Want to stop stress eating? Relaxation Meditation Inside.
We're navigating an intense time in the world right now...
And If you come upon this at a much later time, you might be navigating an intense situation in your life in the present moment.
Have you been feeling tense, tight, and jittery lately? Do you feel this way at random moments in the day? Maybe nothing is actually happening in your immediate environment. Perhaps these sensations and emotions are being sparked by what you're thinking, by memories you're reflecting on, by projecting yourself into the past or the future.
To shift our body into a relaxation response means we need to come into the present moment to experience that right here and right now in this moment we are safe. The benefit of this is that we guide our body out of fight or flight response where we can be mentally clear to make the optimal decisions for what is going to feel most satiating to our body, mind, and spirit physically and emotionally.
I'm going to guide you through a relaxation meditation that you can utilize whenever you need to remind yourself that you're safe. (Highly recommend listening to the meditation here.)
Find a comfortable position sitting or lying down. If sitting, you can place your hands on your thighs and if lying down you can place them on top of your belly or lying next to you with your palms facing up. Close your eyes or have a soft gaze at the floor in front of you or on the ceiling above you. Begin to bring your attention to your breath. Breath in for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Again breathe in for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. One more time breathing in for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
I want you to remember a moment where you felt safe. This may be a really small moment like right when you wake up in the morning before full consciousness comes online. This might be only when you're eating. Whatever the moment is that comes to mind no judgment. You get to own this is your safe moment. If it is a specific memory from your past, how old were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? What conversations were you having? What were you eating? If nothing comes to mind, you can also step into your imagination and create your ideal safe moment.
Notice how you feel in your body. Observe what sensations are present remembering this moment. Where do these sensations live in your body? Do you notice deeper breathing? Is there tingling or softness or a sense of ease anywhere in your limbs or your chest or your belly? Now bring these sensations into the present. This sense of safety and relaxation can be experienced right where you are. Observe the sounds and smells in this moment. Describe the seat or floor underneath you. This present moment and the sense of safety you just recalled can coexist together.
Take 3 deep belly breaths in this space. When you’re ready, open your eyes. If you have a moment, write down what you discovered from this experience. You can return to this experience and what you wrote again and again to recall the embodied memory of what it feels like to sense safety in your body just as it is right now. You can shift your body into a relaxation response whenever you need to.