Well welcome,
My name is Patricia Daker.
I am the owner and founder of a company called Better Diabetes Life and its mission is to provide support and services to people with diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
I am a registered nurse,
Board certified nurse coach and I live with type 1 diabetes so a lot of the things,
The stories that I bring to you I have learned through my experience with diabetes.
Tonight we are going to do a guided meditation,
It's a holistic approach using scientific actually methods to help give our bodies more energy to heal.
So even though it's a holistic body,
Mind and spirit sort of practice that we will do,
It actually is rooted in science so it's proven,
It's not just a theory,
It actually does do.
And let's see,
So what we'll do tonight is we'll do some polyvagal breathing to actually shift our body from an outward state,
High energy,
High loss of energy to an inward state where that energy is redirected back to our physical self.
I guess make sure you're not going to be disturbed.
Find a comfortable spot,
Dim the lights if you can.
So let's just start by taking a big breath.
I don't know what it is about breathing but boy it feels good right?
So we're going to do what's called polyvagal breathing,
It is the opposite of panting,
Which happens when we're in fight or flight.
So I didn't mention that,
So this whole practice that we do is rooted in the autonomic nervous system so we have the fight or flight system which is outward,
Burns up a lot of energy,
We're looking for trouble,
We're reacting to things in the environment,
We are very high energy that also carries over into our mind,
Our thoughts of what's going on so our body doesn't really know the difference if we're thinking something bad is going to happen or something bad actually happens.
When we're in that state our autonomic nervous system gets triggered,
Gets activated,
Blood pressure goes up,
Heart rate goes up,
Adrenal glands secrete chemicals and hormones right,
That stress hormones,
Adrenaline and things like that that change our physical chemistry right?
It's not symptomatic,
It's not with our will or our intent,
It just happens.
So that's always going on and if you live with a chronic illness you probably have a double dose of it right?
The opposite of that is our parasympathetic nervous system and that's the rest and restore,
Tend and befriend,
It is where our energy turns inward and so instead of looking outward for trouble we can tell our body that we're safe and it's okay to shut down some of those surveillance tools and monitors and let some of that energy go towards our internal resources.
So when we do this breathing technique we're actually sort of tricking our body by using slow deep breaths with a closed mouth that it's the opposite of panting which is shallow fast breath with an open mouth.
Super simple if you've been with me before you know this so we breathe in to a count of four out to a count of eight or you can do three and six if that's,
If it doesn't feel right.
Mouth will be closed breathing in through the nose all the way and we're going to breathe in filling up the head space into the heart filling up your belly and even putting pressure all the way to your tail and then slow deep exhales down to the earth releasing energy towards the ground and then the opposite we draw strength from the ground through tail into the belly into the heart into the head and we release to the heavens or the skies.
So kind of channeling energy through ourselves but also stimulating these nerves on the way that's the biology part we're literally telling our body it's safe we're okay and our insides the chemistry the biology the enzymes the genetic expression will all start to change.
It releases energy for healing right so we're not going to be healing if the house is on fire so this is really just helpful and healthy.
All right so let's get started we're going to do about I don't know six or seven rounds of breath and then we'll go into the meditation.
All right so relax soften your shoulders take a breath with intent and purpose we're going to do this work for ourselves this comforting this act of care this act of compassion towards our physical body and self.
