How To Feel Better FAST! Diabetes Discussion & Meditation

This meditation is for people who live with diabetes. The session begins with a short discussion on the hardship of living with diabetes and strategies to quickly get a new perspective. A guided meditation follows that offers healing and peace to the parts of the body most impacted by diabetes.

Transcript

So thank you for joining and my name is Patricia Daker.

I am a registered nurse and I'm a nurse coach specializing in diabetes.

I've also been a healthcare executive for many years and I live with type one diabetes.

And I am the owner and founder of a company called Better Diabetes Life and it's our mission and purpose to help people who live with diabetes deal with the other side of it.

So not just the blood sugars and the diet and exercise and all that.

But actually how to keep your head in the game and how to manage the workload that is diabetes.

It's like having a full time job.

So if you'd like to learn more about my company in my bio you can go to Patricia Daker.

You might be able to touch the little icon right there and there's a link to my website.

I have,

From there you can access social media,

My blog,

All different kinds of things.

So tonight's topic is about feeling better fast.

And I'm gonna offer some tips,

Talk about some personal struggles.

And I have some really great ideas that might be helpful for you when you're feeling a bit overwhelmed or it all gets to you because we've all had that point.

So the format,

As I mentioned,

Is we'll have this little discussion and then we'll do some guided meditation because it's my belief that diabetes takes a lot out of our bodies and we need to give back.

And I wanna talk about some of the critical reasons behind that as well tonight.

Also,

Again,

This is for people with diabetes.

So if you know somebody who's struggling,

Having a hard time,

Whether they're type one,

Type two,

Gestational,

Newly diagnosed,

Been living with this for a long time,

The need for support and the need for these tools and better understanding is universal for anyone.

And to be honest,

It doesn't apply just to diabetes.

It's anybody that's living with a chronic condition.

I just happen to focus on diabetes because it makes so much sense to me and it was so helpful for me.

And I feel like it's really missing in the modern healthcare system.

So send them a message.

You can text them.

There's a little button.

I don't know if it's the same place on yours,

But right there on mine,

There's an arrow if you wanna forward it to someone.

At the very end,

If you have any questions,

I'll be happy to answer those for you.

We'll do that at the end just via the chat.

And if you feel inclined to donate,

There's a button right there and Insight Timer appreciates it.

I appreciate it.

It does help us to keep coming back and offering these things.

Although I think I get as much out of this as y'all do.

I love talking with everybody.

And this will be recorded.

So I've done several of these over the last couple months and there's different topics.

And so if you're interested,

You can go to my page and you can see all the previously recorded ones.

So they're all the same format.

There's a topic and a meditation,

But they're different topics and I've tried to mix up the meditation so it's not always the same.

So you can find that information there.

So as we get started,

I always like to gather.

I think that's just a cool word and it's a cool idea of coming together.

So if you imagine we're in a room among friends with people who get it,

Who understand.

This is not a place for judgment,

For beating ourselves up,

Anything like that.

We're among friends who understand the challenges,

The unique nuances of living with a chronic condition like this and really having to play the part of one of your organs part-time,

Right?

Like that's what we literally have to do.

So as you think of that,

Imagine yourself just being in a comfortable place with all the people on this meditation and we're together.

And it really is a one plus one doesn't equal two,

It equals about 10 or more when we come together.

So just that feeling of collaboration,

Of support and of not being alone.

I think sometimes that's just the nicest thing to know that you're not in this alone.

So as we join together tonight,

Let's just kind of hold that thought that we're together,

We're not alone and we're understanding.

So we'll set an intention tonight as well.

And our intention tonight is that we find new and easy ways to find relief and feel better.

So I think we get in a rut sometimes of our bag of tricks,

What we have to do.

And so new and easy ways are always a welcome and wonderful way to change your game up a little bit,

Right?

So before we get started,

Let's just take a few breaths together.

I always like to start with something I don't call,

It's called polyvagal breathing.

And it actually stimulates your vagus nerve,

Which helps to slow down your heart rate,

Drop your blood pressure,

Get you out of worry mode and into a more relaxed and receptive state.

And we'll do five breaths like that.

You could do it a lot longer,

But just to get started,

We'll do that.

And then how it works is you take five,

Like you count in for a count of four and out for a count of eight.

So you breathe in for four,

Breathe out for eight,

And you breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.

And there's something about the way the air travels that it stimulates this part of your autonomic nervous system.

We're gonna talk about that tonight.

And it just helps shift you into a mode where you're ready to listen and learn and receive.

I think also when we live with diabetes,

We give a lot and we do a lot,

But we often don't receive a lot.

