Calming Practice For Stress Or Panic

Please join me during a moment of distress or panic for gentle tools to calm your body and soothe your mind. We begin with a grounding check and mantra, move into breathing techniques, and end with a progressive muscle relaxation exercise to the background of Kevin MacLeod's soothing "windswept" music. I wish you peace and comfort.

Transcript

I'm Kimberly Kalish.

I'm glad you're joining me now to take a few moments to calm and ground yourself during a difficult moment.

Right now you're aware of feelings of distress.

Please take a moment and ask yourself if you're physically safe.

If you're not safe,

Please do what you need to do to get to a safe place.

If however you're aware that your current situation is not dangerous,

Then I invite you to remain with me to work with the thoughts and feelings that are troubling you.

Together,

Either out loud or in your head,

As you wish,

Let's state the current fact.

I am aware of discomfort.

I am safe.

This moment will pass.

I am aware of discomfort.

I am safe.

This moment will pass.

And now as if you're speaking to a friend or loved one,

Say to yourself,

I am so sorry that you're suffering.

Your own pace,

Take a few deep full breaths,

Inhaling,

Filling your belly and chest to the fullest extent you're able.

Now exhale,

Pushing the air out,

Then release an extra poof of air at the end.

Pause and take one more deep inhale.

Exhale with an exaggerated sigh,

Release an extra poof of air at the end,

More fully emptying your lungs.

And now breathe normally.

As again,

You say to yourself,

I'm aware of discomfort.

I am safe.

I'm so sorry that you're suffering.

This moment will pass.

I invite you to take a moment to check your posture.

And if you're sitting or standing,

See if you can get a bit more comfortable.

Shift if you need,

Uncross your legs if they're crossed.

Now gently press your tongue against the top of your mouth where your teeth meet your gum line and follow my prompts for four soothing breaths.

Breathe in,

Hold,

Exhale.

Inhale,

Hold that breath,

And exhale.

Inhale,

Hold that breath,

And exhale.

Inhale again for the last time.

Hold that breath,

And exhale.

Now breathe normally,

Taking a moment to notice your body.

I am aware of discomfort.

I am safe.

I'm so sorry that you're suffering.

This moment will pass.

Shift your attention now from your breath to your body.

Take a moment to notice where you're aware of discomfort.

To your body,

Take a moment to notice where you're aware of distress,

If anywhere in your body.

If you notice any areas of tension or discomfort,

Allow your attention to linger in those areas,

Imagining yourself breathing in to any areas of discomfort.

Gently bring your attention from your toes,

Your legs,

Your torso,

Your arms,

Shoulders,

Neck,

And head.

I'm aware of discomfort.

I'm safe.

I'm so sorry for your suffering.

This moment will pass.

As you're noticing areas of discomfort,

Look at the sensations with curiosity.

Explore the feelings.

Are the sensations sharp or dull?

Is it constant,

Or does it come and go?

Does it extend to your entire body,

Or are there edges where the discomfort ends?

When we become aware of discomfort,

It's our instinct to tense up our bodies and repeat painful thoughts.

Instead,

Together we're practicing leaning into the discomfort by exploring it and breathing into it.

I am aware of discomfort.

I'm safe.

I'm so sorry for your suffering.

This moment will pass.

We'll help identify and release those areas of tightness and tension by first bringing more attention to the entire body.

Follow my instructions to the point of tension,

But never pain.

Stop if you feel pain.

Pull your toes up towards your head,

Holding that tension.

Now tense your buttocks and hold that while sucking in and tensing your abdomen.

At the same time,

Make fists with your hands.

Bring your shoulders up towards your ears.

Make a huge exaggerated smile while clenching your teeth together and squeezing your eyes closed.

Hold all of this for a few breaths to the point of tension,

But not pain.

So your toes are up towards your head,

Your buttocks and your abdomen are tight.

You're bringing your shoulders towards your ears,

Your fists are clenched,

Your teeth and your eyes are squeezed.

Shut.

Hold.

Hold and release.

Let go of all that tension you're holding.

As you release the tension,

Notice the difference between the sensations you're feeling and the difference between the sensations of holding and releasing.

Notice your body.

Notice areas of warm or tingling.

Notice the tension leaving your muscles.

As you breathe normally,

Remind yourself,

I am aware of sensations in my body.

I am safe.

This moment will pass.

Know that at this moment,

You may have feelings about things that have happened in the past.

You may have ideas about things that will happen in the future.

But right now,

In this moment,

You are safe.

And I invite you to take a final deep cleansing breath,

Inhaling and at your own pace,

Exhaling.

Thank you.

Reviews

Very helpful SOS practice. Thanks.

Thank you Kimberly. This will be a great emergency meditation when needed 🙏

Thank you, I'm adding to my list so when I Need this I can find it again. 💕

Wonderful thank you 🧡💜

Lovely. Thank you 💙

Exactly what I needed.

Very straightforward and helpful, thank you! The audio has uneven volumes that could be adjusted.

Thank you for offering this. I am not having a severe anxiety attack right now. This is a good time to explore meditations to have bookmarked for those occasions. When our rational mind is struggling. I will definitely bookmark. I found several of the suggestions helpful. Guided deep breathing, talking to myself as if a friend and tensing and releasing my body. I am calmer. 💛💐