Hello,
My name is Sam and welcome to this anchoring meditation.
Anchoring is an effective way to train your body to quickly relax by making an association in your brain between a state of relaxation and touching a specific spot on your hand or wrist.
This meditation guides you to relax your body using progressive muscle relaxation,
Passive progressive relaxation and stretching.
Then we associate the relaxed state with a physical location on your hand so that relaxation can be quickly elicited in the future.
In this relaxation I'll describe using your right thumb as an anchor spot.
Let's first begin by relaxing the body.
So maybe take a stretch and release your muscles.
Take your arms over your head,
Take a breath in and lower your arms to your sides as you exhale.
Let's try that again,
Raise your arms and stretch as you breathe in.
Relax and lower the arms as you breathe out.
Now whether you're lying or sitting just relax your shoulders back and down away from your ears and let the tension drain away.
Allow the muscles of your face to soften,
Slackening the jaw,
Softening around the mouth and relaxing the tongue in the base of the mouth.
Let your legs become limp,
Loose and relaxed and let your arms relax too.
Just take a moment to notice how your body feels.
Start to feel the gentle relaxation flowing through your body and notice that you can become even more relaxed.
Wiggle your toes once or twice and then allow them to become still.
Now that you're relaxed we're going to think about anchoring.
So choose a part of the body that you want to relax.
Let your hands relax and let them relax.
We're going to think about anchoring.
So choose a part of the body that you would like to associate with this action.
In this meditation I shall refer to it as the right thumb.
Once you have an association made you'll be able to trigger this relaxation quickly in the future simply by squeezing your right thumb.
The key to success is to practice this script several times to firmly ingrain the association in your brain.
After a few sessions you will notice that the first time you squeeze your right thumb you will become relaxed.
When this occurs you will know that the anchoring process has been successful and you can then relax immediately just by squeezing your right thumb anytime,
Anywhere.
Choose an anchor word as well.
I'll use relax as the example here but you can choose any word you like.
Let's bring our awareness back down to our feet and just notice how relaxed they feel.
Let this softness continue up to the ankles and feel how loose your ankles become.
Allow the muscles of the lower legs to give up their holds.
Feel the relaxation coming into the lower legs.
You'll start to feel calmer,
More heavy.
Let the softness continue up towards the knees,
Then your upper legs.
You feel your thighs and your legs relaxing and letting go.
Your legs feel very heavy,
Very heavy and very relaxed.
Enjoy the feeling of relaxation as it continues up towards the knees,
Then your upper legs.
You feel your legs relaxing.
Your legs feel very heavy,
Very heavy and very relaxed.
Feel the relaxation flowing.
Allow your buttocks to relax,
Your pelvic area,
Now your abdomen.
Feel the muscles becoming loose and relaxed,
Letting go of all the tension,
Just really relaxed and heavy.
Allow your lower back to soften.
Feel the relaxation there as the muscles in your lower back give up their holds,
Leaving nothing but relaxation,
Calm and peace.
Let the muscles continue to flow throughout your entire body,
Spreading out to the muscles of your sides.
You can feel your sides,
Abdomen and chest gently moving in and out with each breath,
Each out breath making you even more relaxed.
Let the relaxation continue to flow throughout your entire body,
Spreading out to the muscles of your sides,
Abdomen and chest,
Letting go.
Allow the muscles of your sides to let go and feel the relaxation filling your core,
Relaxing your chest,
Your stomach,
Your middle back and your upper back.
The sense of relaxation continues to increase,
Pleasantly more and more relaxed,
Deeper and deeper.
The shoulders melting,
Your upper arms,
Your elbows,
The arms getting heavier and heavier,
The shoulders melting,
Your upper arms,
Your elbows,
The arms getting heavier and heavier.
Let this relaxation flow down into your lower arms,
Your wrists and your hands.
The relaxation continues now up into the throat,
To the neck,
Into your head,
Face,
Your chin,
Your jaw.
Feel your cheeks relaxing,
Becoming completely loose and relaxed.
Feel your lips soften,
Feel your nose relaxing,
Let your eyes release,
Let your eyes open,
Let your eyes open,
Let your eyes open,
Feel your nose relaxing,
Let your eyes release and feel your eyelids really heavy and relaxed.
Your forehead becomes smooth and there is no sign of any worry,
Tension or stress in your expression.
Your whole body is now fully relaxed.
Enjoy this feeling you are experiencing.
Now use your left thumb and two fingers to gently squeeze your right thumb while at the same time saying silently,
Relax,
Anchoring the feeling of relaxation to this spot.
Experience the feeling of deep relaxation,
Feeling the feeling of deep relaxation,
Notice your breathing,
How calm and regular it is.
Take a moment to observe your breathing without changing it in any way.
As you breathe in,
Say in your mind,
I am relaxed.
Let your eyes release,
Let your eyes release and feel your lips soften,
Let your eyes release and without mentally say,
I am calm.
I am relaxed.
I am calm.
I am relaxed.
I am calm.
Now squeeze your right thumb while mentally saying,
Relax.
Let the anchoring occur as this spot becomes associated with the peaceful relaxed state that you are in.
Each time you squeeze your right thumb,
Feel the relaxation deepen and remember to say to yourself,
Relax.
Memorize this feeling of relaxation.
Notice how your body feels,
How calm you are.
It creates a picture in your mind of this state of relaxation.
With this image in mind,
Gently squeeze your right thumb one more time while saying to yourself,
Relax.
Feel the relaxation deepen.
This point is an anchor to remind you of the relaxation you are feeling right now.
In the future,
When you squeeze your right thumb,
The feelings and memories of how relaxed you are right now will fill your mind and your body will automatically relax.
You are as relaxed as you want to be.
Warm,
Safe,
Comfortable.
Take a few minutes to enjoy this quiet relaxation.
Now it's time to start to become aware of your surroundings and return to your usual level of alertness.
Keep your eyes closed for a few moments while your body reawakens.
You can use anchoring at any time to cue your body to relax.
Remember the pleasant,
Peaceful state of relaxation and know that your anchor can remind you of the relaxation that you experienced.
Count up from one to five with me,
Becoming more alert with each number until at five,
You're fully awake and alert.
One,
Becoming more awake,
More alert,
Energetic.
Two,
Feeling calm,
Awakening even more.
Three,
Almost totally awake now,
Ready to resume with your day.
Four,
Eyes open,
Stretch the muscles and become completely awake.
Five,
Fully alert,
Rested and ready to go.
I hope you enjoyed this meditation at anchoring and I wish you all the best.
