Welcome,
Thank you for being here tonight and for adding this guided relaxation into your bedtime routine.
My name is Susan Guttridge,
I'm a Master Degree Counselor and EMDR Certified Therapist in the sunny Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.
In this practice,
We'll begin by guiding your body and mind toward rest with peaceful imagery.
I'll lead you into connection with a peaceful place,
A space of comfort and safety you can return to any time.
From within this place,
You'll be invited to notice qualities of self-leadership.
You may find that some qualities feel especially needed tonight,
And together we'll spend time gently nurturing them so they can support you as you drift off to sleep.
As you get comfortable in your bed,
Adjust your sheets just right and let your head relax onto your soft pillow.
Feel the weight of your body resting on the support of your mattress.
Shift slightly if you need to get even more comfortable,
To allow the tension to ease off your shoulders.
Take a slow deep breath in,
And exhale out.
With each breath,
Imagine your body settling a little more into comfort,
And let's begin.
Let's start by imagining your peaceful place.
If you could be anywhere in the world feeling completely peaceful and at ease,
Where would you picture yourself being?
This can be anywhere that feels right to you,
A real place,
Something you saw on a TV show,
Or just something you've imagined from a photograph.
Notice what you see in your peaceful place.
What colors,
What shapes,
The play of light and shadow.
Take in the sounds.
What do you hear in your peaceful place?
What do you feel when you're in your peaceful place?
In your peaceful place,
Do you imagine connecting with the ground beneath you,
The air on your skin,
The warmth or the coolness that surrounds you?
In your peaceful place,
Is there a familiar scent in the air?
Fresh grass,
Ocean breeze,
Flowers in bloom.
Allow yourself to settle even more deeply into this space,
Imagining your peaceful place around you.
Notice what shifts in your body as you picture being in your peaceful place.
Supported,
Steady,
At ease.
If it's okay,
Let yourself be fully held by this beautiful,
Peaceful place.
And if it's okay,
Let's add tapping back and forth,
Left and right.
You may cross your hands over your chest so that each hand is on the opposite arm,
Tapping back and forth.
One side,
Then the other.
Just tapping back and forth as you picture being in your peaceful place.
Imagine the comfort and calm of your peaceful place settling even more deeply into your body.
With each tap,
Your connection to this place grows stronger,
More vivid,
More steady.
Just letting your breath be there,
Slow and deep,
And then stopping,
Tapping,
Taking a nice breath in,
Then exhaling it out.
As you rest here in the comfort of your peaceful place,
Sometimes you might notice that even here other feelings or thoughts show up inside.
Perhaps a part of you that worries,
Scanning for what might go wrong tomorrow.
Perhaps an inner voice that sounds critical,
Pointing out mistakes or pushing you to do better.
These parts of self show up with good intentions.
The worry tries to protect you from danger.
The critic tries to keep you safe from making mistakes.
Even though their ways are challenging to be present with,
Beneath it all,
The intentions are good.
So for a moment,
Let's acknowledge these parts of you with kindness.
Perhaps whispering to them,
I see you.
I know you've worked hard today.
Thank you.
And then if it's okay,
Let's let them know they don't need to carry this work through the night.
For now they can rest.
You'll check in with them tomorrow.
And just imagining these parts of you softening back,
Finding a comfortable place to rest nearby while you stay here in the center of your peaceful place.
Notice how it feels when those thoughts or feelings soften back,
Like the volume inside begins to lower,
The air around you becomes quieter,
Lighter,
More spacious.
And then notice what starts to shift within you.
Take a moment to sense into your peaceful place around you once again,
Where you would be,
How it would feel,
Its colors,
Its sounds,
The way it holds you in calm and safety.
Let this beautiful place remind you that you are supported as you turn inward.
This is a steady,
Calmer energy,
One that doesn't need to push or pull.
You can simply be here,
Present.
And as you rest in this peaceful place in your mind's eye,
You may begin to notice certain qualities within you,
Qualities of self-leadership of your deeper self that can get drowned out when parts like worry or harsh critical thinking are present.
Sometimes these qualities of self-leadership feel too quiet or too hard to reach.
But here,
In your peaceful place,
With the noise settled and your body relaxed,
You can begin to feel into them again.
I'll list each of those qualities here with a brief description so you can remember and be reminded of how they show up for you.
These are the qualities of courage,
A strength that holds you steady,
Curiosity,
A gentle openness to whatever arises,
Confidence,
A grounded trust in yourself,
Calm,
That gentle ease that sometimes settles over you,
Clarity,
Like a clear sky after the rain,
Compassion,
A warmth that softens the heart,
Connectedness,
A sense of belonging within the world,
Creativity,
Playful sparks of imagination,
Presence,
Being fully here in this moment,
Patience,
The gift of unhurried time,
Persistence,
Steady energy that carries you forward,
Perspective,
The ability to see the bigger picture,
Playfulness,
A lighthearted joy.
These qualities all exist within you.
They always have.
Some may feel close,
While others a little further away tonight,
And that's okay.
I'm going to list them one more time,
And like a menu of possibilities before you,
I think it wants to grow in you tonight.
Maybe one rises clearly.
Maybe two or three feel important.
Whatever shows up is right.
So listing those qualities for you one more time.
Courage,
Curiosity,
Confidence,
Calm,
Clarity,
Compassion,
Connectedness,
Creativity,
Presence,
Patience,
Persistence,
Perspective,
Playfulness.
When you've chosen,
You might even whisper that word softly to yourself or repeat it within your mind.
Bring your awareness to that quality.
Notice where you feel it in your body,
Perhaps as a warmth,
A spark,
A sense of lightness or steady strength,
And with each breath,
Breathe into it,
Allowing that quality to expand,
Filling more of your body,
Expanding into every cell of your being,
Glowing in your awareness.
And now as this quality or these qualities,
If you chose more than one,
Continue to glow within you.
Take a moment to return your awareness to your peaceful place,
Reminding yourself of what would be around you,
What you would see and feel and hear,
The way this peaceful place holds you in calm and safety,
And repeating those qualities to yourself,
The ones or the one that resonated the most,
Just repeating it to yourself and tapping back and forth with your arms perhaps crossed over your chest,
Tapping right and left,
Then right,
Then left.
Just slow,
Light,
Rhythmic taps as you connect with your peaceful place and as you settle even more deeply into the qualities you chose.
With each tap,
Allow the glow of the qualities to spread further throughout your body,
Your mind,
And your peaceful place.
And stopping,
Tapping,
Letting your hands rest down by your sides.
From this calm,
Peaceful place,
Allow your attention to drift back toward the parts of yourself that stepped back earlier,
Perhaps that worry or the critic or any other bits that softened back tonight.
Offer them a quiet thank you for the space they gave.
Just acknowledging the qualities you've nurtured.
Know that these qualities live within you.
They are always there.
They always have been.
Steady and supportive.
And now with your peaceful place surrounding you,
These beautiful qualities of self-leadership shimmering within,
You can drift even more deeply into rest.
Deep breath in.
Slow,
Easy breath out when it feels right.
Allowing your body to sink even deeper into your mattress.
Just relaxed.
Your thoughts quiet.
Your self-leadership qualities anchored.
You are safe.
You are held.
And you can rest now.
As tonight turns into tomorrow,
Take with you the soothing strength of these qualities glowing within.
Thank you for being here.
Good night.
