Hi,
I'm Hayley and I'm glad that you found your way here.
Wherever your mind has been today,
Whatever loop it's been caught in you can let this be the moment that you step out of it even if it's just for a few minutes.
Before you close your eyes,
Take a moment to look around the space that you're in.
Let your gaze land on a few things without needing to think about them Just see if you can notice colors,
Shapes or edges.
This is your space right now.
And you're safe here.
Find a position that feels supported whether that's sitting or lying down and when you're ready let your eyes close or soften your gaze downwards take a breath in through the nose and let it out slowly through your mouth and observe how it feels to breathe Breathe in again,
This time for a count of four.
And out for a count of six Letting the exhale be longer than the inhale.
Because it's the long exhale that's telling your nervous system that it's safe to slow down.
And keep breathing in through the nose for 4 and out through the mouth for 6 in for four,
Out for six and one last time in for four and out for six and now let your breath return to its own natural rhythm without needing to control it if your mind has been spiraling or replaying a conversation or rehearsing an outcome circling around the same worry again and again.
It's not a sign that something's wrong.
And it's not a failure.
It's the brain trying to protect you.
Trying to help you to find the solution.
See if you can name it to yourself You might say something like,
This is a spiral,
Or this is anxiety.
There's no need to explain it,
Or justify it,
Or to figure out where it came from.
Just name what's here.
Spirals and anxiety often start as a way of trying to keep you safe scanning for what could go wrong so that nothing catches you off guard but it might not feel that way.
It might just feel like it's exhausting.
You might be wondering.
Why am I trying to protect myself?
Why is my mind doing this?
It's not helping.
It might be pulling you further away from your body and further away from the present but in this moment can you be with that?
Be with the discomfort of that.
Now bring your attention down into your body and notice.
Wherever you're being held,
Whether that's the chair beneath you,
Or the floor beneath your feet,
Or the surface beneath your back.
Feel the weight of your body resting there and let that weight increase just a little.
As though you are allowing gravity to hold more of you than usual notice your shoulders and see if there's any tension held there any bracing.
Any holding on.
And if there is,
Let it soften.
Even by a fraction.
Notice your jaw and let it unclench now bring your awareness to your hands and let them rest Open.
There's nothing for you to hold on to.
And nothing for you to fix right now in this moment now imagine for a moment that your thoughts are like storm clouds moving across the sky one after the other.
And heavy.
And they're blocking out the sun That's what anxiety can feel like.
One thought crowding in after another.
With barely any gaps between them But the sky itself has never been touched by the storm.
It doesn't matter how many clouds pass through it.
The sky remains exactly as it is open,
Unchanged It holds the storm without becoming the storm.
The sky is a still point.
No matter what passes through.
And that same open sky is within you too And it always has been.
And even though the thoughts pass through The sky always stays still.
I invite you now to start to bring compassion to the spiral so there might be part of you that's tired of spiraling that wishes you could switch it off and that's frustrated.
For not being able to manage it better.
But see if you can meet that part of you gently.
With compassion.
It's okay that your mind does this It's okay that you're overthinking.
That you're worrying about getting things wrong.
It's a sign that you care it's a sign that you feel deeply You don't need to fear.
The anxiety or the spiralling observe whether this gentle approach towards your mind shift the energy in some way And if it doesn't,
Then that's okay too.
You are a human having a human experience and it won't be like this forever.
Imagine that steady sky within you now that openness that's behind the noise and imagine it as.
.
.
A gentle source of light that's glowing in your belly or in your chest.
And with every inhale,
That light grows brighter and bigger.
And with every exhale any looping thoughts or spiraling are drifting away like clouds dissolving into open sky As you inhale that light is brighter.
Bigger becoming part of you.
And with every exhale your thoughts are drifting and dissolving.
Just keep breathing.
Allow that steady light to hold you expanding into your whole body.
And keep allowing those thoughts to move through you you can now let go of the light and let go of any visualization or effort and just bring yourself back into stillness no need to change anything,
No need to solve anything and as you begin to bring your awareness back into the room see if you can carry a little bit of this stillness with you this is something that you can return to you know that the still sky is within you even if it doesn't always feel like it.
It's always there.
So take one more breath in and let it go and when you're ready gently open your eyes or lift your gaze and carry this steadiness with you as your day unfolds Thank you.
