Making Changes That Last: Diabetes Discussion & Meditation

This meditation is for people who live with diabetes. The session begins with a short discussion on how we can make lasting changes. A guided meditation follows that offers healing and peace to the parts of the body most impacted by diabetes.

Transcript

Well,

My name is Patricia Daker,

And I am the owner and founder of a company called Better Diabetes Life.

I'm a registered nurse and a board-certified nurse coach specializing in diabetes and a former health care executive,

So I bring skills from many different aspects of life.

The purpose of my company,

Though,

Is to help people with the coping aspect of diabetes.

When I was diagnosed,

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

But nobody really helped me to deal with it.

And if we don't deal with it,

We can get ourselves into trouble,

And it gets to be very frustrating and hard,

So that's really what I focus on.

So tonight,

My topic,

The way that we'll kind of do this is I'm going to talk about a topic,

Give you some tips and strategies.

We'll do maybe a little kind of mental guided imagery,

And then we'll do a guided meditation.

And before we get started,

Just a few housekeeping rules.

So if you know someone who has diabetes that could use a little stress management,

New perspective,

Inspiration,

A little help that they're maybe not getting,

Maybe understanding that they're not getting from their doctor,

Send them a quick text.

Shoot them a link to this session and have them join.

I would love it.

I'll go through my content,

And then we'll do Q&A at the end,

So if you want to stick around if you have questions,

I'm happy to ask them.

Let's see,

There is no right or wrong way to do this,

So I'm going to give you information.

It may or may not resonate.

It might help you in a week or so.

Maybe today it's not.

That's just kind of how this works.

The meditation portion is purely just listen.

There's nothing that you need to do.

Just lie back and listen.

It's very easy.

Also,

Insight Timer always asks that we remind you of the little donate button up top,

So if you enjoy this and would like to see these continue,

And if you feel called,

Then please think about donating.

So before we get started with the talk,

I always like to gather everyone.

So there's a lot of us on here,

Many little faces at the bottom,

So I can't always see you,

But I feel you.

I think we're here in spirit together,

And if you're listening to me,

Then you're hearing what others are hearing,

And by that,

Backed alone,

We're all gathered.

So I think let's just all take a nice deep breath together.

Breathe in,

And relax.

And I think before we get started,

The best thing is really just to let go of the worries.

This is not a time for worry.

This is a time to tap into our curiosity,

Our relaxation,

Fun,

No worries,

No frustration,

Nothing like that.

It's all going to be easy and good.

Another deep breath,

And we'll get started.

Okay,

And so we're going to talk today about making changes that last.

And before we get started,

I want to set an intention for our group that during this time tonight,

Through the words I'm going to share with you,

As well as the meditation,

That you get a sense of what you're willing to do.

Because I really want to focus on that tonight.

I'll explain a little bit more.

But my intention is that whatever it is that you're willing to do comes easily and effortlessly to you.

So that's our intention.

All right,

And as we're all together,

I wish we could talk more.

I'm so one-sided on this,

But I know you're there.

All right,

So making changes that last.

So we get diabetes.

We've had diabetes for a long time.

The one constant with diabetes is change,

Right?

It's never the same.

Just when you think you get it figured out,

It changes.

A food you ate last week doesn't behave the same this week.

There's so many variables.

And so change is inevitable.

So as I've talked about in the past,

One thing we can do is manage our expectations.

That if we think it's going to be like we'll figure it out and that's it and it's that way for the rest of our lives,

That's really going to contribute to a lot of frustration.

So just sort of expect that you're going to have to roll with the punches,

Which when you think about it,

It sounds daunting and overwhelming.

But I'm going to help you with that idea.

So your whole life,

You've been adapting to change.

Everything we do adapts to change.

Our respiratory rate changes.

When we run up a flight of stairs,

We adapt,

We breathe.

Our heart rate picks up in response to something inside your body.

Chemicals and hormones are constantly in change.

The thing with diabetes is that our sugar used to be changing all the time and we didn't know it.

Well,

Now we're more responsible,

Right?

So it's hard.

So of all the facets that contribute to your blood sugar,

Food,

Exercise,

Activity,

Hydration,

Insulin,

Medicine,

Hormones,

The weather,

The temperature,

How well you're feeling,

I could go on and on and on.

There's so many factors.

