Hello,
My name is Zachary Phillips and today I'll be guiding you towards a feeling of safety,
Calm and peace.
I invite you to take a seat or lie down and just settle into the session.
Start by taking a slow calming breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
The mind takes cues from the body,
Calm body will lead to a calm mind,
So keep working on gently slowing down the breath,
Don't force it or worry about if you're doing it right,
Just continue to breathe a little bit slower and now slowly take a look around and just pick something to look at for a breath or two and just let whatever arises,
Arise.
If your mind wanders,
Just gently return your focus back to that object,
Take another slow calming breath in through the nose and out through the mouth and move your attention to another object and once again just look at it,
Notice the specific details,
The lines,
The shapes,
The colours,
Look at the object as if it was the first time you've ever seen it.
Keep breathing slowly and just maintain a state of calm curiosity and in this way you can choose to observe another object or keep your attention where it is and listen,
Keep breathing slowly,
Keep looking at your object and simply allow sound to wash over you,
Try not to grasp at any particular sound,
Just listen to the ambience of your surroundings and gently try to label all of the different components you hear,
Perhaps there are sounds of nature or wind or traffic or distant music or talking or water or the gentle hum of an appliance,
Just listen without judgment or grasping,
Just listen and continue to breathe slowly,
Perhaps there are some sensations in your body that are telling you that you are not calm,
If that's the case just remember that it's the mind's job to interpret cues from the environment in order to make decisions on how it should act,
On if it is safe or not,
Those cues can be external but also internal,
Shallow breathing,
A high heart rate,
Darting and erratic eyes and muscular tension all suggest to the mind that there may be danger that needs to be addressed,
This creates a feedback loop in which the mind activates systems in the body to prepare it for action but then the mind observes those preparations as a sign of danger,
But you,
The part of you at least that is listening to this can break that loop,
You can break it by taking slow calm breaths,
By focusing your vision onto one object and keeping it there,
By grounding yourself in the sounds that are arising,
And by gently relaxing any muscles that you notice are tense,
So let's take some slow calming breaths as we gently observe different parts of our body,
With the aim of noticing and gently releasing any tensions that we feel,
We do this without judgment or expectation,
If we notice tension and we can let it go that's good,
But we are not worried if we notice tension and it doesn't release,
We just observe it and keep breathing slowly and gently invite it to release when it is ready,
We then thank that part of our body for trying to keep us safe by bracing itself,
We tell it that it's safe and if it likes to it can let go,
So take another slow calm breath in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Keep your vision focused onto the object of your choice,
And your ears attuned to the sounds from the environment,
As we gently inquire and release the tension from our body,
Draw your attention towards your feet,
Take a slow calming breath and invite them to release,
Move your attention up to your legs,
Lower legs,
Upper legs,
If there's any tension just notice it and invite it to release,
Take another slow calm breath,
In through the nose,
Now through the mouth,
Just draw your attention to your groin and your seat,
And just notice any tension and allow it to release,
Moving your attention up to your belly and your lower back,
Just observing whatever is arising,
Just allowing any tension to release,
Keep breathing slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Draw your attention up to your chest and your upper back,
Once again just noting any points of tension,
Any restrictions,
Any feelings,
Just releasing anything that has arisen,
Now draw your attention into your shoulders and your neck,
Once again just noticing whatever is arising and allowing any tension to drop away,
Now draw your attention down into your arms,
Your hands,
If you notice any tension there,
Just gently encouraging it,
Inviting it to release,
And finally taking another slow calm breath,
In through the nose,
Now through the mouth,
Just drawing your attention to your face and your head,
Just noticing any sensations that are arising and inviting any tensions to release,
Well done,
Now I invite you to gently scan your entire body,
Notice any points of remaining tension and just offer those parts of your body the space to release,
Breathe into those spaces and offer those parts of your body thanks,
Thank them,
Thank them for bracing,
For protecting you,
For holding on,
For keeping you safe,
And tell that part of your body that you appreciate it and that if it wants it can release,
Take another slow calm breath,
In through the nose and out through the mouth and draw your attention back to the present moment,
Notice that here and now you are safe,
Notice that this moment is perfectly calm,
Notice that the sounds,
Sights and bodily sensations are all present,
But that despite that you are safe,
And remember that the mind takes cues from the environment,
Both internal and external,
And that you have the ability to influence your mind,
So continue to breathe slowly,
Continue to observe your object calmly,
Continue to listen deeply,
And continue to notice and release any tension in your body that arises,
So as we come to the end of the session I want to offer you a mantra to take into the day,
A set of four I am statements that you can use to remind yourself of the safety and calm of this session and more broadly of the moment that you are in,
I am safe,
I am calm,
I am present,
I am here now,
I am safe,
I am calm,
I am present,
I am here now,
I am safe,
I am calm,
I am present,
I am here now,
Well done,
I invite you to replay this track as many times as needed in a row until you feel safe,
Calm and ready to return to your day,