We'll begin our breathing technique starting now so to a count of four breathe in through tail belly chest and head exhaling to the sky two three four five six seven eight drawing energy from the sky into head chest belly tail releasing to ground two three four five six seven eight breathing in through tail belly chest head relax and exhale to sky two three four five six seven eight breathing in head chest belly tail melting relaxing to earth two three four five six seven eight drawing up from the earth through tail belly chest and head releasing to the sky two three four five six seven eight drawing energy from above through head chest belly tail melting and relaxing to earth two three four five six seven eight deep breath in breathing up through tail belly chest and head relinquishing and surrendering to sky two three four five six seven eight drinking in light from the above through head chest belly tail melting and letting go to earth two three four five six seven eight last big one through the earth drawing strength through tail belly chest and head releasing to the heavens two three four five six seven eight let your breathing just return to normal maybe notice how your body feels perhaps a subtle shift a little bit more calm a little bit more peace perhaps some more relaxation can you surrender ever so slightly more allowing your body to enter this time this time of peace of restoration and healing when you do this on purpose with intent this act of self-love and self-care as we breathe and we notice we are always in the now in the present moment and healing always happens in the now you may have healed in the past but that's gone and there may be healing to come in the future but that's uncertain that healing happens now as our body stitches corrects adjusts and gets back to homeostasis and balance breathe deeply and allow this truth to settle into you as we state an intention for our practice these intentions that align with key principles that can help you manage your chronic condition may we be curious about our health and about our bodies may we be willing to feel our feelings and seek to understand may we be connected to our inner self to know our needs and our boundaries may we be confident to do the things necessary to care for ourselves and may we be fearless to speak our truth let those words resonate sink into you notice which ones feel good notice which ones seem elusive all of it is okay just be curious about which parts of you needed to hear what so right now we are shifting into this parasympathetic state relaxation of openness we're going to offer our body relaxation relax your shoulders unclench your jaw swallow right now there's nothing to be prepared for nothing to watch for nothing to worry about you're in a place of extreme safety invite your body to relax and receive this gift to surrender to open to put your guard down and allow the wise and healing parts of you to step forward your spirit the spirit which is often elusive and hard to find but always there i saw a rainbow this week with my daughter and it reminded me how a simple thing in nature can make the whole world pause fill me with awe and wonder and a sense of peace that is spirit so perhaps call to mind the time or event where you are in awe the bud of a flower newborn animal baby sprouting a vegetable in your garden the sun on the clouds the sunset sunrise the ripple of wheat kissed by the wind on a prairie all of those moments of awe require no effort they're easy they actually provide you energy and boost you up from our relaxed body our inspired spirit we make a request to our mind to the ego the voice inside your head who can seem critical and harsh but this ego this voice has a job to do it is our bodyguard to keep us safe it's our protector our shield our sentinel our lookout the voice in our head can sometimes feel harsh and scary its job is to look for danger its job is to keep us safe but tonight i want to offer that we invite our ego a voice in our head to come on this mission with us we're going to give it a new job tonight the most important job it has important work that it can help us with that's one way to help calm it so we're going to invite our bodyguard you might imagine someone inside you a part of you that is strong surveying the land looking for danger perhaps they have a large set of keys walk up the fortress keep the bad things out the good things in we want to invite that bodyguard on this journey to unlock some of the doors within its most important work its the most important thing you can do for your body because right now all is well outside maybe let your bodyguard take one more look around breathe deeply and know all is well perhaps imagining flicking on a switch for autopilot dialing down the lights of the outside world turning up the lights of your inner life and we'll invite our bodyguard to unlock energy within us to put the key in and open resources that are always available within us flipping a switch so the resources are guided inwards towards our own body and our own self you might feel this as a buzz or a vibration as this energy is no longer seeping outward piling up stirring up within you with this unlocked energy and sense of wonderment notice your skin the outside of you that touches the world the part that the rest of the world sees the skin that wraps you protects you maintains your fluid balance holds you tight can you notice your skin perhaps the temperature of the room the feel of your clothing or the blanket or the bed your skin is constantly taking in information from the world around you touching the external world each atom of your body touching each atom of the air objects your clothing of light light penetrating your skin and exchange notice your skin and how it feels any areas that need attention places that hurt feel tight need healing and imagine that energy flooding to those areas coming and swarming opening allowing flow and healing to go to the skin any place that needs it always surrendering with the breath to receive this healing notice the scars on your skin the proof of prior injury and harm but also the proof that our body can heal and repair every scar on your body happened without your intervention without your direction your inner body knew how to heal even if it was stitched together by a suture or stable or a band-aid innately within you the tissues began to sew themselves back together blood vessels found new pathways and grew back together this outward sign that we see every day is a wonderful reminder of our body's innate ability offer gratitude for your skin offer