We tend to focus on three,

Right?

So we're going to do some medicine,

We're going to watch our food,

And we're going to do activity.

And those are the three factors,

But there's so many more,

Which is why it's so hard.

So to manage our glucose requires change on some level.

We're going to have to change what we eat,

Maybe change our activity,

Change all kinds of things.

And it's going to be unique for every person.

There is no one change this and it works.

It just doesn't work that way because we all bring something very unique to the table,

Right?

So what we each have to change is really determined by where we're at,

What sort of diabetes we have,

Other conditions,

Other illnesses,

Things like that,

And it starts with what you're willing to do,

Which is what we're going to talk about.

So we're changing all the time anyway,

Right?

None of us are the same as we were yesterday,

A week ago,

A year ago,

10 years ago.

We think back to high school,

We certainly are not the same people.

So every day there's these little things that we do,

And they're called choices,

That make a change.

And choices,

Without thinking about them,

Are usually tied to your mood,

How you feel,

What you're thinking about,

What you like,

What you don't like,

Those sort of things.

And so every day you make little decisions,

And the sum total of those decisions change your life,

Right?

So when we think about change with diabetes,

All of a sudden we think,

Oh my gosh,

I have to change all this stuff,

And it's huge.

And I want to suggest and offer to you that we don't do that.

We change little tiny small things because if I want to get from here to here,

And I keep trying to jump all the way in one big jump,

I'm probably going to fall back down.

But if I just every day kind of change a few things,

Little tiny things that I like,

I believe in,

I understand,

The trajectory over time changes,

And we get to that same point.

But if we do it this way with little tiny small things we agree to,

They're going to last,

Right?

Better than,

Think of how many times you've joined a gym,

Or you're going to go on a diet,

You do some big heroic thing,

Right?

Some big thing.

And you might do it for a while,

But it's the rubber band theory,

Right?

It kind of pops back.

And so what we need to think about are,

What are those changes?

Like let's emulate what works.

So if little tiny changes based on our mood change us over time,

Let's do that same thing,

Right?

Let's do little tiny changes based on our mood.

And so when it comes to mood,

There's a couple other contributing factors we can think about,

And that's your willingness,

Right?

So sometimes if you're tired,

You're not willing.

If you're excited,

You're probably more willing,

Right?

There's all these little things that help you decide what you're willing to do.

But the only person in the whole world that knows is you,

Right?

So you have to decide what you're willing,

And what the payoff is,

Right?

There's a cost and a benefit to everything.

So speaking of cost and benefit,

I'm going to use a shopping analogy because I think it helps a lot to kind of put things in perspective.

So we think about when we purchase something,

Right?

When we go buy something.

Again,

A million different decisions,

A million little options.

And as we go through,

We look at things that we want to buy.

Maybe it's a car,

Clothing,

Food,

Whatever we're shopping for.

And we're doing this stuff in our head that we don't even know we do,

Right?

So is it a value,

Right?

Is there a good value?

I'm going to buy this.

Does it feel like it's worth my hard-earned money?

Do I benefit from this,

Right?

Do I benefit from doing this thing or buying this thing?

Will it help me in some way?

If it doesn't benefit you,

Really,

Are you going to spend the money?

You might.

You might have an impulse vibe,

But then later it sits there.

Is it something you want?

Does it really matter to you?

If it matters to you,

You're probably going to spend more money,

Right?

It's going to be more important.

Do you believe in it?

Do you believe,

You know,

Like,

Okay,

We'll talk food.

If you believe carbs matter or carbs don't,

That's going to affect what you choose to buy,

Right?

And so what you believe about a thing influences your choice.

So as you're walking up and down the aisles and you're looking at things,

If you believe you like it,

If you believe it will make a good ingredient in your recipe,

You'll buy those things.

If you don't,

You won't.

All those little choices,

Right,

Add up to a bigger impact when you check out.

So let's go shopping a little bit.

I want you to use this.

The other thing about buying things is you own them.

So let's think about owning a home versus renting,

Owning a car versus a rental car.

We take better care of what we own.

If we purchase it,

If we make it ours,

It belongs to us and it matters more.

It just does.

It's human nature.

There's a sales principle of that which I own is mine and that which is mine is better,

Right?

If it's mine and I own it,

I'm going to take better care of it.

