Meditation To Reduce Stress

This short guided meditation uses breathing techniques and a snow globe visualisation to help reduce stress. If you're feeling any kind of negative emotions, this meditation can help you overcome those and feel better. You can use this technique any time you feel anxious, panicky, or fearful. Deep belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for regulating heartbeat, blood flow, and breathing.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Sam and welcome to this meditation to help you deal with stress. With all the worries we face in our modern world, It's easy to feel overwhelmed, Panicky or stressed out. These emotions are very harmful to our bodies, So it's important that we find ways to release them or at least diminish them significantly. In this session today, We're going to do just that using deep breathing techniques and visualisations. It's really simple to do and you don't need any prior experience. It's completely safe and will leave you feeling much better at the end. So let's begin. Find a quiet place where you can relax undisturbed for a little while. Feel free to sit or lie, Whichever feels best for you today. When comfortable, Take a big deep breath in through your nose and sigh the breath out through the mouth. Feel a sense of relief as you exhale and relax your jaw as you do this. Then take another deep breath in and sigh that one away too. You can feel your body begin to relax and maybe notice a gentle downward pressure as it lets go and surrenders to gravity. Notice how the surface you're on supports you completely. You can relax into that support. Take another deep breath in and sigh this one away too. You can vocalise the out breath if you wish. It feels very soothing for the heart when we sigh audibly. If your eyes are starting to feel a bit heavy, It's fine to close them. Take a moment to notice how good it feels to be still. When we're stressed or fearful, The body contracts and tightens. See if you can identify any places on your body where you feel tension. Perhaps you feel this in the shoulders. So roll them back and down away from the ears. Just let them go. Release any holes you can feel in your legs, Your knees or maybe in your fingers and thumbs. It's okay to just let go. Soften around your eyes and feel your brow smoothing out as the tension falls away, Draining out of your body and into the ground. Let your tongue rest in the bottom of the mouth. Your teeth may fall apart a little. Feel your breathing steady and calm, The body moving at its own natural rhythm. You might find it slows down the more you relax. Soften your belly now. Release it completely. This will allow more oxygen rich breath to reach the deeper corners of your lungs. You might like to try expanding the belly as you breathe in and then observe it softening down with the exhale. This type of deep belly breathing triggers what is known as the relaxation response, Which reduces blood pressure, Lowers the heart rate and informs your body that it's safe and it's okay to be restful here. Take a few more deep, Slow breaths and feel yourself softening more and more with each one. As the body relaxes, Thoughts may start to appear in your mind. This is completely normal. It's just the human mind doing what it does. Try imagining that your mind is a snow globe and each thought is a snowflake whirling around in the snow globe. You can watch these thoughts swirling and floating around, But without giving any single one any more attention than just the light observance. Watch how each snowflake gradually gets lower and lower as they start to settle on the floor. With each passing minute, The snow globe becomes more and more tranquil. Eventually, All of the snowflakes will settle on the ground. If another thought appears in your mind, Transform it into a snowflake and watch how it gently flutters down towards the bottom. This is what it's like to be an observer of thoughts. They have no effect on you. You're just watching them drift on by. It's very calming to watch the snowflakes fall. Notice how serene this scene is now. It's so peaceful to look upon. Clear skies in the snow globe with a uniform blanket of snowflakes on the ground. Let's just stay here a while and enjoy this peace and quiet. An occasional snowflake may flutter down from the sky, But like all the others, It lands silently without creating any impact to the observer. Meanwhile, Your breathing is steady and constant. It gently soothes and nourishes your body. As you rest here, You might like to say to yourself, I am at peace. I am safe. I am at peace. I am safe. I am at peace. I am safe. Let's deepen the breath now as we prepare to reawaken the body. Feel the burst of energy that this fresh deep breath brings into the body, Expanding the lungs, The chest and the belly. Slowly get a sense of your body and the space around you. Gently move your hands, Your fingers, Wrists, Maybe wiggle your toes a little. Take your time and move gently. When it feels good, Take another delicious full breath in to prompt the body back to a more awakened state. Feel free to stretch if that's your instinct. Just do whatever feels good. And when the time feels right, Gently open your eyes and take a moment to adjust the light in the room. Slowly and carefully make your way back into your day. And remember that deep breathing and letting go of destructive thoughts can help immediately lessen any stress you're feeling. By physiologically reducing the amount of cortisol the body produces in reaction to it. Take five minutes during the day to give yourself some self-care and create this state of well-being. Have a great day. I wish you all the best.

Reviews

Many Very helpful ideas. Thank you.
I’ll be back.

Thanks 🙏🏻

I enjoyed this! The snow flake visual was very calming. Thank you 🙏🏻

Beautiful, thank you.

Wonderful