So I'll just count in four,

Out for eight,

And just follow that lead,

Get comfortable,

Close your eyes,

Make sure you won't be disturbed for a little while while we do this together.

Okay,

So relax your shoulders,

Get comfortable,

Loosen up your jaw,

And close your eyes before we get started.

And we'll just breathe in two,

Three,

Four,

And out two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

In and out through your nose.

In two,

Three,

Four,

Out two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Relax,

Let your shoulders go.

In two,

Three,

Four,

Out two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

In two,

Three,

Four,

And out two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Let go,

Relax,

One last breath in fully,

Two,

Three,

Four,

And exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Okay,

I hope that kind of transitioned you from what you were doing before to what we're gonna be doing now.

This is your time,

Be very selfish with it.

We need a little self-care,

And that's what this is all about.

So this is your time for you.

Anything that you're worried about can wait till we're done.

This is special,

And you deserve it,

And you need it.

And so feel free and just make sure that you've protected this time for yourself.

All right,

So tonight's topic is feeling better fast.

So if you live with diabetes,

You've felt horrible before.

You've felt physically ill.

You've felt dehydrated.

You've likely felt tired.

You've felt overwhelmed.

You've felt frustrated.

You have felt restricted,

Isolated,

Victimized,

Just done with this business,

Right?

So there's a lot of hardness with diabetes.

There's never a day off.

You're always,

You have to keep this balance between this vigilance that we have to do to monitor and maintain,

But also create some relaxation so we're not just always on diabetes,

Right?

So it's hard,

And it can feel frustrating because unfortunately,

No matter what we do,

No matter how good we play,

And I've been doing this for 30 years,

Some days it just doesn't make sense.

Like the hormones,

The moons,

The wind pressure,

The rain,

The temperature,

Your mood,

All the factors,

Whatever they all are,

Right?

Your energy,

It all doesn't align,

And for whatever reason,

That number just isn't what you expect.

So all of that can really be emotionally and spiritually and physically hard.

It just doesn't feel good,

Right?

So what do you do when you don't feel good,

Right?

Well,

Sometimes we can't fix all of it,

So we try to fix what we can.

So again,

Looking back at the breathing we did,

I wanna talk a little bit,

And I know if you've been with me before,

You've heard this,

But I think it's worth repeating.

We have this nervous system that takes care of most of what we do every day.

So 90% of our brain and 90% of what we do every day,

We don't even think about,

We don't think about brushing our teeth,

We don't think about driving a car,

We don't think about typing,

You know?

It just goes from here to here,

And we really don't know what happens,

And that's because our autonomic nervous system has taken over.

Our autonomic nervous system also does things like digest,

Heal your skin if you get a cut,

Your breathing,

Your heart rate,

Your blood pressure,

Hormone secretion,

All these different things.

So there's a lot of stuff going on that we're not really aware of.

And so we have this,

You know,

Our nervous system we can control where we decide to move our finger,

Right?

That's the easy part.

But this autonomic nervous system has so much impact on how we feel.

So that's what we're gonna talk about tonight with some tricks,

Right?

So there's two forms of your autonomic nervous system.

There's your sympathetic nervous system,

Which is your 911 or your fight or flight,

And that is,

You know,

If we go back to caveman days,

That is danger.

Danger,

Danger,

Something's chasing you,

Something's not good,

You're not safe.

And so your body shunts your energy,

Your resources,

And everything to the organs that are gonna need them,

Right?

And that's gonna be to your heart to increase your heart rate,

And to your arms and limbs if you need to fight or run.

It turns off everything that's maintenance,

Repair,

Digestion,

Healing,

Any of that stuff.

So when you're in that fight or flight mode,

And you could have fight,

Flight,

Or freeze,

So if you think of a bunny rabbit,

They do all three,

So you might see them run,

Right?

Flight,

They're very fast.

You might see a rabbit freeze and not move,

But you can also see a rabbit fight.

They can be quite vicious.

That's your autonomic nervous system.

It expends a ton of energy.

The other thing about,

I'm sorry,

That's your sympathetic nervous system.

Your sympathetic nervous system is looking out.

It is vigilant.

It's using all your senses everywhere to see,

Monitor,

And assess what's going on that might somehow be a danger to you,

Right?

So it can be a physical real threat,

But it can also be an imagined threat,

And that's where we get into trouble.

So sometimes when we feel bad,

Right,

When we feel frustrated or isolated or just over it or burnt out,

That mental process,

Right,

We're thinking,

We're thinking,

What's going on?

I gotta do this.

This didn't work.

What did I do?