So we can use that same sort of idea with our diabetes,

Right?

None of us wanted it and either it gets to be the owner or we get to be the owner.

And if we own it,

Then it's ours.

We get to make the choices and it's more empowering,

Right?

So all this stuff is helping you make decisions.

So let's just think a little bit.

We'll go on a shopping trip and I want you to think about all the things that you should do for your diabetes,

Right?

There's a bazillion of them.

There's a ton.

So on this exercise I want you to go through,

We're going to go shopping and I want you to consider some of these things,

Right?

So things you might want to put in your basket and purchase and things that you're like,

I'm not going to do it,

Right?

So I'll just kind of go down the aisles with you and we're walking in our shopping cart.

We're going to go diabetes shopping,

Right?

And so as we go,

We might notice something like a food choice,

Right?

So I am not a person to preach about a particular diet because we all bring so much variability to the table.

So everybody's going to have a little bit what they like,

What they don't like culturally,

All these different things.

So there is no one diet other than we need to be mindful of our carbs because carbs can really lead to higher glucose levels.

So as you're going through and you're looking at what you're willing to do,

Like if you think about the things that you eat when you're walking down,

You're grabbing things off the aisle,

Putting them in your shopping cart,

Close your eyes maybe as you do this as well.

What's something that you could put back?

Like what's something that you maybe out of habit you put in,

You know,

Maybe it's an extra bite,

An extra serving,

Maybe it's a piece of bread and butter,

Whatever that might be as you're thinking about what you're putting in,

Right?

So maybe like for me,

What's a good example of something I would do?

Let's see,

Let me think.

So I like salads.

I eat a lot of salads.

I like that.

I really do.

I like vegetables.

But I like salad dressing on it.

I really do.

So I'm going to put that on there.

I can leave the croutons off.

To me,

It's just not that big a deal.

So as we go through,

We make little choices about what we do and don't want to do,

Right?

What are you putting in your cart?

You know,

Are you willing to put in 30 minutes of time to go for a walk?

Are you willing to fire your doctor if they make you crazy?

You know,

Can you put them on the shelf?

Do you get another doctor?

Are you willing to have a hard conversation with somebody who doesn't get it?

Right?

Can you put that in your basket and know that even though that's hard,

You might be willing to do it because the payoff later is better,

Right?

So as you're shopping,

You're thinking about things that you're willing to do.

What am I willing?

I'm willing to buy and own and think about those,

Okay?

So taking that analogy and summarizing,

Making changes that last is about choice.

It's about little tiny small things you're willing to do.

So if you try to do too many,

You won't do them all.

But I would rather you do one thing.

Okay,

So I cut back that.

I added this,

Whatever those things might be.

And you know,

You know in your heart kind of what they are.

You know what you should be.

You know what they've told you to do and you're like,

Eh,

I don't want to do that.

Maybe you have a list in your mind of all these things and they're like,

Eh,

I could do the one at the top.

I'm not doing the one at the bottom.

Well then let's not worry about the one at the bottom.

Let's get the one at the top.

Let's do the things you're willing to do.

And again,

We take small little baby steps over time and we get to our goal versus these big ginormous jumps that we want to try to do and get somewhere and fall.

Guess what happens when we fall?

We get hurt.

It doesn't feel good.

We're not motivated.

We don't want to do it again.

It gets in the cycle of failure.

But if you take little tiny small steps and you win,

You're like,

Okay,

I did that one.

And then that becomes a habit.

You get used to that.

Then you do the next one,

Right?

And so as you're thinking about your willingness,

Think about what you're shopping.

What benefits?

What's a value?

Does it make sense?

Do I benefit?

Like if you don't benefit,

It's going to be a really hard sell.

I'll tell you that.

There's not some direct benefit for you.

Like doing this thing would make my life easier,

Right?

So we buy and we own things because what we own is important to us.

I want you to think about that too with your diabetes.

If you want to make changes,

You've got to own it,

Right?

It's yours.

It's not somebody else's decision.

It's not your doctor's or brother's or mother's or wife's,

Anybody else,

Right?

It's ours.

And I get to call the shots.

And doing that gives me empowerment.

Okay?

Ooh,

It's thundering outside.

I don't know if y'all can hear that.

So making changes that last,

That's kind of my tip.

