Before you begin,
Simply allow yourself to become comfortable.
Feel the chair supporting you.
Place both feet flat on the floor.
Rest your hands gently in your lap.
And when you're ready,
Allow your eyes to softly close.
Begin by bringing your awareness to your feet.
Notice the sensations in your toes.
The soles of your feet.
And the gentle pressure where your feet meet the floor.
Take a moment to simply notice that connection.
The floor and your feet.
Your feet.
And flow.
There's really nothing you need to do.
Nowhere you need to be.
Just be in this moment.
Continue to be aware of your feet touching the floor.
Your connection to the earth.
Imagine a gentle warmth beginning to spread across the soles of your feet.
A soft,
Comforting warmth.
That gradually flows through your feet.
And into your toes.
Allowing them to soften.
And relax.
The warmth can begin to travel upwards.
Flowing from your feet.
Through your ankles.
And into your lower legs.
Feel your calf muscles becoming softer.
Looser.
More comfortable with each gentle breath.
The warmth continues to rise through your knees.
And into your thighs.
Perhaps easing away any tightness in your legs.
Notice any sensations in your legs as you settle more deeply into the chair.
Notice how completely the chair supports you.
It holds you without any effort.
You can simply allow yourself to rest.
As you sink deeper into further comfort.
And as you settle a little deeper.
Imagine any tension you've been carrying.
Gently mounting away.
Flowing down through your body.
Through the chair.
And into the floor beneath you.
Perhaps leaving you feeling lighter.
And more ease.
Relaxation flows in.
And tension flows out.
The comforting warmth now spreads down into your lower back.
Perhaps gently loosening the muscles just there.
It moves slowly upwards along your spine.
Cross your back.
And into your shoulders.
Encouraging them to soften and release.
And you can welcome the warmth spreading through your neck.
Into the back of your head.
And over the top of your head.
Creating a gentle sense of calm.
And ease.
Now focus your attention on your forehead.
Notice the sensations there.
Can you feel it becoming smoother and more relaxed?
Whatever feeling you have there on your forehead.
Allow it to drift down through your eyelids.
Your cheeks.
Down around the mouth.
Into your jaw.
Allowing every muscle in your face to soften and relax.
The feeling of comfort.
Continues to flow down through your neck and shoulders.
Into your arms.
Your elbows.
Forearms.
Hams.
And all the way to the tips of your fingers.
Notice the sensations in your fingertips.
And bring your attention once again to your shoulders.
And notice the relaxing sensations begin to move down into the chest.
Down.
Into your abdomen.
And down.
The length of your spine.
Allowing any remaining tension to simply dissipate.
Drift away.
Down through the chair.
And into the floor.
And perhaps now your whole body.
Is becoming more comfortably relaxed.
With each easy breath.
Beginning to feel more settled.
More present.
More connected to yourself.
Allowing yourself to simply be here.
In this moment.
Feeling calm,
Safe.
And completely at ease.
And as your body continues to settle into this feeling of comfort simply allow yourself to rest here.
For a few moments.
Because there's nowhere you need to be.
There's nothing you need to do.
Allowing yourself this time to pause.
To breathe.
And to be.
Remember You're a human being.
Not a human doing.
And when you feel ready.
Gently invite your mind to bring to your awareness a place where you feel calm,
Safe.
And completely at ease.
And it may be somewhere you know well.
Somewhere you've visited before.
Or perhaps the place your imagination creates just for you.
There's no right,
There's no wrong.
Simply allow whatever feels correct for you to come into your awareness.
Or perhaps it's a quiet beach.
With the gentle rhythm of waves.
Or a peaceful woodland filled with birdsong.
A favourite garden.
A cosy room.
Or somewhere entirely your own.
You can take a few moments just to notice the details of this place.
The colours around you.
The light.
The shapes.
And the space that surrounds you.
If there are sounds,
Simply listen to them.
If there are gentle scents in the air.
Notice those too.
Feel the temperature on your skin.
The surface beneath your feet or beneath your body.
And the sense of being welcomed.
By this special place.
Allow yourself to experience this place.
In whatever way feels most natural to you.
And you don't need to see everything clearly.
You may sense it,
Feel it or simply know that it's there.
What have you experienced?
It's exactly as it needs to be.
And with each gentle breath.
Allow yourself to enjoy the calm,
Comfort and security.
That this peaceful place offers.
Knowing that you can return here whenever you wish.
Simply just by taking a quiet moment to pause and remember.
How it feels to be here.
And as you continue to rest in this place of calm and comfort.
Simply notice how your body feels when it's given permission to slow down.
There's no need to force relaxation.
Just allowing yourself this quiet time is enough.
And when the body begins to settle.
The mind often becomes a little clearer.
From this calmer place it can become easier to notice your thoughts.
Without being caught up in them.
And to respond with greater understanding and kindness towards yourself.
And if anxiety has been part of your experience.
Remember that it's not a sign that there's something wrong with you.
It's your body's natural protection system.
Doing what it's always been designed to do,
It's keeping you safe.
Deep within the brain there's this wonderful structure.
The amygdala.
And you might think of it as your internal alarm system.
And its job is to watch for possible danger.
And prepare your body to respond quickly whenever it believes that you may be at risk.
And sometimes that alarm becomes a little overprotective.
Rather like a smoke detector that sounds when someone is making toast.
It can react even when there is no real danger.
The alarm is working exactly as it was designed to work.
It's simply responding to the wrong signal.