Oh my gosh,

I did it wrong.

What am I gonna do?

What do people think of me?

And we get in this cycle,

Right?

So we can feel bad because our blood sugars are off,

And that's true,

And that's a physical feeling,

But more often than not,

There's a lot of other baggage on top of it,

Right?

So when we're in those states of frustration,

Anxiety,

Worry,

Doom,

All that stuff,

Right,

We are in sympathetic nervous system mode.

We are focused on the outside.

We're in high alert,

And we're expending a lot of energy.

The other side is your parasympathetic nervous system,

And so the breathing that we did shifts us,

That we did with polyvagal breathing,

The in and out for four and eight,

Shifts us from fight or flight response into this parasympathetic.

So your sympathetic nervous system sympathizes with the trouble that's going on.

Your parasympathetic nervous system is all about relaxation,

Restore,

Replenish,

Rebuild,

Renew,

Right?

So when we're in that state,

When we're in the parasympathetic state,

That's when we're healing tissues.

That's when we're giving back what diabetes took away.

So if your blood sugar's been kinda high,

And there's maybe been sluggish blood flow,

And maybe microscopic damage to somewhere that we don't even know about,

When we're in parasympathetic state,

When we're relaxed,

Restoring,

The energy that's not facing outward is now facing inward at repairing our cells,

Our tissues,

Our organs,

All that stuff,

We need that.

So the physical part we can treat by checking our blood sugar,

Giving insulin,

Taking meds,

Doing moderate exercise activity to get our blood sugars under control,

Watching what we eat,

There's all that physical body stuff.

We already know that,

So I'm not gonna cover that.

What I'm talking about is this mental and spiritual stuff where you just get really down.

So interestingly enough,

We tell ourselves stories that influence which state we're in.

So the story might go something like,

I suck at this,

Oh my God,

This is so bad.

If anybody knows what I did,

They're gonna hate me.

I can't do this,

This is bad.

I got this because I did something wrong.

This happened because of genetics.

There's some blame,

There's some shame,

There's some reason that you've been victimized.

So we have these stories that we tell in our head,

Which all of that may be true,

100% may be true,

But I will also tell you 100% of that is in the past.

It happened,

It's behind you,

And you could never go back and get it,

And you can never change it,

Right?

And so that's all true.

All these things that maybe caused us to be where we are are true,

And that just is,

But there's also probably just as many good things back there that you forgot about.

So we tend to lean more towards negative than positive.

That stuff sticks.

And so the stories that we tell ourselves inside,

Again,

Our brain doesn't know whether it's something we see outside or something we're imagining.

So if we're telling ourself these stories over and over,

Well,

Your body just keeps getting prepared for this worst case scenario.

And so as we tell our story,

We tell people about diabetes,

And this happened to me,

And this,

And this,

And this is what happened,

And I'm not saying we don't share that,

But I do caution you to look back,

And what words are you giving life to that describe you?

I'm sad,

This happened to me,

This is so bad,

I'm a victim,

And maybe those aren't the exact words,

But we tend to tell this story,

Right?

And so we pick and choose the bits of the part of our past,

And then as we see things happening today,

Somebody makes a remark about our diabetes,

And it gets under our skin because you know what?

It makes that part of your story more true.

If there's a part of your story that I'm overweight,

Or I caused it,

Or I did something wrong,

Or I didn't keep a promise,

And therefore I got sick,

And then sometime in the future,

Or now,

Somebody else says something like that that makes your story more,

Like it gives it credibility,

All of a sudden,

Boom,

It ignites things.

And again,

Not that any of it's true or not,

But it's what we focus on,

Right?

What our attention goes to is what our brain is paying attention to,

And what our brain is paying attention to,

Our bodies reacting,

Right?

We're doing the same thing.

So we'll think a little bit.

So I can't tell you your story,

But I'll tell you mine.

And for me,

When I was diagnosed,

Diabetes was a snake,

And I think I've told some of you this before,

But I'm definitely afraid of snakes,

I hate it,

I hate it.

So I was working as a nurse,

I knew all the ins and outs of the medical side of diabetes,

And when I was diagnosed,

I didn't see it coming at all,

Didn't get it,

And it's like they gave me this snake,

And they said,

Here,

Keep this snake alive,

Here's this sheet on how to feed it,

What medicine it needs and what you should do for it,

And we'll see you in three months.

Keep the snake alive,

Snake lives,

You live,

Right?

I don't want the snake,

I hate this thing.

And I fought with that snake,

And that was my story,

Right?

That was my story,

I shouldn't have this,

This isn't fair,

They gave me this thing,

You know,

Something must be wrong,

This isn't true.