And again,

You're going to have to figure out what you're willing to do.

But think about that.

So as we go through this meditation piece,

We'll try to incorporate some of those things in.

But I want you to think about what you're willing to do.

And if you don't know,

Just kind of let your mind be open and hopefully that's what this meditation can bring to you.

And I see,

Hi,

Jennifer,

I'm from,

I grew up in Illinois,

Right outside of Springfield in Rochester.

So if you ever heard of that,

Welcome.

I'm glad you're here.

Okay.

So the next part is a little meditation,

Right?

And this part is really to gift back.

And I've done a couple talks already about our fight or flight response,

Which is the 911 emergency.

It sends your body into hyper alert.

Worry does the same thing.

And with diabetes,

We have ample opportunity to worry.

And so what we want to do is get out of that fight or flight mode because it expends so much energy,

It's exhausting,

It releases cortisol and other stress hormones,

Which raise your blood sugar without even food,

Right?

That's the worst is when your blood sugar goes up and you didn't even eat anything to enjoy it.

So fight or flight response is not necessary if we're not being chased by a bear,

Someone didn't cut us off in traffic,

One of those things.

If it's just sitting around every day going,

Oh my God,

What's going to happen tomorrow?

Or oh,

Dang it,

I screwed up yesterday.

The same chemicals are floating through your body.

So these meditations shift us into a parasympathetic state,

Which is the balance that's rest,

Relax,

Digest,

Repair,

Restore.

And it takes our blood flow from our arms and legs,

Which is fight or flight,

Run 911.

It redirects everything back centrally,

Right?

So we're going to do that.

So one of the things,

We'll start with a small breathing exercise.

And I like to call this ocean waves.

I don't know,

When I do it myself,

To me it sounds like an ocean wave.

But it's a 12 step breathing cycle.

And we'll do four in and eight out to a count of 12.

So in two,

Three,

Four,

Out,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Nine,

10,

11,

12.

When we breathe out longer than we breathe in,

We stimulate what's called a polyvagal response,

Which gets us out of fight or flight and into parasympathetic.

It stimulates the vagus nerve,

Which slows us down.

That's where all the healing and the goodness and the rest and the repair happens.

So we'll do that.

And then let's start first.

What we're going to do tonight is shift away from our senses.

So I want,

We spend so much time worrying about the external,

What we see,

What we hear,

What we think,

What we taste,

What we smell,

All these things.

And that's that 911 hypervigilant,

Right?

We're monitoring everything.

So during this meditation,

I want to turn that off.

So I'm going to invite you.

We'll go through a small exercise of kind of shutting things down.

So we're going to imagine that you are leaving a big stadium and you're shutting the switches off and the lights are coming down.

Okay,

That's what we're going to do.

So we'll turn the lights out and we'll do some breathing and then just listen.

Okay.

And so let's kind of reimagine,

Reconnect us now that there's more people here.

We'll take a deep breath in.

Ah,

And just relax,

Relax your shoulders,

Relax your jaw,

Lean back so that you're not tense.

And we'll do some deep breathing.

Just listen to my voice cues.

We'll do about four or five cycles of this breath to help slow us down and get us into a healthy state.

So we're going to breathe in two,

Three,

Four,

Out,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Nine,

10,

11,

12.

In two,

Three,

Four,

Out,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Nine,

10,

11,

12.

In two,

Three,

Four,

Out,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Nine,

10,

11,

12.

Last one.

In two,

Three,

Four,

Out,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Nine,

10,

11,

12.

Relax your shoulders again.

Slow everything down.

Give yourself permission right now to do nothing.

There's nothing you need to do but listen.

No jobs,

No worries,

No tasks.

Everything can wait until you're done.

I want you to imagine with your eyes closed,

Lean back,

And we're going to start shutting down the external senses.

So even though you're going to be listening to my voice,

We're going to shut that one down last.

I want you to close your eyes,

Turn off the lights outside,

And take a breath.

Close your eyes and turn off your taste.

Let your jaw and your mouth relax.

Nothing to do right now.

Breathe again.

Exhale.

Turn off your smell.

Imagine flipping a switch.

We're not smelling.

We're not tasting.

We're not seeing.

We're barely hearing.

Deep breath.

Relax your body.

We're shutting down the muscles.

We're not braced against the world.