healing let light and love flow around you invite your bodyguard next to unlock peace peace in your brain inside your skull the electrical activity processing thinking sensing creating always active can we unlock peace and calm let it wash through your brain allowing blood to flow freely oxygen to course across tissues through cells through nerves allow this calmness of your brain the frontal part above your ears the base of your skull feel calmness feel it flowing down cells firing in rhythmic harmony those scattered thoughts just surrender to this wave of peace coursing through your brain and your skull offer gratitude for the amazing organ that is your brain that allows you to interpret and interact with the world that allows you to control your body next our bodyguard we ask him to unlock strength that wave of peace flows down your spinal column through each vertebrae that is stacked one on top of the other lifting you up giving you height to see protecting your spine and all the nerves running through it the strength to carry you forward the strength to protect every nerve running through the center and allow that peace from our brain to flow now down that spinal column down your back all the way to your tailbone bringing peace and ease and relaxation as all those nerve endings wrap around to your belly your chest your arms your legs your organs your face the highway that is the information passageway from your brain to your body flowing with peace flowing with strength a cascade that washes over you imagine this love and light and peace finding every place in your body there is to be found every cell every organ every tissue every fascia every muscle every vessel wrapping around and these nerves nervous system that is constantly sensing the world bringing information back to the brain back to the body through our eyes light hits our eyes and turns into electrical impulses that our brain turns into images so we see the world without light and with our eyes closed we look beyond our eyelids to the depths and the vast and the darkness that exists with our spirit with space with infinity with possibility the eyes that can see the spirit the eyes that can see the world our senses also hear we get sound from the world around us and we hear our environment we hear my voice noises in the room noises of your body you also hear noises inside from nowhere the voice that speaks to you the ideas that are generated the senses we get from external and internal from our nose as we smell air passing through often the smells become so common we don't smell them unless we pause to notice notice the air moving through your nose notice the smell of your world notice the memory of smell vanilla of green grass of the sea of lemon of bread baking it may not be happening but we can still smell them recreated in our mind and our mouth taste sensation follow again let your jaw relax let your tongue relax let all these senses happen easily and effortlessly and we ask our guard to even unlock more ease to open the key that lets all this happen easily effortlessly all day every day these experiences we have are only in the now just now in this moment what we notice notice how easy it is in the now to be present to sense the world outside you and inside you relish this ease the strength this peace and this energy that is all part of you opening you up for healing for restoration notice any place in your back your spine your nervous system or your senses that need healing let energy and all the resources necessary go there to your eyes to your ears to your nose to your face to your spine and your back notice allow remove any blocks let them melt away next we ask our guard to unlock flow so things move with ease and grace the flow of life the flow of blood the flow of breath in and out as we move our attention towards our neck the neck which can turn allowing our eyes our vision to flow around the room allows our voice to flow outward on the waves of the air the voice that allows us connection our voice to flow out and back and the neck we notice the thyroid gland which is the center of our metabolism our energy can we unlock flow in this area just enough not too much not too little easy and effortless flow with every breath this area is restored it is given new life it is turned back to its healed and perfect state the neck is supple moves with ease as the muscles relax along the neck and the spine we allow energy to flow away energy that was trapped in our neck and our shoulders we allow it to leave and flow away next we ask the guard our protector to unlock mobility mobility in our neck in our back in our extremities our arms and legs remembering and allowing and restoring perfect mobility to our shoulders easy and fluid muscles relaxed to our upper arms our elbows our forearms our wrists our hands our fingers imagine mobility movement fluidity blood flowing through your upper arms bringing vitality bringing everything necessary to smooth and ease and repair allow your arms to receive this wonderful gift even if you don't know how it happens receive it allow it to be true allow healing to find every area in your body your energy is well spent continue down your spine with mobility ease rotation flexibility the discs between your vertebrae buoyant and full protected restored repaired regenerated your pelvis and your hips which are often tight from fear of moving forward from the old stories that are held deep within you stories that cling to hold on to often in our hips and our thighs can we release that mobility into our legs unclenching letting go there's no need for movement or tension nothing to brace against let blood flowing through your thighs your knees your calves your ankles and your feet easily deliver everything that's necessary enzymes fluid immune products blood plasma throughout your whole body can gene expressions that optimize your health be turned on breathe deeply and allow genes that are not helping you to be turned off downgraded unregulated turned off youthful genes to be turned on expressed causing a cascade of wellness to course through your veins feeling energy in your arms and your legs and your back remembering the mobility and vitality allowing it to still be true showing your body through memory the path back offer gratitude for this external skeletal muscular self that allows us to integrate and move with the world next we're going to ask our guard to unlock rhythm and connection in our abdomen our abdomen that moves in waves and connected unity a dance of organs one against the other feeding off each other nourishing each other