And again,

I looked back at somebody did something,

There was someone to blame,

I was trying to make sense of the story,

And in my head,

I have this snake that I don't want,

I hated it,

I hated the snake,

And I hated diabetes,

And I hated all the whole package.

And I've been there off and on kind of before,

But never as bad as until I did what I'm gonna tell you right now.

And literally,

It changed my life.

And it is so profound and so simple,

And I always think those are the things that are the most amazing,

Because if they're simple.

Simple things,

They're those aha moments that can transform you,

And in one minute you're here,

And the next minute you're here,

And you can never go back,

You can never go back,

Because once you see something,

You can't unsee it.

So I had this snake,

Right,

And I didn't like it,

And I didn't want it,

And metaphorically,

I finally ended up seeing a counselor,

Because I'm like,

I gotta learn how to like the snake,

I gotta figure out how to take better care of the snake,

Because I can't live hating this thing the rest of my life,

I just hate the dang snake,

I don't wanna do it.

And what I found was,

Not that I had to learn how to like my snake,

Still don't like snakes,

But what changed was my story,

My story,

And so instead of this snake that jumped out and bit me,

And was out of nowhere,

And I didn't have any control over it,

And it was hard,

And mean,

And harsh,

And scary,

And just,

You know,

Fearful,

Fear,

Fear,

Fear,

Everywhere.

What I found was a different way to tell my story,

And so my story of diabetes is no longer about a snake,

But it's about a little girl,

And it's a little part of myself that's broken,

And doesn't work quite right,

And I have to take care of her,

And I can do that.

So for that little part of me that's young,

And innocent,

And didn't ask for any of this,

Didn't do anything wrong,

I can make sure she has the right foods,

I can make sure that I check her blood sugar,

I can make sure she gets the best care,

And I can do that,

And I can do that with love,

And without any hate,

And with compassion for myself,

And literally,

Since my story changed from a snake to this little innocent part of me,

All the harsh went away.

It literally changed that quickly,

And so what we're doing with that is we're transforming how you see yourself,

Right?

So there's so many things on the internet you can see where there's two people,

And they're both looking at the number six,

And one guy over here says it's a nine,

And this guy says it's a six,

Well,

They're both right,

And for me,

The snake and the little girl are both right,

But it's which story serves me,

And which story allows me to move forward with grace,

And without hating myself,

Or hating part of my life,

Because I found hating the snake was exhausting.

It was just so time-consuming,

And it didn't make my life any better,

And it didn't make diabetes any better,

And it did make it go away.

So this idea of transformation is very powerful,

Because when you decide to look at something differently,

Label it differently,

Think about it differently,

The effect is immediate,

Right?

So it's transformation.

You become something new.

So my company,

My LLC,

So my product,

My business is Better Diabetes Life,

But my company is Dragonfly Life,

And Dragonfly is another symbol for me that helps me kind of keep going,

Helps me understand.

And so when I was trying to figure out what to name my company,

I was really struggling,

And it's a very long story,

But suffice to say,

This dragonfly showed up,

And when I Googled,

Like,

What does it mean,

It said dragonflies are symbols of transformation.

So they have,

They go from water to land to air.

They have these wings that are like hinged very unusually.

They're like hydraulic,

And they fly in different ways,

And can allow them to move more like a helicopter than an airplane,

I guess.

They have these large eyes that look in many directions that can see many different things.

They're able to change and adapt,

Right?

So all these great metaphors.

And so that symbol of dragonfly has become something that helps me when I'm feeling frustrated down,

Bad,

Sad,

Whatever,

And I wear it on a necklace,

Right?

So how does that help you feel better fast?

Well,

One is I choose what story I'm gonna pay attention to,

And two,

When I hold onto this or when I see,

I have them around my office,

I have like,

It's kind of pathetic,

But you can see them on the wall behind me,

And I've got little,

You know,

I've got them everywhere.

But they're reminders,

Right?

They're little reminders,

And so if I get in a place where I feel stuck or I don't have options or that the world is happening to me,

That little notion helps,

That little notion of the girl,

And that one's kind of played out a long time ago.

But it creates a shift,

And something literally changed,

And instead of seeing my story one way,

I see it another way,

And the cool thing is I get to decide.

No one can tell me,

No one can make me.

It's my own personal choice of who I wanna be,

Of how I wanna think about things,

How I choose to live my life with diabetes,

Right?

Here's the scary part.

If you don't like your snake or your old story or something that's happening in your life,

The hard part is you have to let go,

And that's probably the hardest thing because we kind of cling to our fears,

Our stories,

This is why this happened,

This is how it all goes down,

Right?

