SOS For Distressing Thoughts & Painful Emotions

This recording is designed to support you through challenging or painful situations, in which you might be experiencing psychological and emotional distress or physical pain.

You are not alone. I am here to support you. You can do this. You are doing this.

Drop out of the mind for a moment, and into your body with a compassionate, peaceful, and soothing guided meditation.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

If you are here,

Perhaps it is because you are experiencing intense emotions,

Perhaps challenging thoughts,

Perhaps both.

Maybe you have just been through or are currently going through a very intense and challenging experience in your life.

Whatever the reason that brought you here,

Just please know that you are not alone and you are safe.

I'm grateful that you've come here for support and I am honoured to be of service to guide you through this challenging moment.

Please remember,

Whatever you are experiencing,

This too shall pass.

You have made it this far,

You can do this,

You are doing this.

It is perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed sometimes,

The waves of experience of life can be so daunting,

So challenging and painful,

And yet that is part of being human,

That is life.

So rather than try to suppress the experience or the emotions associated with it,

Let us learn how to surf those waves,

And once we feel composed,

Safe,

Settled,

Perhaps we may be able to learn something from them.

First things first however,

Let us soothe our nervous system using the power of the breath,

Something that is available to you and me and all of us,

All the time.

The first thing we will do is activate our parasympathetic nervous system,

Specifically the vagus nerve,

This sends a message between the brain and the body that we are safe,

And it is ok to relax,

And we can drop out of the head,

Out of the worrying,

Stressful,

Planning,

Obsessive thoughts,

And into the body,

The body being your anchor to this world and your anchor to the present moment.

The body that is free from the stories of the mind,

Free to simply be in this moment.

I will demonstrate now the breathing technique that I would like you to carry out,

And then we will go through it together.

You will inhale for 4 seconds through your nose,

You will pause at the top for 1 second,

And then you will exhale through your mouth,

Very slowly,

Until you are completely empty of air,

You may even need to engage your abdominal muscles to really squeeze out the last of the air.

A bonus here is to gently hum on the exhale,

It is not essential,

However,

It will greatly improve the effectiveness of this technique as it gently massages the vagus nerve and increases the strength of the rest and digest response.

I'll demonstrate now,

And then we'll go through it together.

Inhale for 4.

Hold.

You can hear at the end there I was even straining to push out the air,

That is how far out I'd like you to exhale.

Now of course we all have a different lung capacity so my full exhale will be different to the duration of your full exhale,

For that reason I will prompt your first inhale and your first exhale and after that point you will be free to breathe in and fully out at your own pace.

I will continue speaking and guiding you,

So please settle into a pattern that is comfortable and in which you are fully exhaling with each breath.

Please be comfortable,

With a straight spine,

Your eyes closed,

And we will begin with our first inhale,

4 seconds in,

And a pause,

And fully exhale with a hum,

And you just breathe at your own pace when you have completed your exhale,

Take another long,

Slow 4 second inhale,

Filling the body with air,

And after your pause at the top,

Letting it go through the mouth with a long,

Drawn out,

Relaxing exhale,

Including that hum to activate your parasympathetic nervous system,

Inviting your body to relax.

Continue with this cycle,

4 seconds in,

Pause at the top,

And a long,

Slow exhale,

With or without your hum,

Inviting your mind to quiet,

Become intimately familiar with the sensations of breathing,

Feeling the air a little bit warmer on the way out and a little bit cooler on the way in,

Perhaps your belly or your chest expanding and contracting with each breath,

What is the sensation,

What is the experience of breathing in this moment?

You are doing perfectly,

Just keep it up,

Gently in and fully out,

Acknowledging and releasing the challenging emotions and the challenging thoughts,

And with each cycle of this soothing,

Relaxing breath,

Notice as you feel safe,

Calm,

Relaxed,

Notice your mind quieting,

Notice the grip the thoughts have on you loosening,

Notice your body receiving you in this present moment,

As you continue to breathe in for 4 seconds,

With a pause at the top,

And a long,

Slow exhale,

Out,

Using your abdominal muscles to really squeeze out the last of the air,

And go through one more cycle now,

Wherever you are,

Complete the cycle that you are on,

So this is your last 4 second inhale,

Your last pause at the top and your last long,

Slow exhale,

And when you have completed your final cycle of breathing,

You may return to your regular breathing pattern,

And just spend that moment,

Settling into the body,

Notice how you feel now compared with when you began this meditation,

And if you notice thoughts attempting to creep back in now that you have loosened your focus on the breath,

Well I encourage you to continue placing awareness on the breath,

Even though it's a little gentler now,

You have just proven to yourself that it is possible to detach from a loud and busy mind,

It is possible to detach from painful emotions,

You may use the breath anytime you like,

And so now I invite you to acknowledge if or when you become distracted by thought or emotion,

And choose to make a conscious decision to resume noticing,

Witnessing the sensations associated with breathing,

This can be your safe haven,

This anchor to sanctuary and the present moment.

I hope this has been helpful,

I encourage you to use this meditation as an ally,

As a tool anytime you feel distressed,

You may find it beneficial to listen to one of my body scan meditations next if you wish to deepen the practice and extend this moment of peace and clarity,

And if not then I thank you so much for trusting me to guide you today,

And I want you to know that I love you and I have absolute faith in your ability to navigate these challenging moments,

To grow,

To unfold,

To heal,

And if at any moment you feel overwhelmed again,

I will be right here ready and honored to serve you again.

In your own time,

With no rush,

I invite you to very gently bring some movement into the body and when it feels comfortable to open your eyes.

Thanks again,

Have a wonderful day.

Reviews

My takeaway: Detach from thoughts and feelings by anchoring to breath. I modified to Ujjayi ocean breath to be a bit low profile. Earlier today I was angry but am doing this to eind down in evening. I will now save to my go-to quick reset. Not only is it a straightforward practice but also has some kind encouragement and a voice I enjoy listening to 🦜 Thanks [KEY: 5=Insightful, 4=Interesting, 3=Okay, 2=Not For Me, 1=Irritating]