Just take a moment and make yourself comfortable.
If you tend to fall asleep during sessions such as this and want to ensure that you stay awake,
I would recommend sitting upright in a chair with your spine straight,
Feet planted firmly on the ground and your hands resting in your lap.
And now just allow your eyes to gently close.
And with your eyes closed,
I'd like you to just notice what's going on behind those closed eyelids.
Perhaps it's just a black velvet curtain,
Or perhaps you can see colors or shapes.
Only you know for sure what is going on behind those eyelids.
These are your sensations.
So just be aware of what's happening behind those closed eyelids while allowing your muscles to begin to relax.
And while your muscles begin to relax more and more deeply,
I'd like you to focus on your breath.
Just be aware of the breath as it moves in and moves out of the body.
And perhaps you can become aware of the temperature of the air as you breathe in through your nose.
Perhaps you've noticed that the air feels a little cooler on your nostrils as you're breathing in.
And as you breathe out,
The air is a little bit warmer.
And as you continue to breathe,
Just imagine that you are breathing in relaxation,
Peace and calm.
And as you breathe out,
Just imagine breathing out any stress or tension from your body and breathing in that relaxation,
Peace and calm.
Breathing out any stress or any tension from your body.
And as you listen to the calming hypnotic music,
Just allow yourself to relax deeper and deeper.
And in a moment,
I'm going to count down from 10 to 1.
And as I count down,
You'll find the lullaby sound of my voice takes you deeper and deeper still.
10,
Drifting,
The sound of my voice will keep you safe,
Going deeper and deeper.
9,
The only sensations you can experience now are pleasant sensations.
8,
Feeling so very,
Very calm now,
Very peaceful as you relax deeper and deeper.
7,
You can imagine a blanket of comfort wrapping around you.
6,
This blanket of comfort wraps around you from your head all the way down to your toes.
5,
The comforting sound of my voice takes you down to that next level of peace,
Of calm,
Of relaxation.
6,
Just allow yourself to drift deeper and deeper.
3,
Nice and relaxed,
Going deeper and deeper,
Soothing,
Comforting.
The only thing you'll be interested in now is the warm,
Comforting sound of my voice.
2,
Relaxing,
Simply imagine yourself drifting deeper and deeper,
Where the only sensations you can experience now are pleasant sensations.
Feel what it really feels like to feel so very calm,
So very relaxed.
1,
Very calm now,
All the way down to your deepest level of relaxation,
Breathing deeply,
Calmly,
Relaxing fully.
And I wonder what the benefits to you would be of changing this behavior,
This unconscious habit of touching your face.
Perhaps it would just be a healthier choice,
Or perhaps it's doing the right thing for yourself.
So just take a moment and think about those most important benefits to you of keeping your hands away from your face.
And perhaps you could develop an awareness of where your hands are.
You're aware right now of exactly where your hands are,
And know that you can have this same level of awareness all the time.
And you may find in the future,
Perhaps later today or tomorrow,
Or whenever you're ready,
That if either of your hands begins to unconsciously drift towards your face,
You immediately become aware and immediately choose to do something different.
Perhaps you'll move your hands down to your lap or put them in your pocket just for a moment,
But you know that you will immediately move your hands away from your face.
And perhaps to help with the awareness,
You may choose to use a scented hand soap or a scented hand sanitizer so that any time you move your hands towards your face,
The scent will immediately trigger a response,
A response of moving your hands back down to your lap or to your sides or to your pockets.
Or perhaps you might choose to create an invisible barrier,
A barrier that will prevent your hands from coming in contact with your face.
Perhaps you find that when you raise a hand to your face,
The barrier prevents it from coming in contact.
And perhaps instead you take in the wonder that is your hand marveling at the fact that no other person in the entire history of the world has the same fingerprints as you.
And as you marvel at this amazing tool right in front of you,
You find something interesting,
Something different for that hand to do.
And you find that each time you lower your hand away from your face without touching it,
You begin to feel better and better about having achieved your goal,
Feeling proud of your accomplishment,
Acknowledging with pride that you have easily made this change,
This change to what was once an unconscious behavior and turned it into a full awareness of where your hands are,
Rightly feeling proud of yourself for protecting yourself and staying healthy,
Safe and well.
Now I'd like you to imagine a little way into the future.
Perhaps it's later today,
Perhaps it's tomorrow,
Or perhaps it's another time altogether.
And I'd like you to imagine,
Just get a sense or a feeling that you begin to lift a hand towards your face and imagine or just get a sense that you can smell that scented soap or you can feel that invisible barrier when your hand stops short of your face and just imagine or get a sense of lowering your hand.
Where are you placing that hand?
Are you placing it on your lap?
Perhaps you put it in your pocket or perhaps you do something entirely different with it.
You get to choose what that something different is.
You've done such an amazing job of making this change.
And in a moment,
I'm going to count from one to five.
When I reach the number five,
But not before,
You open your eyes,
Feeling wonderful,
Feeling energized,
Feeling accomplished and bringing back with you these feelings of pride and having accomplished your goal,
Having changed this behavior,
Having changed this habit.
One,
All normal feeling for you is returning to your arms,
Your legs and your body.
Two,
Your mind is becoming clear and alert.
Three,
You're feeling energized,
Feeling wonderful in every way.
Four,
Take a nice deep breath now.
That's right.
And five,
Eyes wide open,
Feeling wonderful,
Feeling ready to face the rest of your day.
Welcome back.