So it's almost like you have to break up with your past,

Like a bad boyfriend,

Right?

Like,

Okay,

Well,

I was that,

That's how I thought about it,

And that led me to this place that I don't like.

So I'm gonna break up with that story,

I'm gonna transform,

I'm gonna be something new that's gonna serve me better.

Okay,

So how do you do that,

Right?

How do you get there?

You have to let yourself go a little bit because it won't happen if we go to body,

Mind,

Spirit.

Your thinking mind is probably not going to bring this to you because your thinking analytical mind is gonna be trying to think real hard and process and come up with just the right thing,

And literally all my aha moments have been kind of when I wasn't thinking.

So I would say try not to do it too hard.

Just find some space and be quiet every once in a while.

We're so,

So,

So busy,

And we're so busy,

And we're so busy,

And we're so busy,

And we're so busy,

And we're so busy,

And we're so busy.

And I think I would say try to be quiet.

Like,

I would say try to be quiet.

And if you're not really sure,

Like,

Go to a place that makes you feel good.

So,

Nature is always,

It does it for me.

So if I'm in a park,

Water,

I don't know what it is about the water,

I'm not sure,

I'm not sure.

And I think it's important to think about what is important to you.

And if you're not really sure,

I don't know what it is about the water,

That always kind of gets me in this meditative or nice space.

My back patio's my favorite place.

I spend a lot of time there.

Maybe it's a library that's quiet.

Maybe it's a lake.

Maybe it's a spa.

I don't know,

Whatever your thing is,

Go someplace you like.

Nature seems to be a very common theme,

But might be different from you.

But do something a little bit out of the normal of your day,

Right?

So if it's get up,

Get dressed,

Have coffee,

You know,

Don't do that.

Don't do that.

Do something unusual.

Go someplace you don't normally go.

And spend some quiet,

Quiet time.

Just,

You know,

Stare at the wind,

Look at a tree.

But literally,

You kind of want a day dream.

You want to get your thinking mind turned off.

And you can ask for a sign,

Right?

Just to your mind,

To your higher power,

To God,

However you look at that.

Maybe it's your future self.

We did a thing last week or two weeks ago where we talked to ourself in the future,

Our wise future self that's already in the happy place,

That's already overcome all these things.

Maybe they have an idea,

You know?

Ask yourself in 10 years,

What would be a good symbol?

And maybe it's your childhood self.

So again,

Going back to me,

My child self actually told me,

But sometimes it's things that your child self might like to do.

Or maybe imagine what a mentor or someone you trust might say,

Right?

You can kind of find these inspirations in different areas.

And another one you could do is just imagine yourself like you're watching your own movie.

You're sitting there and you see it on the screen and you see what's happened to you,

Your diagnosis,

What happened,

The characters,

The key players,

And then challenge yourself to kind of go back and watch and maybe what's missing.

What didn't you tell?

What could you add?

What are the grace points that happen?

And see if in that process,

Something doesn't come to you.

And you can always borrow my dragonfly.

So once you find something and there's no rush to do it,

It'll kind of come to you and you least expect it.

You'll see something,

You'll turn the TV on,

You'll hear a song.

You know,

And there might just be something that speaks to you that makes you feel better,

Right?

That makes you go,

Yes,

Yes,

That's what I want.

A couple of other things I'll add on here.

I get these little daily inspirations because I have stuff all over,

But it really takes some effort to stay in that mindset,

Especially when you're starting.

So there's one called Project Happiness and I get a little email from them every day and it's just a nice little quote.

There's another one that's called tut.

Com.

The Universe Talks and they send little messages that are inspirational.

And certainly you can follow me on social media.

I don't post every day,

But about five days a week.

And so there's something there that might resonate with you.

And maybe you'll get a message,

A phrase,

A song,

A symbol,

Something that can help you when you're feeling stuck to remind yourself of what you want to be,

Of what you want your story to be,

Right?

So what do you do with it?

So you create a reminder,

I wear it.

I've had a necklace for years and years.

When I was leaving healthcare IT,

I had a necklace made that said,

Let go,

Let God.

And that was like my worry stone,

Right?

I have some little crystals that someone gave me and sometimes I'll keep them in my pocket.

I have notes all over,

Right?

So put things where you see them,

Where they're with you so that when you're frustrated and you need to change,

When you need to be reminded,

When you need to feel better,

That there's some token,

Something close by that you can grab onto,

Right?

And so when something bad happens,

When you're in that state,

Use it,

Grab it,

Stick your hand in your pocket.

