has that shape. No but just only feel it. I'm saying it in words but you're only feeling it with your feelings. So do that for a moment and investigate with this kind of calm open curiosity. How does this anxiety live in me, Live in this body? So just take a moment to contact the anxiety. And again if it gets a bit too intense you can always go back to taking a break or doing the gratitude practice. Maybe you'll notice that the protecting part is up, Is coming up again and speaking to you. Then you're always allowed to just take a break, Pause the track and specifically I encourage you when you notice that there's this kind of voice in your head saying this is not okay we shouldn't be doing this. Then that's a protector part. Then you can pause the track again and just simply be with the protector part for a while. Meaning expressing gratitude. You can also ask what is it that you want me to know and just allow a kind of dialogue to unfold because this protector part wants to protect you, Wants to help you. And then you can also always ask is it okay that I go back to the anxiety and then you can continue to track and be with the anxiety again. So with that as a reminder of your kind of safety, Safety check. Again just be with those feelings of anxiety and investigate. Of course on the other hand if you notice that somehow it's not so present anymore then try to remind yourself of the anxiety by you know the normal way it comes to you. There will be some rumination, There will be some thinking, Maybe images, Maybe memories. Just enough so that you can feel it and then let go of the conjuring and just be with the sensations again. I'll give you a few more moments to just feel, Locate, Conjure and be with the feelings and sensations of anxiety and then we're going to go to the next step. All right so now I want you to recognize that those feelings of anxiety come with usefulness and of course ultimately want to care for you. You know this is a you can see there's a part or a voice that is anxious and that part or voice is really coming only from love. And so knowing that I want you to speak directly to the sensations and the feelings, However it may exist in your body and in your own way, In your own pace, With your own words. Thank them, Welcome, Welcome the feelings. You can speak directly to it and say something like hey thank you for letting me feel you. I know you care for me. And even though I find it a bit scary sometimes, You're very welcome because I know you care for me. So say something like that in your own words and then see what happens. Listen. I'll give you a moment now to do this. Now as you're doing this you might notice that something is shifting, Is changing. Doesn't have to. Maybe for you today it doesn't happen. But notice that there can be a shift. There tends to typically be a shift of something towards warmth, Presence, Gratitude. So if that's happening then really great. Then stay with that. That's a beautiful end stage of the work here. And if it isn't there, If it's maybe still quite challenging, Then just stay gently with it if you can. And just sometimes express your gratitude and and your welcome to that part. So I'll give you a few more moments to be with whatever you are with right now in silence. Okay very good. Then I want you to gently find an end to that. And there's a specific way I want to invite you to close this practice. Most importantly I'd like you to thank all parts that were in the session today. So you know you don't have to kind of be too contracted around forgetting anything. But just whatever you remember, Maybe the you know the sensations that you felt, Maybe the the protective layers that were there. So whatever was there, Memories, Feelings, Thoughts, Sensations, Emotions. Thank all of them separately. And also let them know that they're very welcome to come back if they want to be felt. Because all these things in our body, In our mind, You know all these sensations and especially also this anxiety, It's there because it wants to be felt. So take a moment to again express your gratitude for them showing up and letting them feel you. And extend a welcoming back. So take a moment now to do that. And then I want to invite you to orient yourself back into the space that you are. And then specifically it can be helpful to kind of look around and actually you you know move your head around as you're doing that. Look a little bit around to to be a bit more present where you are in the here and now let's say. Maybe if you're sitting you can feel your legs and feet. If you're laying down you can feel a bit more intentionally where your body is touching the surface it's laying on. And there's another kind of landing and grounding back into reality practice. Notice three things that you see. Just simply kind of noticing it for yourself, Naming it. And then let your system know that the practice is complete. Taking one slightly deeper breath in and out. This concludes the practice. Take it a little bit easy with yourself if it was particularly deep. You can ask me any question if you'd like to. And with that I wish you a beautiful rest of your day. Thank you.