Hi,
Thank you for joining me today.
In this practice,
I'll be sharing an EMDR-informed guided visualization designed to help you release stress by developing a peaceful place resource supported by gentle bilateral stimulation.
My name is Susan Guttridge,
I'm a Master Level Counselor and Certified EMDR Practitioner,
And I'm really glad you're here.
For the bilateral stimulation,
At certain points in the practice,
You'll hear an audio tone that alternates from one side to the other,
Which is more immersive if you listen with headphones or earbuds.
No worries though if you don't have a set on hand,
You can also just tap,
Alternating back and forth.
To do that,
Simply cross your arms so that each hand rests on the opposite shoulder,
And then slowly tap right,
Left,
Right,
Left,
In an easy rhythm at a pace that feels right for you.
When you hear the music become louder,
That will be your cue to start tapping back and forth,
And when the music quiets down,
That's the cue to stop tapping.
Bilateral stimulation isn't for everyone,
So if the sound feels distracting or uncomfortable at any point,
Simply remove your earbuds and follow along with the tapping instead.
You are always in charge of your experience here.
All right,
Let's begin.
I hope you're in a quiet place where you can sit or lie down and where you won't have any disturbances for a bit of time.
If it's okay,
Let your eyes drift closed or let your gaze just soften down.
Notice any sensations present in your body,
Any places of comfort in the connection of where you're sitting or laying down.
And taking a breath in,
Say to yourself,
I'm breathing in.
And as you breathe out,
Say to yourself,
I am breathing out.
Breathing in,
I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
Breathing in,
I am breathing in.
Slightly longer,
Exhale out,
I am breathing out.
Our imagination can sometimes get pulled into worry,
Fueling it further.
But it can also be a powerful way to create a sense of calm and safety.
Today,
We're using your imagination in a supportive way to help your body connect with a sense of calm.
So using your best imagination,
Picture yourself in a peaceful,
Relaxing place.
It could be a real place,
Maybe somewhere you've been before or hope to go one day.
Or it can be imaginary,
Maybe a place you've heard about in a book or a movie or game.
Take a moment and let an image of that peaceful place form in your mind's eye.
Whatever image you connect with,
Notice that it feels peaceful,
Calming,
Serene.
It's a place where when you think of it,
You feel at ease,
Secure.
When you picture this peaceful place,
You can imagine it being somewhere where you can be still or quiet or reflective.
With this peaceful place in your mind's eye,
Let yourself explore it and experience it as though you're there right now.
We can strengthen the imagery by drawing in as much sensory detail as possible.
So picturing yourself in your peaceful place,
What would you see around you?
And what would you hear?
And as you picture yourself there,
What might you find yourself smelling?
Would you be sitting or standing or perhaps walking around?
As you picture yourself there now,
Allow yourself to absorb the feelings of peacefulness,
Feeling secure,
Feeling at ease.
And as you hold that image and that sense of peacefulness in your mind's eye,
Allow the feelings of relaxation within you to increase.
And taking a big breath in and letting it all go.
Just noticing how it feels peaceful in your body as you picture yourself in your peaceful place.
Holding that beautiful image in your mind's eye and taking a big breath in and letting it all go.
Just noticing any sensations there in your body,
Anything shifting,
Releasing,
Even by just a few percentages.
Connecting with that image of you in your peaceful place.
Noticing how secure and at ease you feel there.
And taking a big breath in and letting it all go.
I invite you to give your peaceful place image a keyword.
A word that when you say it to yourself,
It helps you remember this place and how peaceful you feel in it.
Take a moment now to think of a word that fits for you.
And saying that word to yourself,
Picturing yourself in your peaceful place.
Feeling at ease,
Feeling calm,
Peaceful.
And taking a nice deep breath in and letting it all go.
Now that you have this beautiful peaceful place image created in your mind's eye,
It's yours.
You can return to it whenever you need to connect with calm,
Peacefulness,
Serenity.
You can draw upon it to help quiet your thoughts at night to fall asleep.
Or perhaps on a tough day,
To remind yourself that by imagining your peaceful place,
Your body and thoughts can relax so you can be more present and grounded in the moment.
We all deserve an image that can do that for us.
Taking another big breath in.
And a slightly longer exhale out.
Thank you for listening today and for giving yourself a moment to connect with calm.
Be well today.