Maybe it's something on your key chain.

Maybe it's something on your wall.

There's so many different symbols,

But what you want to do is bring it to your awareness.

That stops that old story from playing and shifts you towards your new story that you would like to play with what's true for you,

How you want to do it,

What the rewrite of your story is.

Okay?

So that's kind of the tip.

That's a little coaching and I went through it very fast,

But just when you're feeling hard,

Any of the negative emotions of diabetes and we all feel them,

Right?

Remember that those negative feelings keep us in the state of worry and anxiety that doesn't make us feel good.

We would rather be in a state of rest and recover and we can do that through story,

By changing our story from something of dangerous and worry to something of calm and peace.

And we can do that by symbols and by thinking about our story,

Finding an inspiration,

Finding something that helps us,

A beacon,

Maybe that's a good word.

It helps you,

A beacon of where you want to go,

Right?

And then put it somewhere.

Put it where you have access to it so that when times are hard and it all seems really,

Really bad,

You can go,

I'm telling that story again.

This is what my story is.

This is what I'm capable of.

So I hope that made sense.

It's been,

Again,

My little dragonfly guy has been very inspirational to me and it helps me when I'm like,

Oh my gosh,

What am I doing?

I can't do this.

Like,

Yep,

Yep,

I can.

I don't want to be that.

I want to go this way.

So,

So that is it.

That's about transformation.

I hope that was helpful.

And we're going to shift over into meditation mode here in a minute.

I'm going to take a breath because I'm talking so much.

So for those of you that are joining midstream,

We were talking about feeling better fast and we're using imagery and story to change,

Change our ideas,

Change the story we tell ourselves and help us shift out of that fight or flight,

Worry,

Doom,

Horrible story into a better story that's calm,

That's possible,

That's more caring,

Nurturing,

That's better for self.

So we're going to kind of use,

Again,

A different sort of meditation.

I'm trying to pair these up a little bit.

So if we're talking about our theme of feeling better fast,

Then we're going to do a meditation that kind of talks about how we might feel in that sympathetic state,

That fight or flight,

That 911 and maybe some stories,

Some ideas,

Some feelings we can try to shift into that helps us get into that rest,

Relax,

Recover,

That parasympathetic goodness that's just so healthy and healing.

So let's kind of regather.

There's more of us today in the room now.

So we're together.

Again,

We're people who live with diabetes and this meditation is to help restore healing to our body to put back some of what diabetes takes out.

And I want everybody to imagine that we're together in a room.

We're comfortable.

We feel safe.

We feel like we can trust the people in the room to share our secrets and our stories.

And we feel safe that they will encourage us and support us.

We'll go back to our intention for today was that we will find new and easy ways to find relief and feel better.

New and easy way,

New and easy,

Something simple that when we're stuck in a bad place,

Something new and easy that can help shift us so that we get that energy we need or that rest we deserve or that inspiration we long for.

Let's breathe together.

Take a deep breath.

And as we slip into this meditation,

I want you to relax.

Lean back.

Give yourself permission for right now to not have to do anything.

You can imagine all the worries and cares and to-do lists.

If you imagine them,

You can put them in a box and feel the box and put the box up on the shelf.

They'll be there.

Right now,

You need to give yourself back to restore and replenish.

Relax your shoulders.

Unloosen your jaw.

Let the space between your eyebrows soften.

Let your body feel warm and heavy.

And repeat these affirmations aloud or in your head after me.

I am okay.

Right now,

I am safe.

Right now,

I am here and present.

Right now,

I am responsible for me.

I am capable.

I am peaceful.

I am confident.

I am worthy.

I am safe.

I am here and present.

I am worthy.

I am lovable.

I am able.

I am in charge.

I am the creator of my story.

As we do this guided meditation,

I'll touch on the most common areas that are affected by diabetes will go through our body.

I want you to put your awareness in each of these areas.

Offer yourself peace,

Relaxation,

And transformation from what it was to what you want it to be.

Start by moving your attention to your heart.

Go inside beneath your breastbone.

Breathe in and out through this area.

Let the heart relax.

And the heart moves from any aches or pain.

And then,

I want you to feel the energy flowing through your body.

To love and flow.

Blood flowing through,

Energy flowing out,

Love emanating.

Let your heart talk to the rest of your body,

Guiding it in compassion,

Care,

And healing.

Take another breath into your heart.

Let healing flow through clean and beautiful arteries.

Strong muscle.

Beating endlessly,

Tirelessly,

Tirelessly for your greatest good.

Next,

Move your attention downward to the right,

Where your liver resides.

