Spend some time sitting with yourself and practice self-soothing...
We’re going to start by sitting in a comfortable position, both feet on the ground, and you can either keep your eyes open or close them during the meditation. Now take a deep breath in through your nose, then hold it for about 4 seconds, and then breathe out through your mouth.
Continue doing this while feeling the air come in through your nose, down your throat and into your lungs. Then feel it coming back out your mouth. Continue to hold the breath in for 4 seconds during each breath in and out. Now whatever feelings you have been experiencing during your day, I want you to focus on them, honor them by acknowledging them and accepting them.
Now let those feelings fly off as you continue breathing in and out while your body enters a state of relaxation. This relaxation can feel like a warmness or tingling sensation in your body. Focus on your feet on the ground let that tingling or warmness travel up your legs, to your pelvis, then to your stomach… chest… shoulders… throat… and finally your head.
Let your upper arms relax…. Then your elbows…. Now lower arms…. and then your wrists… feel the relaxation spread to your hands… relaxing the palms of your hands…. the back of your hands…. each finger and thumb…. your hands feel pleasantly warm, heavy, and relaxed.
Allow your upper back to relax even further…. let your shoulders relax…. and your neck….
Feel the relaxation continue to spread to your chin… the back of your head…. your mouth…. your cheeks….. nose…. eyes….
Feel your eyelids, heavy and relaxed….
Notice your eyebrows relaxing…. your ears relaxing…. and your forehead…..
Your forehead feels cool and relaxed…..
Let the relaxation spread further to the top of your head….
Your entire body now is relaxed and calm. Feel the relaxation flowing throughout your body, from your head to your feet.
You can relax even further as you let your spine relax completely. Starting where the top of your spine meets your head, feel the relaxation…. feel the muscles giving up their hold and relaxing….
Feel the relaxation spread down your spine… down your neck…. upper back…. middle back …. and lower back…. all the way down to your tailbone at the bottom of your spine…
Notice all of the muscles of your back relaxing completely….
Feel the relaxation flowing throughout your body.
Breathe in…. now hold that breath. And relax your muscles totally, allowing the breath to flow gently out your nose or mouth.
Take another deep breath, breathing in relaxation….
And release the breath. Breathe out any remaining tension.
Your body should be feeling light and calm now, if not then continue breathing in and out while focusing on the air going through your body.
Allow your body to heal itself….
Take a cleansing breath in…. and breathe out what your body does not need….
Breathe in relaxation…. breathe out all the old air….
Imagine the healing process going on inside your body…. feeling confident in your body’s ability to heal…. feeling calm and at peace….
Listen to the sound of the music playing as your body continues to relax. Let the peaceful sounds guide you as you breathe in and out for another 10 seconds…
We are now reaching the end of our journey. Continue breathing, but start bringing back your awareness to the room slowly. I will countdown from 5 and when I am done, you can slowly open your eyes and peacefully come back to the room.
Luis is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who graduated from Long Beach State University with a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology (2015). He also has a Bachelors's degree in Child and Adolescent Development with an emphasis on Public Policy from San Francisco State University (2011). Luis has over 9 years of experience working with children and families both in education and mental health. Previously, Luis worked for a non-profit agency in San Francisco, CA providing mental health consultation in early head start programs and SFUSD pre-schools. Currently, Luis works at Kaiser in San Francisco providing mental health services.
His therapeutic interests include working with Trauma, the LGBTQ community, Children, Families, Couples, and POC. His personal interests include; Films, Reading, Writing, Art, Travelling, Disney, and Food. He is also a recipient of the California State Stipend award (2015). PsychoSocial is part of Luis' dedication to mental health and an example of his passion to educate others. Luis hopes that through PsychoSocial he will be able to help in the fight to end the stigma around mental illness.
#EndtheStigma