And when this happens.
Your heart may beat faster.
Your breathing may change.
Your muscles may tighten.
And your thoughts may race.
And these sensations,
They can feel so uncomfortable.
Even frightening.
But they are your body's normal survival response.
They are temporary and they will pass.
As you begin to recognize these sensations for what they are.
You may find that you become less afraid of them.
Rather than fighting them or trying to make them disappear.
You can simply notice them with gentle curiosity.
Reminding yourself that your body is responding to a false alarm.
Rather than a real threat.
From this place of understanding you're beginning to respond differently.
Each time you notice anxiety and choose not to collude with it,
Not to fuel it with fear or struggle.
Your nervous system is being taught that it's safe and little by little.
Your confidence begins to grow.
One of the simplest ways to support your body is through your breathing.
When we feel anxious our breathing often becomes shallow,
Quick or we may even hold our breath without even realising it.
Whenever you notice this happening.
Gently invite your breath to slow.
Breathe in slowly through your nose.
Hold gently for a few moments and then breathe out slowly either through your mouth or nose,
Allowing your shoulders to soften as you exhale.
An extended exhale is so very soothing to your body.
So in the next breath.
Try and extend it as much as you're able.
Breathing in up through the nose,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Holding gently and then breathing out an extended exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5.
See how long you can extend that exhale.
It really doesn't matter what numbers you count to.
Just make the exhale longer than the inhale and your body will receive the necessary signal that it's safe.
The extended exhale is the key.
There's no need to force the breath.
Simply allow it to become slower.
Steadier.
And more comfortable.
In whatever way feels right for you.
Each slow breath.
Sends a quiet message to your nervous system.
That in this moment you are safe.
With every gentle exhale.
You are inviting your body to release a little more tension.
And return to a place of balance.
As you continue to practice.
You're getting to know yourself with greater compassion and understanding.
You are learning that uncomfortable feelings can be experienced without needing to react to them immediately.
They come.
And they go.
Just like waves on the shore.
With patience and practice.
Calm becomes easier to access.
Confidence grows one moment at a time.
You are developing the ability to pause,
To breathe and to respond with steadiness rather than fear.
So take a few more gentle breaths now.
Resting in the knowledge that you have everything you need to meet each moment with growing confidence.
Calm.
And self-compassion.
As you continue to practice these techniques you may begin to notice small changes.
Perhaps you recover from anxious moments a little more quickly.
Or you recognize the early signs of anxiety with greater understanding.
Every time you pause,
Breathe and respond with kindness to yourself you are strengthening new patterns of calm.
Take a moment now to imagine a situation that may once have felt difficult or overwhelming.
There's no need to picture anything distressing.
Just a situation where you would like to feel a little more confident.
Now imagine yourself meeting that situation with steady breathing,
A clear mind and a calm body.
Notice yourself taking your time.
Responding rather than reacting.
See yourself moving through the experience with growing confidence knowing that you have the tools to support yourself whenever you need them.
Just as an athlete prepares through practice before an important event.
Your mind and body also benefit from gentle rehearsal.
Each time you imagine yourself responding calmly you are helping your nervous system become more familiar with that experience.
Whenever anxiety begins to appear,
Remember your breath.
Breathing in slowly up through your nose.
Remembering the nasal advantage,
Holding gently and then an extended exhale.
Allow each longer out breath to invite a little more ease into your body.
Reminding your nervous system that in this moment you are safe.
In fact when you notice anxious thoughts.
You can gently ask yourself.
Is this a fact or is this my alarm system trying to protect me?
You can then choose thoughts that are balanced,
Compassionate.
And helpful.
You might want to quietly remind yourself,
I can handle this.
This is just my body trying to protect me.
This feeling will pass.
My body just needs to know it is safe.
And I can tell my body it is safe.
By breathing through my nose,
Pausing and then doing some extended exhales.
And there will of course be times when you feel anxious.
This is part of being human.
Excitement,
Anticipation and anxiety can all create similar sensations within the body.
As you become more aware of these feelings.
You may begin to notice not every racing heart or fluttering stomach is a sign of danger.
Now imagine yourself a few weeks from today.
Having continued to practice these moments of calm.
Your breathing exercises and your compassionate awareness.
Notice yourself moving through daily life with a little more confidence.
A little more ease.
And a growing trust in your ability to care for yourself.
Perhaps you can smile right now as you recognize how far you've come.
Appreciating every small step you've taken along the way.
And before we finish.
Return once more to your safe place.
Notice what you see around you.
The colours.
The sounds.
The feeling of comfort and security that this place offers.
Take a slow,
Easy breath.
Allowing yourself to absorb this sense of peace.
Remember that this place is always available to you.
Whenever you need a moment to pause,
To breathe.
Or to reconnect with yourself.
You can return here in your imagination.
And rediscover this feeling of steadiness and calm.
So take a nice,
Slow,
Comfortable breath.
And as you begin to bring your awareness back to the room around you.
Notice the chair supporting you.
Your feet resting on the floor.
And the gentle rhythm of your breathing.
And when you feel ready.
Begin to wiggle your fingers.
And your toes.
Gently roll your shoulders back or stretch if that feels more comfortable.
And in your own time.
Allow your eyes to open.
Bringing with you a sense of calm,
Self-compassion and quiet confidence.
Knowing that these are qualities you can continue to nurture.
One breath and one moment at a time.
I'm Hillary Hart,
Namaste.
