You you Take a moment to settle in Take a deep breath right down into your belly hold it for a heartbeat or two and let it go Take a few more deep cleansing breaths Close your eyes if that feels okay for you Check in with your body,
Are you sitting comfortably?
If you're lying down are you warm enough?
Take a few moments to get yourself cozy and comfy,
That's not always easy in hospital but do your best This is an hour-long guided meditation to keep you company while you have your infusion We have lots of time together and I don't mind if you fall asleep,
In fact I actively encourage it I will guide you through some relaxation and breathing and I will leave spaces for you to drift with the music I will also suggest various practices like gratitude practice which you can do or not,
Whatever works for you Sometimes it can be really hard to feel grateful in this situation and there's nothing wrong with it,
Just be where you are today,
There's no judgment here While it's important to keep a positive mental attitude where possible,
There can be pressure on us to be brave,
Strong,
Inspirational and uncomplaining and so on Sometimes that pressure is internal rather than from others If a 100% positive attitude is your jam then I salute you but if you're struggling,
Feeling grumpy,
Ripped off,
Sad,
Angry,
Probably a combination of many feelings I'm not here to try and drag you away from your feelings,
I want you to feel them Talking can help but it might be good to find someone who has been there or is trained to help cancer patients It's a lot for non-cancer people to deal with and they don't always say the right things Journaling can help,
Getting it all out on paper can help to shift stuck energy A good old fashioned cry helps,
It releases stress hormones and is highly recommended However you process all of this,
It's important that you do process it,
Don't shove feelings aside and pretend that all is well I have been where you are now and I want to tell you,
You are not alone,
I'm here with you Chemotherapy can be really scary but if you can,
Try and focus on this therapy aspect of it It is medicine and it is intended to make you better Everyone around you right now wants the best for you and they are using the best tools they have available to them Let's spend some time relaxing the body and mind I will guide you through a progressive relaxation where you will bring your attention to the body area I mention and actively relax it You can do this by gently tensing or moving the area and then allowing it to relax or just by breathing into that area and feeling the muscles let go Whatever works for you Take your attention to the top of your head,
This can be a difficult area to isolate muscles for so just be aware of the crown of your head and then move your attention to your forehead If you feel comfortable doing it and it's totally fine if you don't,
You can raise your eyebrows and bring them together in a frown Then relax,
Repeat this a couple more times,
Raise your eyebrows,
Bring them together Then relax,
Raise your eyebrows,
Bring them together,
Relax Close your eyes if you haven't already and again only if you're comfortable doing this,
Scrunch them tight and then relax Keeping your eyes closed,
Take a moment to look with your eyes closed,
Do you see any colors or patterns?
It doesn't matter either way so don't worry if you don't see anything Try and feel your eyelids against your eyeballs and in the place where they meet together,
Breathe Move your attention to your nose and try and feel the air moving in and out of your nostrils Does it feel cooler on the way in and warmer on the way out?
What can you smell?
Probably lots of antiseptic hospital smells but just try to notice those and not attach any feeling to them How is your jaw?
Is it clenched?
Gently clench your jaw and relax,
Clench and relax If it's very tense you could move it around a little or massage the sides of your face below and just in front of your ears,
The top of your jaw If you don't feel comfy doing that it's all good but also remember that getting chemo is a pretty weird experience for everybody and you're allowed to do the things that make you feel better Focus on your lips,
If they are closed then feel them press together,
If your mouth is open and you're breathing through it,
Feel the air move over your lips Take your attention to your neck and if you want to take some gentle neck rolls or do self massage on your neck and shoulders to try and remove some tension Even just a few moments of massage can help to relax us Slowly raise and lower your shoulders and take a few slow shoulder rolls Inhale on the way forward and up,
Exhale on the way back and down Reverse these,
Inhaling as you roll back and up and exhaling as you roll forward and down You can come back and do some neck and shoulder love anytime,
It's the area where we carry a lot of tension so by consciously relaxing those areas we are telling ourselves that we are safe and being cared for We are going to skip the arms as you've probably got an IV in and it can be a bit hard to try and clench and relax the area However if your arm is cold where the fluid is going in you can ask for a heated towel or something to keep you nice and warm The chemo liquid is refrigerated which is why it feels cold so you might need something to help you stay warm A wheat bag or hot water bottle can be good but make sure it's not too hot that it burns your skin Moving now to the torso,
Tune into your breathing You don't have to change your breath although slow deep belly breaths are always good but notice how your breath moves your body We are going to spend a few moments listening to the music and feeling the body move with the breath It can help to count 5 breaths and then 5 more 1,
2,
3,
4,
5 1,
2,
3,
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 99 99 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
