I Can Feel the Tension Leaving My Body - Daily Meditation for the Soul

I can feel the tension leaving my body, not a wish, not a hope, a fact, because over the next 10 minutes that is exactly what is going to happen. If your body is holding stress today, tight shoulders, the clenched jaw, a chest that just won't fully open, then this session was made for you. This is calming anxiety. I'm Martin Hewlett, clinical hypnotherapist and former frontline paramedic, and I'm here with you right now.

If you're new here, welcome. There are well over 2,300 episodes in the library. Every single one of them, just for you, all 10 minutes. So subscribe now, because I'll be back here again tomorrow for you.

Right, let's begin. Find somewhere comfy now, sitting all-in, it's entirely your choice. Allow your hands to rest open, uncurl your fingers, let your shoulders drop away from your ears. Just by hearing these words, something in you is already shifting.

This is your nervous system. It's intelligent, it's listening, and in a moment we're going to give it a very clear message that it is safe to let go. We're going to use box breathing today. A simple, four-sided rhythm, equal and steady, like tracing the edges of a square with your breath.

Three counts in three unknowns. Three counts holding at the top. Three slowly out through your mouth and three more at the bottom. Here is the most important part.

On that out breath, I want you to consciously, deliberately release any tension you find in your body. Soften your jaw as the breath leaves, let your shoulders drop even further. The out breath is where the release lives. Let's do it together.

Ready? In three unknowns. In two three, hold two three, and release two three, hold two three.

Good. Let's do that again. Ready? Breathe in.

Two three, hold two three, release two three, hold two three, one more time.

This last one, I want you to feel it as we move through it. In two three, hold two three, exhale two three, pull two three.

Each one was a quiet, firm message to your nervous system. There is no emergency here. The threat is not real. You are safe.

Now, let your breathing return to whatever natural rhythm it is. Don't force it. Just let it settle. I want you to scan down through your body now.

Notice where there is any remaining tension. The back if you are next maybe, your lower belly behind the eye. Don't fight it. Just notice it.

And it quietly, people carrying tension was so familiar to them. We forget how to let it go. You are here. You are breathing.

The tension is beginning to leave. Relax now deeply and safely within the beauty of your own thoughts. Now, I want you to move even deeper. Let the sound of my voice be the only thing that matters.

These words are the deeper part of you. The part beneath the noise and the worry. Let them settle in the subconscious as a quiet truth. I can feel the tension, leaving my body.

My breath is slow. My body is safe. I release what I no longer need to carry.

I am calm. I am steady. I am here. Peace is not something I find.

It is something I return to. Stay here now.

Let the words continue to work within the quiet. I can feel the tension, leaving my body. My breath is slow. My body is safe.

I release what I no longer need to carry.

I am calm. I am steady. I am here. Peace is not something I find.

It is something I return to.

And relax ever deeper, ever further, drifting down into this natural, trance-like state.

This daily moment of panic-rally, of learning to control the anxiety within, because simply put, you are worthy. Before we finish today, here are the three daily caring tips to carry with you, not just today, but in the weeks, months and years to come. One, name where the tension lives. The next time you notice that familiar tightness in the jaw, the chest, the shoulders, don't just push through it, pause for just five seconds and name it.

That's tension. I know what that is, named things, lose their power. Two, use the out breath as a release valve. You don't need to remember a technique.

You just breathe out longer than you breathe in, anytime, anywhere. That single habit activates your parasympathetic nervous system and begins to release the physical tension within seconds and three. Do this again tomorrow. Calm is a practice, not a destination.

The more your nervous system hears that it is safe to release, the faster it learns. Come back tomorrow. I'll be here. Now gently wiggle your fingers and toes to bring your awareness slowly back into the room around you.

Take a deep breath in and then as you breathe out, stretch out the arms overhead and when you're ready, gently open your eyes. If today's session has helped you in any way, I asked just one thing, please share it, share it wherever you can, with one person who needs it or in a group on a note to a friend. Every share brings us to someone who might not have found it otherwise and that matters more than I can say. And the reason that I do these, I was so broken, I lived in darkness, in rage and anger, for so long in my life.

Daily mindfulness has helped me find the real me and I hope it helps you find you. It's that simple. Take care my friend, truly. I look forward to reconnecting tomorrow.

Have a lovely day, whatever you're going through, never give up. And I love them, positive when you can and to your beautiful self. Be kind.