Hello,
My name is Sam and welcome to this guided meditation for confidence.
Let's start by finding a comfortable position in which you can sit or lie and find a place where you won't be disturbed.
Allow the body to soften and ease out any tension or stiffness in your neck,
Shoulders,
Your back and your hips.
Sometimes a big stretch can be just the remedy to get into a more relaxed state.
So take a big breath in,
Stretch your limbs if it feels good.
Then as you exhale,
Let your breath and your body go all at once.
You're feeling good,
You're feeling relaxed and open.
Bring a gentle awareness to your breath and just take a moment or two to notice the quality of your breathing.
There's no need to change anything at this stage,
Just observe.
Think about where the breath goes,
How it feels and any noise it makes.
Feel your body relaxing more and more with each breath.
In this session,
We're going to practice a breathing technique that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which is part of the nervous system that relaxes the body by decreasing the heart rate and slowing down the breathing.
Stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system also increases self-esteem.
The breathing technique is very simple.
As you breathe in,
Count to four silently in your mind.
And then make the out-breath last four counts too.
So you breathe in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four and then breathe out for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Try it now and feel free to count at whatever pace feels like the best rhythm for your body.
Likewise,
If four counts seems like too many or too few,
Then just increase to six or reduce to three.
As long as you're breathing in and out for the same number of counts,
It's fine.
Continue to breathe and count in this way.
Focus solely on the breath.
If any other random thoughts appear,
Gently guide your thinking back to the breathing exercise.
For one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And out for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Now,
Allow your breath to return to its own natural rhythm and you can stop counting.
Take a moment to notice the quality of your breath now.
Has it changed?
In your mind's eye,
Visualize someone who is very confident who you respect and admire.
What is it about their physical posture that tells you they are confident?
How do they stand?
How do they hold their head?
How do they look at you or at others?
Can you pinpoint all the different aspects that make them seem confident?
How about the way they speak or walk?
Start to catalog the ideas into a mental list.
Now,
Picture yourself in your mind and start to see yourself with these same attributes.
How are you standing?
How are you holding your head?
How would you walk?
How do you speak?
See yourself clearly in your mind's eye,
Interacting with others in a confident way.
How does it feel?
What's one situation that you would like more confidence in?
See yourself in your mind participating in that situation in a confident way.
Play it out in your head like a movie and have it go exactly how you would like it to.
How does it feel to see yourself acting this way?
Try to hold on to that feeling.
Maybe identify one physical trigger or action that can be your way into feeling more confident,
Even if it's just a little bit.
It could be a lift of the chin,
A rolling back of the shoulders,
Or a lifting of the chest.
Sometimes a very small physical adjustment can have a massive impact on your output.
Once you've identified your trigger or action,
Remember it.
And after this session,
Try playing around with it to see how different you feel physically.
You could even try it in front of a mirror and watch how your presence changes.
Remember that millions of people feel a lack of confidence sometimes,
And it's OK to have self-doubt.
Using this technique will help you to spend less time in a place of fear and doubt and will start to peel away the layers to unleash a more confident you.
I hope you enjoy this meditation and I wish you all the best.
