Surfing Stressful Moments: A Brief Guided Visualization

This episode offers a brief yet powerful guided visualization designed to help you manage stressful moments, combat urges towards old habit patterns, or simply to relieve situational anxiety. Through gentle breathing exercises and sensory awareness techniques, you'll learn to navigate these challenging moments just like a surfer rides a wave.

Begin by finding a comfortable spot. We'll guide you through 10 rounds of controlled breathing: inhaling for four counts, pausing for two, and exhaling for eight counts. As you breathe, you'll also engage your senses—seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling—to ground yourself in the present moment.

Imagine yourself in a serene place, feeling the earth beneath your feet and the warmth of the sun on your skin. This visualization will help you feel connected, grounded, and calm, allowing you to ride out stressful waves and transform overwhelming urges into moments of peace.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is a brief guided visualization designed to help you manage stressful moments,
urges towards old habit patterns, or just to relieve some situational anxiety.
This is a way of helping yourself if you feel triggered and with practice you'll

(00:23):
be able to ride out these moments just like a surfer navigating a wave.
Take a moment now, wherever you are, to find a comfortable spot.
Sit down in a chair or on a bed or anywhere where your back can be supported
and your head and neck can feel relaxed.

(00:48):
We'll begin with some gentle breathing exercises.
We're going to do 10 rounds of inhaling.
And exhaling.
This will be inhaling for four counts, pausing for two, and then exhaling for eight counts.

(01:11):
You can keep track of these rounds using your fingers.
When you're ready and comfortable, let us begin.
Breathing in for four counts.
Music.

(03:10):
Looking around you and just taking in what you can see.
Bringing your senses to the forefront without judgment, simply noticing your surroundings.
Music.

(03:31):
Take a moment to listen. What sounds do you hear in your environment?
Then focusing on your sense of touch, what do you feel, perhaps it's the fabric.

(03:51):
Of your clothing or the texture of the chair you're sitting on,
just noticing what it feels like.
Now invite your senses of taste and smell into your awareness.
Again, without judgment.

(04:14):
Just notice whatever you're perceiving.
Bringing all your senses together, noticing what you can see,
what you can feel, what you can hear, what you can taste, and what you can smell.

(04:47):
If you need to move your body slightly, your feet, ankles, legs,
shoulders, hands, arms, just take a moment to get even more comfortable.
You might choose to close your eyes now or simply soften your gaze.

(05:14):
And much like the wave of an ocean, any desire to act on an old habit patterned or an urge.
Music.
This can gradually build, strengthen, arrive at a peak and then fade away.

(05:38):
It can transform itself, and as it does, it may seem overwhelming at times,
making you feel like you must act on it.
Music.

(07:42):
The edge of the garden, the edge of a clearing, the edge of the woods,
whatever feels right to you.
Music.
Just noticing your bare feet connecting with the earth, connecting with the sand.

(08:06):
You start to feel relaxed and comfortable, bringing a sense of expansive calm
throughout your body as you continue to breathe easily.
Noticing how grounding it feels to be connected to the earth.

(08:30):
Noticing some warmth of some sunshine and a gentle breeze.
Perhaps even noticing the scent of your surroundings.

(08:58):
As you gaze out of this comfortable scene, this serene place,
imagine seeing every shade of blue and green, some shimmering sunlight that gently fades away.

(09:22):
You can remain comfortably there taking in all the sensations of nature around you.
Music.

(09:43):
Gentle breeze may become a stronger wind Wind, powerful for a brief moment.
Music.

(11:40):
Can be very deep within you and it's all right if it's very shut right now too.
Music.