We're not on hyper alert.

We're safe.

We're warm.

We're comfortable.

I want you to look with your vision,

With your eyes closed,

At the darkness behind your eyes.

Turn your attention inward to your body,

And as we turn our senses off,

We move from our external self to our internal self.

We'll also turn our mind off our thoughts.

Our thinking brain is going to get a break.

They don't need to monitor the world.

It doesn't need to look for problems.

You're safe just where you're at.

Our body is offline.

We're listening.

That's the only thing still there.

Our mind is quiet.

Even if there's a thought,

It's okay,

Let it happen,

But ignore it.

We're going to go deep inside.

I'm going to guide you through the different parts of your body.

As we do this,

I want you to imagine,

Even if you don't know what it looks like,

That from your inner person,

The strong and old and wise part of you,

That you're blessing each organ with perfect health.

These can be hard on our organs.

Even if we don't know how our wise inner self knows what to do to do healing and repair and restore.

Since we've done some deep breathing,

We're now in this parasympathetic state where we can influence our bodies.

Take a breath.

Feel the dark and the stillness.

As we travel inward,

Put your attention on your heart.

It's beating strongly,

Carrying blood to all parts of your body.

Imagine a warm,

Glowing light covering your heart,

Healing the blood vessels,

Restoring and repairing strength.

Your heart's relaxed,

Pumping easily and effortlessly.

The blood exits and travels through blood vessels,

Which are clean and clear.

If there's any irregularity or bumps,

Those things are melted and they smooth away as the blood flows through.

The warm light beams out from your heart.

Your blood pressure normalizes.

Your pulse rate is stable.

Take a breath,

Exhale and thank your heart for its tireless efforts.

From the heart,

We move down into the abdomen where we have digestive organs that go from our mouth all the way down to our tailbone.

Your digestion can be impacted by diabetes in many ways.

It could be diarrhea,

Constipation,

Gastroparesis.

Your digestion is where our emotions are stored in our digestive organs,

In the digestive track.

So worry and anxiety can certainly cause disruption and dysfunction.

So imagine that light shining and glowing,

Warming your abdomen in rhythmic waves that slow and strengthen the digestive process.

The blood vessels and nerves that feed this entire system are functioning perfectly,

Fully,

Cleanly and clearly.

Any disruption of function is calmed and repaired.

Once again,

From your inner wise person,

Healing is bestowed to this most important part of your body that controls your intake and your energy and your mood.

From our digestive system in the center of our abdomen,

Place your attention right behind your belly button where your pancreas is.

Your pancreas has some sort of issue,

Whether it makes not enough insulin too much or it's resistant,

But your pancreas also does other functions.

It releases digestive enzymes and makes glucagon that helps to regulate your blood sugar.

Imagine this warm,

Glowing,

Healing light surrounding this area of your body,

Delivering everything your immune system needs to repair and rebuild,

Maximizing health,

Restoring optimal function.

We thank our pancreas for its tireless efforts and even for some of the flack it gets for not doing its work often.

We appreciate and we are grateful for the work that it does do.

From your pancreas,

Move to the back of your abdomen,

Above your waist,

Beneath your ribs.

On either side,

Your kidneys reside.

Blood flows from the heart to both kidneys,

Where impurities are filtered out,

Water balance is maintained,

And blood pressure is regulated,

Among some other hormones.

Diabetes can be especially hard on our kidneys.

Extra glucose can be caustic to some of the small capillaries.

So at this time,

Imagine light and healing surrounding the kidneys on both sides.

Blood flow is restored.

Function is repaired.

Protein levels are accurate.

Inside the blood vessels,

The walls are smooth,

Glistening,

Pliable,

And firm,

Fully able to do their job.

From the wisest,

Oldest,

Deepest part of you,

Resources are directed to help heal your kidneys and restore the best function possible.

Once again,

We thank our kidneys for their unending efforts.

They never sleep.

They never take time off.

They are constantly filtering and taking care of the blood in our body.

Now move your attention to your liver.

It's in the right upper quadrant,

Just below your ribs.

It is fed from a large blood vessel coming from your descending aorta.

Large amounts of blood flow through your liver,

And your liver does many,

Many,

Many metabolic functions,

Some of which regulate glucose.

Some take care of clotting factors.

Some of the functions remove toxins.

