We are going deeper. We are using Somatic Release Therapy to manually turn off the body's stress response after the intensity of the holidays.
In just 10 minutes, we will guide you through a physical "un-storing" of the last 48 hours. This session is designed to metabolize the residual adrenaline, flush out cortisol, and signal safety to your brain through your body.In this episode, you will learn:
- The Body Scan: How to locate your "armor"—the physical tension hiding in your jaw, tongue, and shoulders.
- Somatic Shaking: Why "flicking" your hands and shaking your limbs is the fastest way to dislodge static anxiety and metabolize stress hormones.
- The Heel Drop Technique: Using impact and vibration to send a shockwave of relaxation up the spine.
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation: teaching your muscles the distinct difference between "On" (tension) and "Off" (relaxation) through deep squeezing and releasing.
- Vagus Nerve Activation: Using specific breath counts (Inhale 4, Exhale 8) to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system and surrender to gravity.
- Relieving "Holiday Burnout" and social exhaustion.
- Anyone physically feeling the effects of the "Fight or Flight" response.
- Resetting your sleep cycle after the festive disruption.
🌟 Support the Podcast & Your Mental HealthIf this session helped you find a moment of peace today, please consider making mindfulness a part of your daily routine in the coming year.Your Next Step:
- Subscribe/Follow: Hit the notification bell so you never miss a daily reset.
- Share the Calm: Do you know a friend or family member who is stressed today? Share this episode on your social media to help them reset too.
- Leave a Review: It helps Apple and Spotify show this content to more people around the world who need anxiety relief.
👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!
Support the Show:Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support
Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety
Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!
Resources & Courses:Book Hypnotherapy: Schedule a one-on-one session with Martin at https://calendar.app.google/rXHMt8sRYft5iWma8 Pain & Anxiety Course:
Manage negative thoughts and pain with The Physio Crew’s course at https://offers.thephysiocrew.co.uk/home-pain
Breathing Challenge: Try our relaxing breathing challenge at https://www.martinhewlett.co.uk/breathing-challenge/
Gift a Subscription: Share Calming Anxiety with loved ones at https://www.martinhewlett.co.uk/shop/calming-anxiety-gift-subscription/
Get the App:iOS: Download Calming Anxiety at https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/calming-anxiety/id1576159331 Android:
Get it on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=digital.waterfront.calming.anxiety&hl=en-GB
Connect With Us:Email: Share feedback or requests at calminganxiety@martinhewlett.co.uk
YouTube: Watch all episodes at .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}
Episode Transcript
Welcome to the calming anxiety podcast and today a 10 minute boxing day decompression.
(00:11):
So find your quiet place maybe on the floor or a sturdy chair.
Sit comfortably or lie flat on your back.
Close your eyes.
The buildup is over. The day is done.
(00:32):
The adrenaline that got you through the cooking, the wrapping and the socializing has left
the building.
What is left behind is the residue.
Don't try to relax just yet.
Simply notice the tension.
(00:54):
Scan your body to locate your armour, your protection.
Is your jaw clenched?
Is your tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth?
Are your shoulders acting as earrings?
Without changing your position, see if you can drop your physical effort by just 10%.
(01:20):
The gravity in the room, get a little stronger.
Allow the muscles to unwind.
Your shoulders to drop.
Your brow to become smooth.
Now stand up if you can, if not sit on the edge of your chair.
(01:46):
We cannot think our way out of a stressed body.
We have to move our way out.
Start with your hands at your sides.
Flick them as if you are trying to flick water off your fingertips.
Fast and loose.
(02:09):
Allow that vibration to travel up your arms to your shoulders.
Let your shoulders up and down.
Not a controlled shrug, but a loose, heavy bounce.
Now stand on your tiptoes and drop your heels hard onto the floor.
(02:35):
Thud!
Do this 10 times.
The shock wave travel up your spine.
Do this again, onto your tiptoes and that feel that movement flow through your spine.
(03:05):
Keep going, onto your tiptoes and drop feeling your body resonate.
Become aware of that shock wave flowing through every fiber of your being.
(03:29):
Now for the next 60 seconds, just shake gently, shake your hips, shake your head gently too,
shake one leg and then the other.
It should feel chaotic.
(03:51):
You are physically dislodging the static.
Shake your arms again and feel the movement, the movement, the sensations.
Roll your shoulders once more and then your head.
(04:17):
And then go back to rising up on your tiptoes and drop.
Now return to the floor or your chair.
Now we teach the muscles the difference between on and off.
(04:40):
Breathe in deeply and as you hold the breath, squeeze every single muscle in your body.
Curl your toes, make fists, squeeze your glutes, scrunch your face up tightly.
(05:01):
Breathe until you vibrate, hold for five, four, three, two, one.
Exhale with a loud, audible sigh and go completely limp.
Do not control the landing, let your limbs fall where they are.
(05:28):
Now repeat this two more times.
Each release should feel heavier than the last.
Inhale deeply and then hold and squeeze.
Making those fists, curling those toes, squeezing your buttocks, scrunching up your face ever
(05:51):
so tightly and then hold five, four, three, two, one.
Breathe out and sigh and unwind and just fall.
Fifting deeper and deeper and winding more and more and one more time.
(06:21):
Breathe in, hold, scrunch and tighten, tighten and tighten five, four, three, two, one.
Relax, heavier and heavier, drifting further and further down, unwind and relax.
(06:53):
Now lying flat on your back if you can, legs extended, arms wide.
There is nothing left to organize.
There is no one left to serve.
You are simply a heavy object on the earth.
(07:15):
Imagine your body is made of lead.
Feel the back of your head sinking into the floor.
Feel the heels, boring a hole in the carpet.
Inhale through your nose for a count of four, three, two, one.
(07:40):
Exhale through your mouth for a count of eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
The long, slow out breaths, signal safety to your brain, to your consciousness.
(08:06):
Notice the space between your ears and shoulders now.
Notice the space between your eyebrows.
Stay here in the quiet buzz of a body that is finally being given permission to stop.
(08:29):
And in this intimate connection of mind, body and soul, expand your awareness once more
and simply tune in to the hypnotic rhythm of the rise and fall of every breath.
(08:54):
That feeling of peace, of clarity of thought, relax.
And as we draw to a close, gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
Take a deep mindful breath in and as you exhale, stretch out the muscles in your arms and
(09:18):
legs.
And gently open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me today on our shared journey of self-empowerment and improvement.
Have a lovely day, my friend.
(09:38):
Open your mind to your true potential.
If you're new, as everyone asks on our podcast, please do subscribe.
Hit that notification and maybe in the coming year, make mindfulness part of your daily routine
and feel free to share this on your social media.
(10:02):
It helps this channel stay on the air and just makes me happy.
Take care, smile often.
Let's reconnect tomorrow and as always, be kind.
(10:23):
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.