creating harmony and balance in our belly the belly which is home to our oldest sense the oldest part of our nervous system that knows hunger the part that knows elimination the part we trust we never question this part of our gut and this part of our gut also has intuition it is the home of our immunity coordinated with all these organs in our belly we give life to ourselves we create new life in connection with each other and with ourself with our liver the right upper quadrant blood flowing through this organ which is purifying cleaning detoxifying balancing correcting sorting out all the impurities of our body maintaining glucose balance keeping our blood flowing repairing and restoring let it be full let it be flowing let light and love surround your liver flowing through every vessel delivering all the healing elements that are necessary you see this area full of light and love expanded and open next we track through our digestive system through our mouth throat esophagus stomach intestine large intestine and colon this pathway of nourishment or somehow through the miracle of our body things from the outside that are no longer living become inside and turn back into a living flesh of our own self without our intervention without our knowing we are nourished we are fed we are kept whole and healthy at this moment allow the biomes the life inside of you that helps make your immune system strong helps you digest helps you stay healthy the bacteria the viruses all the elements inside you let them flourish with optimal health let them grow and swell to their best state to keep you the most healthy feel this rhythm and connection coursing through your belly move your awareness to your pancreas behind your belly button this organ that maintains glucose balance that secretes digestive enzymes often unthought of but vitally important can you imagine it full of life and love swelling full of glow of happiness of wholeness of restoration if this organ needs healing and help let it be let love and light and all the energy and peace of your body flow to this place to this need breathe and let it happen move your awareness now to your kidneys above your waistline towards your back nestled beneath your ribs these two twin organs that filter and clean maintain fluid balance help rid the body of unnecessary particles and waste products filtering microtubules very very small and tiny all these organs working in perfect unity with one another balancing reacting let the kidneys be full and restored and healed let proteins move to be built into new tubules new function new organ let the genes that are dysfunctional be switched back to a healthy state to repair and restore let life and light circle and flow through this part of your body moving down into your lower abdomen to your bladder and reproductive organs may they be filled with love and light and restoration peace and ease and harmony throughout your whole abdomen enjoy peace and rhythmic unity of these organs working in concert let them be connected let them be friendly open let them heal one another in community in this close space where they live move your awareness now to your chest to your lungs and your heart protected inside your ribs and we ask our guard to get his biggest key the special one the golden one to unlock much love let it spill out of the door open let the lock break free feel love and light swelling in your chest with every heartbeat growing bigger stronger seeping out filling your heart with every breath expanding into your lungs radiating out from the center of you bathing your entire body and wellness goodness connection love happiness and wholeness imagine your heart beating full and strong clean blood vessels any irritation any problems melting away the vessels clean and smooth the heart muscles strong and firm blood flowing easily and effortlessly to every cell in your body carrying with it life and light and restoration and you feel this flow throughout your entire body feel the blood coursing through your veins carrying love and peace and healing relax and let this flow happen to you every part of you that needs improvement restoration invite the wisest part of your soul to gather there to open the door to unlock anything that remains hidden so all the energy available to you is turned inward on your beautiful self your physical self breathe and feel this peace and ease radiate through your body let this heart glow get bigger and brighter breathing it in letting it sleep into every cell as you become coordinated as you become purposeful as you become energetic strong peaceful flowing with ease with mobility and flexibility with youthful vitality with rhythm and connection and love love flowing out of you in huge waves so that more love can flow in every person on this call on this session allow your love to radiate outward connecting with each of us relaxing letting it be letting it go and breathing in now and receiving receiving this healing and this love and this connection from each of us it is powerful it is strong just let it be can you feel it let healing happen let the locks be unlocked let every available energy in your body help yourself and from this place of peace and wholeness and restoration I want to affirm these truths with you I am here I am breathing I am relaxed I am able I am worthy I am lovable I am changing I am healing I am peaceful I am healthy I am whole and I am okay and so it is and this is true notice how you feel with your body in this state of parasympathetic relaxation this place of healing and wholeness take some breath and lock it in remember ask your bodyguard to keep these places open for you open and available all you have to do is remember be a little inspired take a breath so your body has this available always it is always here as much as fight or flight as much as there are distractions in the world peace is always here so if it is time for sleep and you are part of the world good night thank you for joining if you are going to get up and do some more activity after this I invite you to breathe feel this peace and goodness feel the energy restored just luxuriating that for a little bit again my name is Patricia Daker and I am the owner and founder of Better Diabetes Life which is also the name of my circle here on Insight Timer I am a registered nurse a board certified nurse coach and I live with type 1 diabetes and so those of us that have chronic conditions we really need some of this healing and restoration and self-love and self-gifts so congratulate yourself for honoring all of you in this way until next time be well