As this warm light surrounds and revives your liver,

Imagine the blood vessels opening smooth,

Firm,

Able to do all the work they need to,

Bringing toxins and products from everywhere in your body to be filtered out and managed.

Imagine this warm glow surrounding your liver,

Restoring function,

And improving everything about your glucose control.

Take a deep breath.

As you breathe in and out,

Exhale,

Knowing byproducts of respiration are carrying waste,

Carbon dioxide,

And water vapor out of your body.

With each inhale and exhale,

You're massaging your organs,

Improving blood flow,

Improving function.

We thank the liver with a grateful heart for its unending work and everything it does to keep us healthy and safe.

Breathe again.

Let's travel down the legs through the large arteries,

Through our thighs,

Past our knees,

Into our calves,

Large blood vessels bringing vast amounts of healing,

Oxygen,

Nutrition,

Immune products,

Hormones,

And many other regulatory factors that help keep us steady and safe.

As we travel through these blood vessels,

We notice the slick and shiny walls.

If we notice any bumps or distortion,

They melt away.

We continue down,

Down,

Down to your ankles,

To your feet,

To your toes.

From the inside out,

Feel your feet.

If there's tightness or swelling,

A wise,

Wise part of you guides your body to wash away this excess fluid.

Our feet are the very furthest from our heart,

And fluid and blood have to overcome gravity to go from the very tips of our toes all the way back up.

Our feet need special attention because it's so hard to get healing products to that aspect of ourselves.

So now imagine the blood vessels opening,

New vessels growing,

Nutrition,

Healing,

Immune products delivered to the very smallest capillaries,

Waste,

Sludge,

And anything not beneficial being swept away as it travels back up the feet.

Imagine the glowing light over your whole legs as warmth calms any tingling nerves,

Washes away any numbness,

And improves flow so that you have maximum healing and health in your legs and feet.

As we return up through the torso,

Our attention focuses on our shoulders.

Blood travels again from our heart,

Down both upper extremities,

Past our shoulders,

Past the biceps,

Around the elbows,

To the forearms,

And to the hands.

Imagine a warm,

Glowing,

Beautiful light surrounding your arms.

Imagine your fingertips feeling perfectly smooth,

Warm,

Any numbness or tingling is calmed.

We offer gratitude to our hands that do so much work,

Whether on a keyboard or in a kitchen,

Or driving,

Or tending to children,

Or many,

Many other aspects of work.

Our hands are tireless workers.

Often our hands and our fingertips are used to get blood samples to test our blood sugar,

And we offer gratitude for our fingertips for their selfless sacrifice.

As we think of our fingertips,

We go to any place else in our body,

In our skin,

Surface,

That has to take an injection.

Perhaps it's your arm,

Your abdomen,

Your thigh,

Any place that gets poked.

We pay homage with gratitude for each of these areas that has to undergo pain for the good of the body.

We thank ourselves that we are able to do this work to keep us healthy and safe.

From our hands,

We travel back inward,

Up our neck,

Swallow,

Relax your jaw,

Allow yourself to be peaceful.

Imagine the light traveling up your neck through,

Again,

Glistening,

Clear blood vessels,

Carrying rich oxygenated blood through your head to the very important functions there.

Imagine going up the back of your head to your cerebellum,

To your upper brain,

To your cerebrum.

Even if you don't know the parts,

Imagine that your brain,

Which is working tirelessly to control many,

Many bodily functions,

Imagine the brain being fed by beautiful,

Clean,

Strong,

Pliable blood vessels that deliver everything the brain needs,

Washes away any pain or stress,

And calms your entire nervous system.

Allow the muscles of your scalp to relax.

We can often feel stress and tension in our scalp where our brain thinks the most.

So right now,

We don't need to think,

We just need to feel.

Feel next to your eyes,

The back of your eyes,

Your eyes that move and look constantly all day long.

Take a deep breath,

Relax the muscles in the back of your eyes,

Relax your eyebrows,

Relax the muscle between your eyebrows.

Imagine your eyeballs full,

Full of fluid,

Crystal clear,

The back of your eyes with very healthy blood vessels flowing easily and effortlessly to every photoreceptor,

Every part of your retina.

And once again,

We call on the healing part of ourself to bring great healing,

Repair,

And restoration to the backs of our eyes.

