Hello and welcome.
Fight or flight is your body's natural stress response.
When it remains switched on for too long,
It can leave you feeling tense,
Anxious,
And overwhelmed.
In this meditation,
We'll gently encourage your nervous system to step out of survival mode and return to a state of calm.
Let's begin.
Take a moment to settle into a comfortable position.
Allow your hands to rest naturally.
And if it feels comfortable,
Gently close your eyes.
There is nowhere you need to be right now,
Nothing you need to solve,
Nothing you need to figure out.
For the next few minutes,
Simply allow yourself to pause.
Take a slow gentle breath in through your nose and a long easy breath out through your mouth.
Again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
One more time,
A slow breath in.
And a soft breath out.
Allow your breathing to return to its natural rhythm.
No need to control it.
No need to force anything.
Just notice the breath as it moves in and out of the body.
Now begin to notice the support beneath you.
The chair supporting your weight.
The bed beneath you.
The floor beneath your feet.
Take a moment to really feel that support.
You do not need to hold yourself up.
You do not need to carry everything right now.
For these next few minutes you can allow yourself to be supported.
Notice your forehead.
Can you soften it just a little?
Notice your jaw,
Allow it to unclench.
Notice your shoulders,
See if they can drop a fraction lower.
Notice your hands.
Allow them to relax.
And notice your stomach.
See if you can soften the muscles there.
As your body softens,
Your nervous system begins to receive an important message.
A message that says there is no immediate danger.
You are safe in this moment.
You are here.
You are okay.
Take another slow breath in.
And as you breathe out,
Imagine releasing a little tension.
Not all of it,
Just a little.
And then another breath.
Releasing a little more.
Allowing the body to begin letting go.
Imagine now that your nervous system has a volume control.
Perhaps you can picture a dial.
Notice where it feels set right now.
And without forcing anything,
Imagine gently turning that dial down.
From high alert to calm awareness.
From tension to ease.
From survival to death.
To safety.
With every breath turning it down a little further.
Allowing your body to remember that it does not need to stay on guard.
Now bring your attention to the points where your body connects with the surface beneath you.
Feel the weight of your body.
Feel gravity holding you.
Feel the Earth supporting you.
Notice that in this moment you are not floating through uncertainty.
You are here,
Supported.
Grounded.
Safe.
Take a slow breath in.
And as you breathe out,
Silently say to yourself,
I am safe.
Again,
Breathing in and breathing out,
I am safe.
One more time.
I am safe.
Allow those words to settle gently into the body.
Not something you need to convince yourself of.
Simply an invitation.
A reminder.
A possibility.
Now begin to imagine a warm wave of calm moving through your body.
Starting at the top of your head,
Flowing down across your forehead.
Around your eyes.
Through your jaw and neck.
Relaxing every muscle it touches.
Blowing through your shoulders.
Down your arms.
Into your hands,
A wave of ease,
A wave of softness,
A wave of safety.
Now moving through your chest.
Allowing your breathing to become a little slower.
A little deeper.
A little easier.
Flowing through your abdomen.
Releasing any tension you may have been carrying there.
And then down through your hips.
Your legs.
Your calves.
Your feet.
Until your entire body is resting in this gentle wave of calm.
For the next few moments,
Simply rest here.
Nothing to do,
Nothing to achieve.
Nothing to change,
Just breathing.
Just being.
Allow yourself to enjoy this feeling,
This space,
This pause.
Notice how different your body feels when it is not preparing for the next problem.
Notice how different your mind feels when it is not scanning for danger.
This calm is not something you have created.
It is something that has always been available beneath the stress.
And every time you return to this practice,
You strengthen your ability to access it.
Take a deeper breath now.
And slowly let it go.
Notice the calm that is present.
Notice the steadiness.
Notice the sense of space that may have opened within you.
And know that you can return to this feeling whenever you need it.
Your body knows how to relax.
Your nervous system knows how to settle.
Sometimes it simply needs a reminder.
Take one final slow breath in.
And a long gentle breath out.
And when you are ready,
Begin bringing awareness back to the room around you.
Wiggling your fingers.
Wiggling your toes.
And gently opening your eyes.
Carrying this sense of calm with you into the rest of your day.
Thank you for practicing with me.
