Welcome,
It is time to relieve your stress and anxiety.
Get yourself in a very comfortable position,
So that you can easily relax all the way down to a level that is right for you.
Know that being free from stress is a lot easier than being in stress.
All it takes is a little bit of effort on your end,
And you will feel the benefits from this practice.
Let's begin by bringing our palms together in the center of our chest,
At the level of our heart.
Take a deep breath in,
And feel your chest expanding with air.
As you exhale,
Say to yourself,
I am grateful to be alive.
Though saying this may feel superficial to some of you,
That is perfectly okay,
And very normal for someone who is in a state of stress or anxiety.
Continue to repeat these words throughout your day,
Until they reign true for you.
Let a smile come across your face now,
As you take another deep breath in through your nose,
And out from your nose.
Very good,
You are doing so well.
If you haven't already,
Please close the eyes now.
Rest your hands back down in your lap,
Or by your sides,
And focus on the feeling in your hands after this short technique of gratitude.
Do you notice any warmth,
Or perhaps a tingling sensation in the palms of your hands?
Allow for all of your attention to go into your hands now,
Noticing how your thumbs feel,
And how the rest of your fingers feel.
Can you take note of the temperature of the air around you,
From the skin on the back of your hands?
Very good.
As you may be already feeling pretty relaxed right now,
There could still be some anxiety and stress that we need to get rid of.
You deserve to feel your best,
Always.
When these feelings of negativity are only holding you back from greatness,
Let's begin to imagine that in front of you,
There is an escalator going up.
This is no ordinary set of moving stairs.
They are bright white,
Almost as if they are glowing.
You see that the escalator is moving slowly,
Step after step,
Going up to a new level where you don't know what's up there.
Perhaps you are imagining that you are in a building,
Or maybe you are in a more ethereal place,
Like something you've never seen before.
Let me tell you though,
At the top of this set of stairs is more relief from any stress or anxiety that you experience.
It is level 1 of stress relief.
Right now,
You are standing at the bottom,
Within the realm of your current life experience,
Surrounded by worries and concerns that are quite possibly out of your control.
Let's leave all these stressful thoughts behind for the time being,
So that you can get some relief.
Being in a state of stress can cloud any ability to have good judgment.
Imagine that you are stepping onto this escalator now,
And traveling up,
Holding onto that white handrail.
You see that your worries are getting smaller below,
As you rise up from them.
The motion of this machine is smooth and rhythmic,
The handrail is moving at the exact speed of the stairs,
Going up,
And up.
You count that there's only 5 steps left,
Now 4,
And 3,
2,
And 1.
You've arrived at the first level of relaxation.
You can no longer see your concerns that cause you stress below.
The entire area around you is sky blue.
Just imagining this color allows for you to feel calm and peaceful.
Here you find things coming to mind that are positive about your life,
Perhaps some meaningful connections you have with others,
Or how you have a healthy lifestyle in many ways.
It seems that now your concerns are out of the way,
Below you.
You can see what you're grateful for in your life.
What are you thankful for?
Again,
Thinking to yourself now,
I am grateful to be alive,
Very good,
You are doing so well.
And although you're feeling nice here,
At the blue level of relaxation,
You have a feeling that you want more.
You could definitely benefit from a deeper level of serenity.
You see that there is another escalator leading up once again,
Yet this set of moving stairs is the color gold.
As you make your way closer to the golden stairs,
You notice that they are moving slightly slower than the previous steps.
Go ahead and grasp the golden handrail and step onto the moving stair set.
The feeling in your body as you travel up is deeply calming to your nervous system,
Almost as if you were floating down a gentle river.
These steps don't even feel like they're moving,
It's almost like you're gliding.
Going up and up,
Growing even further away from all of your earthly endeavors.
All anxiety or stress that was once present down below has completely vanished.
And all of the cells in your body have this new opportunity to realign in a beautiful pattern.
You count there's only 5 steps left to go,
And are excited to see what's on the next level.
4 steps,
3,
2,
Stepping off of the golden stairs.
Realizing that the level you are on is a giant garden,
Full of exquisite plants.
The sun is shining overhead,
And everything is in bloom.
Now slowly take a step forward on the path through the nature,
And inhale a deep breath of clean,
Fresh air around you.
Notice how maybe you can feel the warmth of the sun lightly on your skin.
Is there a light breeze that you can feel on your face?
You look down and to your right as you walk along this seemingly perfect nature walkway,
And notice a very unusual but beautiful plant.
Are the leaves waxy?
Do they reflect the sunlight back to you?
Maybe you can see this plant gently swaying in the light wind as it caresses the leaves.
You reach down and touch this beautiful plant,
And in turn,
Thank it for the oxygen it produces,
Aiding in your very survival.
Notice how the plant feels on your fingers.
You are going to continue down the trail now,
Just noticing all the other beautiful plants around you,
Each as unique as the uniqueness in you.
Every plant is providing oxygen along with different visual interests.
As you walk and inhale the crisp air,
You smell a sweetness that could only be produced by the fragrance of a miraculous flower.
You look over to your left,
Following your nose,
And see the most incredible flower to ever cross your mind.
You know that you must get closer so that you can smell its sweetness.
As you inhale with your face very close to its beauty,
You inhale the magic of this flower,
A wave of peace and relaxation enter as you inhale.
Any last bit of tension or stress is eliminated by this fragrance,
And your insides become so cleansed as if you've had a long,
Warm bath.
You thank this flower for its healing abilities,
And notice that there are many butterflies now wanting to drink the sweet nectar from this flower.
You watch as many colorful creatures fly around and enjoy themselves for a few moments.
Looking down at the soil below,
You notice an unusual seed,
A seed of a variety that you've never seen before.
It is placed so delicately upon the ground,
Almost as if it is waiting for you to see it.
So bend down and pick up the seed.
What is its texture?
How big is it in your hand?
Simply observe the simplicity of this tiny object that holds so much brilliance in its future.
You know now that this seed has dropped from that beautiful fragrant flower that you enjoyed so much.
There is a calling for you to place this seed figuratively into your heart.
It is easy to do,
Almost as if it was wanting to be planted and nourished in this very spot.
Cover the seed in the softness of your heart.
Just then,
A gentle rainstorm rolls overhead,
And the waters from the heavens are the most pure.
The garden is thirsty for this rainstorm.
You feel the seed in your heart begin to immediately grow.
Its roots grow deep,
And its stems shoot high.
Leaves flourish,
And a flower begins to bud,
And then quickly blooms.
You smell that familiar fragrance that you experienced earlier on your walk,
And you notice that the same flower has bloomed in your heart.
Now all of Earth's creatures want to drink from the nectar of your heart.
That peaceful fragrance is a gentle reminder of the beauty in you.
Wonderful.
You are ready now to return to the present moment,
And the present time.
So make your way back through the beautiful garden,
Seeing all the things you passed by on the way in.
You come to that golden escalator,
Placing your hand on the handrail,
And traveling slowly down.
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4.
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5.
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Back to that sky-blue level of relaxation,
And back on to that first escalator,
The white one,
Traveling down.
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5.
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You look around,
And see that your worries and concerns are no longer here.
It seems like the world is full of fresh,
New ideas and opportunities.
You now feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
Bring your hands to your chest in the prayer position once again,
And say out loud,
I am grateful to be alive.
Begin to breathe smoothly and easily as you open your eyes and stretch your body out,
Remembering this peaceful journey through the garden whenever you need a moment to de-stress.
