Waters Of Life: A Journey To Release Stress & Anxiety

Welcome to this guided experience that is intended and designed to help release some stress and anxiety.

So to start out,

I'll invite you to find a way of sitting or even laying down that feels comfortable to you.

And we'll start by bringing some really gentle attention to your breath.

Just being aware as you breathe in that this is you inhaling.

And aware as you breathe out that this is you exhaling in this moment.

If you find that your mind is busy for whatever reason you can even think those phrases as you breathe.

This is me breathing in.

This is me breathing out.

And as we start to connect with the breath,

I'll invite you to see if you can slow the breathing down.

Like stretching out taffy.

And as we slow the breath down and bring even more awareness to it,

Seeing how much you can enjoy the sense of inflation as you breathe in.

And the sense of release as you breathe out.

And now I'll invite you to see if you can take the breath a little bit more deeply into your belly.

See if you can get it coming in just below the belly button and just behind it.

So often when we experience stress or anxiety our breath goes a little wonky.

Maybe we find that the breath gets a little bit stuck in the chest.

We breathe quickly and shallowly.

Or sometimes we stop breathing altogether and notice after a minute or a minute and a half that we haven't taken a breath for a while.

We start by bringing this gentle attention to the breath.

Maybe let's take a nice slow breath together,

Breathing in.

And release it with a sigh.

With that sigh you can come a little bit more into your body.

Allowing gravity to work and inviting anywhere in your body where you're experiencing tension or constriction to soften a little.

So the lower back can soften,

Maybe the hips soften,

The shoulders soften.

And if you find your mind starting to wander at any point you can always just bring it back to the simplicity of the breath.

This is me breathing in and expanding.

And this is me breathing out.

As we continue to allow the body to experience gravity and to soften.

We'll let that keep going and now I'll invite you to bring your attention back to the breath.

And follow the path that the breath takes as it enters your body through the nose or the mouth.

Then it hits the back of your throat and creates a little bit of coolness.

Then it makes its way down through the chest and the belly,

Inflating.

And then as you breathe out,

It comes back up and out the mouth.

As we bring this awareness to the path that the breath takes,

You can even imagine that as you breathe in,

The breath,

The oxygen is moving down your spine.

Just with a kind of gentle soothing energy.

And as you breathe out,

The breath takes with it any old spent energy.

Anything that's accumulated in your cells.

Stress,

Anxiety,

Heaviness you've been experiencing.

And you can just imagine that leaving the body as you breathe out.

And let's do one together.

Breathing in,

Feeling that breath and energy moving gently down the spine.

It inflates in the belly and then breathing out.

That breath carrying with it any of that stuck energy,

Stress and anxiety.

Now I'll invite you as you continue to breathe really gently,

To imagine that the breath is magically transporting you into a new space.

That the world around you starts to shift and transform until you find yourself sitting or laying down in a beautiful space in nature.

And as this space takes shape around you,

Notice how the air feels here.

Notice the colors,

The plants,

The quality of the air in this place.

And as perhaps trees begin to grow,

Taking shape around you,

You become aware that this place is just for you and it's very safe and very powerful.

When it feels right,

You can look around and see if there's a plant or an element of the landscape,

Maybe a rock,

A lake,

A mountain.

That feels interesting to you,

That maybe seems to be calling you.

You can allow yourself to wander over to that element of the landscape,

Simply to connect with it.

Feeling its texture,

Smelling it,

Maybe even tasting it.

And now as you continue to explore,

You hear a current of running water nearby.

And the way that this current runs and burbles feels like an invitation and so when you're ready you can accept that invitation and move towards the source of this sound of running water,

This current.

And as you approach you see that these waters are crystal clear and seem to shimmer with a gentle light,

A really gentle glow.

And as you get closer the waters seem to be inviting you into them.

So you stand at the banks of this river current.

You can feel the waters pulsing with energy.

When you're ready,

You can just take one foot and place it in the current.

And as you do,

You can feel the warmth,

The support,

The healing that these waters carry.

And you come to know that these waters have been flowing from the very beginning of time,

These waters of life.

So notice how these waters feel running over your foot.

And then again there's an invitation to come into even deeper relationship with this river.

And when it feels right you can step into the current.

And allow yourself to sit in this river,

It's the perfect height for you.

And notice how it feels to allow yourself to be supported by these waters,

As perhaps you give your full trust and your full weight to them.

Laying back in this current and allowing it to wash over you and through you.

Holding you aloft as these waters cleanse your body and cleanse your cells.

And anything that's been keeping you small,

Keeping you out of this present moment.

All of those worries or anxieties.

Washing away,

Washing out of your body and being transformed by these waters into something beautiful.

And as these old stories,

These energies wash away.

These waters carry a really gentle powerful reminder of who you are when you allow yourself to be fully present.

When you allow yourself to experience life in all of its beauty and complexity and depth and play.

And as the waters help you remember this you realize that they're carrying you on a gentle journey beneath trees that are arcing above you.

And perhaps you can hear the birds and as you allow yourself to be carried the animals around become gently curious.

And watch you with deep compassion and acceptance as you float by.

And soon the waters gently bring you back to the shore.

And your feet find the ground beneath the waters.

And as you stand,

You look down and you see that your feet are now glowing.

And you look down at your hands and they're also glowing almost pulsing with this beautiful light that is uniquely yours.

That's always there,

That's been there all along.

And as you emerge from the river,

This glow stays with you.

And as you breathe,

It breathes with you pulsing with a really beautiful energy.

And so,

With maybe a last look at the river and a breath or a bow of gratitude,

We'll return to the breath.

Being very aware as you breathe in that this is you breathing in.

And very aware as you breathe out that this is you breathing out in this moment.

With the awareness that any time stress or anxiety come in,

You can remember this river and remember the glow of your energy.

And simply by breathing,

Summon that pack up and allow that stress to simply dissipate and be carried away.

So let's take a nice slow breath together.

And release it.

Maybe take a moment to wiggle your fingers and your toes coming back to your space.

And again a nice slow breath.

And releasing.

Knowing you can come back to this exploration any time it feels useful.