Relax and receive this healing from yourself.

Take another deep breath and relax.

You're in a deep parasympathetic healing state.

Put your attention behind your eyes,

Between your ears,

Above your tongue.

From deep within you,

The wisest part of you that knows what tomorrow brings,

That remembers where you've been and that opens the door to possibility.

Take a deep breath and listen to that part of you for what you are willing to do.

What's the next thing?

What's the next step?

I'll be quiet for a few seconds so you can pay attention.

What does that part of you tell you you need?

As we leave this wise and healing part of ourselves,

We ask that it bestow normal blood sugar in our bodies right now,

That all the different fluids,

Conditions,

Hormones,

Everything that happens in ourselves be regulated perfectly to bring about the best and most healthy level of blood sugar control for us all.

One more deep breath,

Relax,

Enjoy how this feels.

Remember how this feels.

Step back into this memory whenever you feel stressed or anxious.

Step back into this deep wisdom when you're not sure what to do.

From this place deep within your head,

I want you to move your attention to your heart.

One more breath.

From your heart,

Send your attention to a cloud above your head that's connected to each person that's listening to my voice.

Together the light shines brilliantly and brightly among people who are friends and who understand.

In your mind's eye,

Pass healing to the person on your right and receive healing from the person on your left.

It's an honor to gift each other in this way.

If you want to blink open your eyes,

Come back,

We'll flip the switches back on.

You can turn on our vision.

Take a deep breath,

Turn on our smell.

Move your head and neck,

Stretch a bit,

Turn on our sensation.

Turn up the volume on the voice and come back to the present moment.

Okay.

I hope that you found some clarity and stillness.

I hope you found relaxation.

Whether you understand everything that happened,

You gifted your body amazingly.

Just the breathing and the relaxation is powerful.

We never take time to do this.

So again,

As a reminder,

We started on making changes that last.

And I hope that you would consider making meditation and gifting yourself with some parasympathetic loveliness.

One of the things that you would like to incorporate into your diabetes care plan.

Because this is important,

We stress our bodies out all the time,

All day,

Physically and mentally.

So this sort of spiritual goodness from the parts of ourself that's deep and wise and healing and we all have that in ourselves,

It's a good thing to do.

So if anybody has any questions,

I can hang out a little bit if you'd like to ask me anything.

Can stress raise your blood sugar?

Absolutely.

So if you go back and listen to some of my other meditations,

We talk a lot about the fight or flight.

So fight or flight is your sympathetic nervous system or your 911.

And it's the part of your body that reacts when caveman days,

A bear is chasing you.

Your liver dumps tons of sugar into your blood to raise it so that if you need to run or fight,

You have extra glucose in your blood.

That's great if your pancreas works wonderfully and if you are being chased by a bear,

Right?

But if you're just thinking about things,

That fight or flight response can raise your blood sugar from just the cortisol.

Cortisol is like getting a steroid shot.

So chronic worry can certainly impact your blood sugar.

And so what we did tonight was parasympathetic,

Which is the balance.

So fight or flight,

911,

Worry,

Fear,

Feelings of shame,

Guilt,

Embarrassment,

All that stuff,

That badness,

All of that actually releases chemicals in our body that puts us in a state of anxiety.

Parasympathetic what we did tonight,

Rest,

Relax,

Restore,

Calms all that down,

Shunts energy from our extremities into our organs and so we can repair and rebuild and put things back in order.

So absolutely stress can raise your blood sugar.

A couple of things,

If you follow me then you'll be notified whenever I go live.

If you want more information about what I do,

I have a website,

Social media,

A lot of different ways to plug in.

My website is in my bio.

So on Insight Timer you would have to touch my icon I guess and it takes you to my bio and there's a link to my website.

And again there's a donate button up there.

If you feel called to donate,

Please do so.

That's how Insight Timer allows us to do this,

To have this platform to bring this information and the meditation.

I just feel like it's such a good thing.

I wish I would have had it all these years ago.

Thanks so much for joining me.

Again,

This is Patricia Daker with Better Diabetes Life.

Be well.

Reviews

Loved the organ visualization and creating a healthy functioning, connected system.

Patricia, I love how you speak healing words about my extremities and inner organs that are suffering in silence… thank you for this and also for your Live sessions. You are so helpful for my mental positivity