Your liver can be the source of filtering toxins,

Can be the source of sickness,

But it also can transform and be the part of you that cleans and purifies,

That heals,

Restores,

And rebuilds.

Move your awareness inside your right upper quadrant,

And look beneath your ribs.

Feel the fullness of life in this organ.

Feel energy radiating around and through it as it does its work.

Next,

Move your attention to your kidneys.

They're above your waist,

Toward your back,

Beneath your ribs.

Their kidneys can be a source of tension and stress,

And they can be a source of energy and tension and stress,

Anxiety,

As it manages blood pressure,

But it can also transform to be flow and freedom,

Letting go of worry,

Providing calm,

Providing purity for your body,

Maintaining hydration,

Maintaining pressure so that fluids move easily throughout your body.

Imagine these organs full,

Flowing,

Glowing,

Being restored,

Being repaired,

Effortlessly letting fluids dissolve in and out,

Bringing perfect function,

Perfect balance to your electrolytes.

And holding space in this area,

Just above your waist,

Beneath your ribs,

Toward your back.

Breathe into your upper abdomen,

And exhale,

And exhale,

And exhale,

And exhale,

And exhale,

Breathe into your upper abdomen,

And exhale any anxiety or stress,

Worry.

Let it melt and dissolve as you breathe out.

So move down into your abdomen,

The part of your body that can hold worry and stress and tightness.

It can be a center of an emotional distress,

But it can transform into a rhythmic and calm center of regeneration.

Your digestive tract transforms food that you eat,

Which is inert and non-living,

Into your living body,

Which is a miraculous event in itself.

As you breathe deeply into your stomach,

Imagine food and fluids emptying from your stomach easily,

Effortlessly,

And on time,

Being propelled through your digestive tract with slow and rhythmic waves that are calm,

With a biome that contains all the proper bacteria,

Viruses,

Immune products,

And everything else that we don't even understand that our digestive tract holds for us.

But it provides us endorphins and peace.

It provides us chemicals of calm and happiness.

And its rhythmic waves are satisfying and soothing.

Take another breath.

Allow your belly to soften and feel from the inside out the transformation occur.

Move inward just above your belly button to your pancreas,

The organ that is central to diabetes.

We may direct anger and frustration to this organ,

But we can transform into compassion and care.

As it tries to do its best with what it has left,

Perhaps it's overproducing.

Perhaps it's not producing enough.

Perhaps it's continuing to make enzymes,

Glucagon and other necessary hormones.

We transform from anger to compassion.

We're grateful for the work that it does,

Even if it can't do it perfectly.

We offer love and care and healing to restore the best function possible.

We can also make enzymes and other necessary hormones.

We shift resources to this area to build up,

Promote and restore.

As we move from the torso down to the lower extremities,

We think of our legs and our feet,

Which may feel heavy,

Tight.

They may be not very flexible sometimes.

We may have pain from numbness,

Tingling,

Sores on our feet.

But we want to transform this image of our legs and our feet to memories of being nimble and spry,

Of muscles loose and flexible,

Of circulation perfected,

Of normal feeling,

Of ease of blood flow,

Of healing.

Invite ease and peace into your legs and knees and ankles and feet.

Encourage them to remember the story of long ago,

When it seemed a bit easier.

That's still in there.

Focus on your legs and feet from the inside out.

Think about any tingling.

Feel energy and feel life moving through your extremities,

From your hips all the way to your toes.

Feel the life force moving in your legs,

Your legs that carry you all through the day.

Move to the upper part of your torso,

To your shoulders,

Our shoulders which can be tense and weary from carrying the weight of the world.

Relax and relax.

You may feel a little bit of a tingling,

A little bit of a tingling,

But you may feel a little bit of a tingling.

Relax.

Let your shoulders go limp and soft.

Let the muscles of your neck relax.

Give yourself permission to put the weight of the world down.

You only need to carry your weight.

Let the tension release.

Stop blocking and bracing for the worst that's coming.

Be open and relaxed for the best that is.

As you think of your upper arms,

They're purposeful and strong.

Let peace radiate from your shoulders all the way down,

Your biceps to your elbows,

To your forearms,

To your hands.

The story of your hands is the story of your life,

The things they've touched,

The things they've done,

The life they've created.

Choose to remember that part of your story.

Think about your arms from the inside out.

Notice the muscles,

And if they're tense,

Let them relax.

Feel in your hands the life and energy there.

Imagine a warm glow radiating out.

Turn your palms up and receive.

Receive healing.

Receive high energy.

Receive love and purpose.

Receive strength and courage.

Take a deep breath and relax.

