Before we begin,
I want you to know that you are safe.
Right here,
Right now,
In this present moment,
You are safe.
Often people mistake anxiety as being all in the mind.
It is in fact in the body and these bodily sensations lead to anxious thoughts.
So in this meditation,
We will use grounding techniques and the breath to help restore a sense of peace and safety back into your body.
Whether you are sitting or lying down,
Make sure that you are as comfortable and cozy as possible.
Start by taking one deep cleansing breath in through the nose,
Inflating the belly and hold the breath at the top.
And as you hold your breath,
I want you to squeeze every muscle in your body from the tips of your toes all the way up your legs,
Your thighs,
Your abdomen,
Your chest,
Your back,
Your arms,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Squeezing and tensing those muscles.
And releasing that breath and as you release that exhale out through the mouth,
Letting go of all those muscles.
Unclenching,
Loosening and letting go.
Let's do that one more time.
Take a deep belly breath in through the nose and hold the breath at the top.
Squeeze the muscles.
Tense,
Hold.
And squeezing the forehead,
Squeezing the hands.
And release,
Exhale,
Let go.
Surrender and soften.
Now bringing one hand to your belly and one hand to your chest.
Releasing your hands on your body.
Feeling into the warmth of those hands.
Feeling into the comfort and the weight.
Feeling this soft pressure to bring you back into your body.
And taking a moment to either repeat in your head or out loud.
I am safe.
I am here.
I am safe.
I am here.
Bringing your awareness now to the surface beneath you.
Whether it is a chair,
A bed,
The floor.
Allowing yourself to be completely held.
Feeling into that sense of support that you don't need to effort to hold yourself up.
And giving yourself permission to sink a little bit deeper into that support.
Feeling into the steadiness.
Feeling into the sense of gravity that is pulling you down into the surface.
There is nothing to do and nowhere to be.
But right here in this present moment.
And start to notice which areas in your body can feel the support beneath you.
Whether it is your back,
Your sit bones,
Your legs.
Realising where you feel that support in your body.
Allowing the body to feel heavier and heavier.
Allowing the body to begin to really root down.
Rooting down into the surface beneath you.
Into the floor.
Into the floor of the building and into the ground.
Growing down into the earth.
As if you had roots like a tree.
Growing down into the earth beneath you.
Feeling into the heaviness,
The weight.
Feeling grounded and rooted.
Feeling into the sense of steadiness.
And just like a tree,
The wind may break and shake your branches.
But deep underneath the earth you are rooted.
You are strong.
You are resilient.
And with that support beneath you,
Beginning to bring your attention now to your breath.
Realising where you can feel it in the body.
Maybe through the nose or in the chest or even in the belly.
See watching the breath move naturally in and out.
Beginning now to slow the breath down.
Slowing down the inhale.
And slowing down the exhale.
Breathing in through the nose.
And exhaling out through the mouth.
And starting now to deepen the breath.
Breathing slowly in through the nose,
Expanding the belly.
Deepening the breath.
And exhaling out slowly through the mouth.
Breathing in,
Belly rise.
Breathing out,
Belly falls back towards the spine.
Exhaling the exhale for as long as you can.
And emptying the lungs.
Keeping the breath nice and circular and continuous.
Breathing in and out like a weave.
Deep,
Slow,
Steady breaths.
And with each exhale,
Allowing yourself to sink deeper,
To root deeper into the earth.
Dropping the shoulders,
Unclenching the muscles.
Softening with each breath out.
Breathing in,
Softening.
Breathing out,
Releasing any fear,
Any tension.
Breathing in steadiness.
Breathing out and letting go of any anxiety.
Sending any tension from the body on the exhale down into those roots.
Sending it down into the earth.
You are safe.
And when you're ready,
Returning now to your normal breathing.
Breathing into the stillness and the steadiness that you have created.
And know that any time you feel untethered,
All you need to do is connect to your roots and connect to your breath.
Bringing some gentle movement back into the body and slowly opening the eyes.
Wishing you a peaceful rest of your day.
Wishing you a peaceful rest of your day.
