SOS Anxiety Support Before Bed

This track will support those who have trouble sleeping due to anxiety. We will move through a brief breathing technique to calm the nervous system before navigating through a body scan.

Get ready to rest and join me!

Transcript

Welcome and hello to another sleep meditation. It's time to get settled in your bed and to start releasing your day. So if you aren't already, Climb on into your bed, Get under the covers, Settle your head onto your pillow, And although we will be moving through a little bit of a body scan near the ending of this meditation, You can choose to lie in whatever position is most comfortable for you. So you can shift around, Noticing the weight of your body pressing up against your mattress, Your bed, And if it suits, You might close down the eyes. And to get settled a little bit more, Let's take a really big breath in through the nose, Feeling that breath travel up the backs of the lungs, The back of the throat, The neck, All the way up to the peak of the skull and then you can slowly release it out and exhale. You can do that a few more times if you'd like. And this meditation is particularly geared for those who struggle with maybe a bit more heightened anxiety throughout the day. We will be landing in sort of an SOS breathing pattern for about five, Six rounds before starting to continually release more tension from the body. I really enjoy and teach this type of breathing pattern to my clients to help within the moment feelings and sensations of anxiety in the body. Sometimes we have thoughts, That story in our mind that we objectively cannot get out of. We can tell ourselves that we understand what's going on. These thoughts aren't real, But as much as we tell our brain that the story isn't real, Sometimes it's a lot harder to get our body on board with believing it. And so this breathing pattern helps turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, Which in turn turns on our rest and digest. So let's move through it together. I'll talk you through it. Okay, I'm taking another couple of breaths in and out of the nose. And just to preface this breath, We will be inhaling for about three, Four counts, Pausing at the very peak of the inhale for about four to five counts. And then we will be exhaling out of pursed lips for about six to seven counts. Now you can moderate this if you'd like. You can make them slightly shorter, But all I ask is that you make the exhale a little bit longer. Okay. Taking another inhale, And then you can fully exhale, And then let's begin. Inhale, Three, Two, One, Hold, Four, Three, Two, One, And then big exhale out your lips, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Again, Three, Two, One, Hold at the peak, Three, Two, One, And then exhale fully, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Okay, Let's elongate that. Inhale, Four, Three, Two, One, Hold, Four, Three, Two, One, Exhale, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Okay, Inhale, Four, Three, Two, One, Hold, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, And then big exhale, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Again, Four, Three, Two, One, Hold, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Big exhale, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Let's do one more. Inhale, Four, Three, Two, One, Hold, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Big exhale, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Okay, Take a couple of breaths in and out. If it feels good, You can sigh or just breathe in and out of the nose. Checking in with your body. Bring a little bit of softness to the jaw, The space just behind the eyelids, Eyebrows. Uncrinkle the forehead. And just let your typical breathing pattern just kind of wash over you like ocean waves. Feeling the swell on the inhale and then this gentle release back into the ocean as you exhale. And as you continue to breathe, We'll just take note of the body from the very base of the feet to the crown of the head. And after we do this body scan together, I will let you release into your sleep. So now drifting your awareness down to the soles of your feet. Imagining the heels, The soles and the toes. And then wrapping that awareness up around the toenails, The tops of the feet and your ankles. And then like you were pulling on a sock, Imagining that awareness pull up through the calves and the shins, Just behind the knees, Wrapping around to the fronts of the knees. And then taking that awareness up through the thighs, All the way to the hips and the glutes. If you can imagine the base of your pelvic floor. And then taking that up towards the belly, The low back, Your abdomen, Your mid-back, The ribcage, The 360-degree container of your lungs, Moving up and towards your chest and the upper back. And then from the tops of the shoulders, Let's glide down the lengths of the arms towards the elbows. And then going down the forearms towards your wrists. And then through the tops of the hands towards the fingernails and then around towards the palms of the hands. And then let's land back up at the shoulder points, Going towards the base of the neck, Through the neck towards the chin, The jaw, The cheeks, Up towards the eyes and the nose. And then moving through the back of the skull, All the way up towards the crown of the head. Now just taking awareness to your full body as it lays in your bed. Maybe you start to notice a subtle rise and fall of your chest as you continue to breathe. Making minimal effort here to inhale and exhale. Knowing that the inner workings of your body are doing what it needs to do to let you start to drift off into your sleep. Inhaling, Gathering a little bit of energy. And then exhale, Giving yourself permission to fully soften. Like each cell in your body could release effort just a little bit more. And this is where I will leave you to drift off into your sleep. Continuing to be absorbed in the awareness of your breath. The rise and fall of your chest. Thank you for being here. Good night.