From your upper extremities,

Move to your neck and your throat.

It's going to often feel tight and fearful and stifled.

But in this moment,

As you breathe and exhale,

Transform to a voice that's open and joyful,

Full of laughter and play.

Just like when you were a child,

That part of you still exists.

Tell yourself the story of the words you are able to speak,

The truth you want to share.

Rewrite the story of not being heard,

Not being understood,

To a story of courage,

Of finding the right words,

Of finding the right moment and having the right outcome for those that you wish to speak to.

Let the tightness go.

Swallow.

Relax.

Remember your voice tells your story.

It takes the air inside of you and gives it life and gives it meaning and purpose.

And you get to decide what that story is.

Think about what you want your story to be.

Move now up into your brain where there's neural networks firing and firing and wiring and a mass of electrical activity.

In a normal person,

That activity is big and bold and moving around.

But when we live with diabetes,

We have an ever-vigilant presence and that extra layer that we have to deal with.

That extra layer,

That extra worry,

Those extra tasks can make us feel scattered and overwhelmed.

But we can choose to find moments of peace and calm.

And in those moments,

We go from scattered to focused.

We go from all over the place to coherent,

Controlled,

Thoughtful,

Meaningful.

And all it requires is a small moment of time,

A change in focus,

And a desire to tell a new story.

Release your brain from worry.

Turn it off.

It doesn't serve purpose.

Focus on what is now and what is true and what you can change.

Give your brain permission to slow down,

Catch up,

Get in rhythm.

And from this place,

Your story will become more obvious,

More pleasant,

And more beneficial.

Close to your brain or eyes,

Move your awareness to your eyes,

Which hold so much tension,

Which sometimes can feel dull and timid,

Like the weight of the world is too much,

That they can't process any more input,

And they're too afraid to look.

Rewrite the story so that your eyes are clear and sharp and with purpose,

And that your eyes can choose to look away,

That your eyes can choose to see the good,

Not just the bad,

That your eyes can find your symbol,

Your token,

The thing that's going to help you transition and transform.

Allow the muscles between your eyebrows to relax.

Allow the muscles that move your eyeballs to relax.

Allow the retina to fully expand,

Allowing optimal blood flow,

Feeding the retina,

And all the tiny blood vessels in your eyes.

From your eyes,

Move to the center of your brain,

Between your ears,

Behind your eyes,

Above your tongue,

Deep,

Deep,

Deep in the recesses of your mind.

It's the autonomic nervous system that runs,

That takes care of you,

That directs the resources,

The energy,

To every part of your body when you're not even thinking about it.

This automatic part of your brain,

Here's the story you tell,

And you can transform that story from one that is fraught with worry and fear,

To a story that's open and curious with unlimited possibilities,

With new ways to overcome,

With time spent in repair and restore,

With more self-love,

With more self-care,

And with a happy ending that you get to write.

Take another deep breath.

Feel your body.

Feel the peace and relaxation as we repeat our affirmations.

Right now,

I am okay.

I am safe.

I am here.

I am responsible.

I am capable.

I am peaceful.

I am confident.

I am worthy.

I am lovable.

I am well able.

I am in charge of my life.

I am the creator of my story.

I am.

Linger here for a while.

It feels good.

It feels nice.

You're in a parasympathetic state of your autonomic nervous system.

This is what it feels like for healing,

For repair,

For restoration,

For rebuilding,

For boosting your immune system,

For bringing systems back online and in coherence.

Notice how your body feels.

Remember how this feels.

So when you find your token,

Your symbol of transformation,

When you see it and it's apparent to you,

However you choose to manifest it and bring it about,

Make sure this symbol brings you back to this place of peace and possibility and confidence and calm.

Begin to come back into the room.

Leave your body to do its work.

You don't know how it works anyway.

So lovingly your body can still heal,

Will still work,

Will still be doing what you need it to do.

Move your hands and feet.

Breathe deeply.

Notice your skin.

Notice the room.

Notice the sounds.

Take a deep breath and when you're ready,

Open your eyes.

I hope you enjoyed that.

I have a favor to ask.

So when you find your symbol,

When your story gets changed,

I would love it if you would send me a message,

Send me a note on my website or on this platform to let me know how your story unfolded.

I hope you found this helpful.

And it really is,

It's amazing that in such a short amount of time,

You can change your story.

It's always nice just to give back to our body,

Right?

Because it takes so much.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for caring about yourself enough to give yourself this time every week.

Thank you for joining me.

Be well.

Take care all my diabuddies.

Bye.

Reviews

Thank you Patricia🙏
Beautiful practice.
I will use this regularly