Guided Meditation in Honor of Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day
Guided Meditation is a technique you can utilize to practice mindfulness. The benefits of this skill helps you reduce your stress and get out of you head and into the here and now. Guided meditation counters distressing thoughts, unwanted feelings, and holds space for the alternative - the comfort and peace you deserve.
A few tips before you get started:
Look around the room and remove any distractions (i.e. silence your phone, turn off the tv, dim or turn off the light, etc)
Find a comfy spot and position your body so that you are relaxed (i.e. lay down and use a pillow if need be, if you’re sitting - recline if possible)
Allow yourself to be intentional about this activity - leaving everything else - all your worries outside of this allotted time
Follow your breathing, slow your breathing
After the guided meditation, allow yourself a minute or two to focus on your breathing and how present you are before moving on with your day
*if you find guided meditation helpful, record yourself reciting this script in a calm and steady voice so that you can play it back while you practice this mindfulness technique*
Use this script as a sample to help you practice guided mediation:
Close your eyes and take a slow deep breath in through your perched lips. Hold your breath for just a moment. Now release your breath slowly and fully. Allow your breathing to slow. Give yourself permission to hear your breath pass through your lips and feel your chest rise and fall. Go with me to a garden. A garden full of lush flowers, your favorite flowers. The most beautiful you’ve every seen. Hear the water from the fountain peacefully flow as you reach a bench nestled away.
As you sit, feel the tension in your knees as they bend to wrap around the bench. Listen to what your body needs in order to be more comfortable, to be more relaxed. Give yourself permission to be vulnerable, to put your feet up, to not worry about what others may think, who may walk by or how long you have to relax. Stretch out across the bench. Allow yourself to settle into a comfortable position. As you lay back, feel the steel bench pressed against your back and the sun warming your face.
Feel the wind blow against your toes. Begin to tense your feet by curling and arching them. Squeeze tightly and hold. Now release this tension. Slowly move your focus up to your calves. Tensing those muscles while paying attention to how tight they feel and how much you want them to be loosened. Hold it. Now release this tension. Bring awareness to the relaxation your legs now feel. How free they are. How your breath is slow and deep.
Place your hand on your stomach, squeeze your abdomen muscles and feel the tension. Experience the tightness, the discomfort. Relax your muscles. With your hand still in place, feel the contrast now that you’re relaxed. As your stomach rises and falls, embrace the stillness and lightness.
Allow yourself to feel the weight leave your arms as they fall loosely. Clench your hands, paying close attention to your fingers buried in your palms and your knuckles pointing sharply. Now release the tension. Move your fingers gently against the soft wind. Pull your shoulders up towards your ears, tensing and pulling tightly - hold it and release. Bring awareness to the relaxation your shoulders, neck, and throat now feel. Open your mouth as wide as the sky above you. Feel the tension on your jaws, the tightness as your lips spread, the drum in your ear, and the ache in your throat. Now slowly allow your mouth to close leaving a slight opening. Experience the relaxation and the tension leave your jaw. Draw attention to the looseness that your cheeks now feel.
Now raise your eyebrows as high as the heavens above. Hold it. Feel the stress. Feel the strain. Feel yourself wanting to let go of this tension. Hold it. With your next exhale, release this tension. Notice how much more relaxed your face feels. No scrunching, no tightness, no pulling of your skin - just softness and pure relaxation.
As the wind wisps your hair across your neck, allow your head to fall to the side, freeing your body and yourself of having to be in control. Feel how your entire body is now loose, relaxed, and soft. Look deeper into the garden. Allow the gentleness that your body feels to follow your eyes into the distant. Invite yourself to see the people and things that bring you peace and love. Embrace the security you feel in giving yourself the space to feel your emotions without judgement. To feel validated without conditions. To be be heard and in control. To be surrounded by those that bring you joy that last a lifetime. To stare fear in the eye with assurance and faith. Embrace the beauty that comes with time and the unwavering grace that accompanies loss. Embrace the self compassion that awakens your strength and the gentleness that removes blame. In this moment, embrace whatever you need to soothe your soul.
Give yourself permission to re-experience the garden. The wind and the warmth of the sun as you lay on this bench. Bring attention to how you feel in this moment. How free this is. How familiar. How sweet and still. Feel the deep state of calmness and record how pleasant this moment feels. As you bring your attention back to the room, do so with gratitude and appreciation for this safely curated space you’ve welcomed into your life - just for you. When you’re ready, take a deep breath in and exhale fully before opening your eyes.
Southeast Perinatal Counseling observes this day with you