Guided Active Imagination for Anxiety (and other negative emotions)

[00:00:00] Welcome to Dose of Depth Podcast. I'm your host, Deborah Lukovich, and I invite you to

[00:00:10] explore what's beneath the surface of all sorts of things, including your own life.

[00:00:15] Through conversation, stories, and education, you'll see what you couldn't see before,

[00:00:21] find new meaning in old events, and even discover a new sense of purpose out there in the

[00:00:26] world. Let's get started.

[00:00:32] This episode is for people who are suffering with anxiety, overwhelm, and other negative

[00:00:43] emotions like guilt, confusion, feeling trapped. And these feelings in the body

[00:00:55] are keeping them from really thinking straight and being able to see the truth of the situation

[00:01:04] in front of you and finding options that are new that you couldn't see before.

[00:01:13] So I'm going to guide you through a meditation that includes some breath and body work,

[00:01:21] and then we're going to harness that wisdom in your unconscious. And we're going to be able to

[00:01:28] detach from the thoughts and the emotions, which aren't you. You'll be able to be more of an observer.

[00:01:37] And then we're going to explore those images that come up. And you should get a respite.

[00:01:47] You should get some immediate relief from those emotions that are plaguing you.

[00:01:53] So here we go.

[00:02:03] First find a comfortable place, whether it's a couch or a chair or laying in your bed.

[00:02:15] You might grab a blankie or put your feet up,

[00:02:20] put a pillow behind your head, just get comfortable.

[00:02:25] You could even be sitting in your car, not driving of course, but right after a long day

[00:02:31] or right before a hard day.

[00:02:40] So first close your eyes if you feel safe in doing so

[00:02:44] and just notice what you notice.

[00:02:52] You might notice noises like birds chirping or some annoying appliance.

[00:03:01] You might notice your mind racing.

[00:03:06] You might notice how you feel light or heavy.

[00:03:11] Just notice.

[00:03:14] Then notice your breath.

[00:03:18] Is it shallow and fast and short because you were just running around or because you're stressed?

[00:03:28] As you notice it, does it slow down a little?

[00:03:34] And then just take a couple breaths.

[00:03:36] They might be big and bold at first because you've been holding things in, trying to keep it all together.

[00:03:46] So just take some messy breaths and then start to slow them down

[00:03:54] and focus on breathing in, inhaling deeply and intentionally.

[00:04:02] You might even notice that when you breathe in through your nostrils, they're kind of cold inside.

[00:04:08] And then you might follow the breath through your sinuses and down your throat and you can

[00:04:14] feel your chest puff up a little bit.

[00:04:17] And then notice if you have enough of an inhale to make it down into your belly.

[00:04:24] That's your first goal, getting the breath down into the belly.

[00:04:28] Many people are chest breathers. The breath doesn't get to the belly

[00:04:35] and that actually increases your risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.

[00:04:42] Breath is life so the quality of our breath is directly connected to the quality of our life.

[00:04:49] So inhale and notice if you can get your belly to pop out

[00:05:00] and then exhale. I encourage you to exhale out the mouth

[00:05:07] and to even use a sigh or engage your throat. It's much more satisfying and helpful.

[00:05:15] So each inhale try to make longer and deeper

[00:05:22] and then eventually hold at the top of the inhale before you exhale.

[00:05:33] And then begin to allow your exhales to lengthen.

[00:05:37] And I did confirm with my yoga teacher that it really is the exhale that resets your

[00:05:44] parasympathetic nervous system that calms you down. So you'll notice that the more you

[00:05:51] focus on dragging out the exhale, you literally can't have a thought even if you try.

[00:05:59] So inhale and then begin to lengthen your exhale. Conserve it so you can drag it out as long as possible.

[00:06:10] So it might sound like this.

[00:06:12] And hold it and then inhale. You'll know you're really dragging out your exhale if your belly sucks back in.

[00:06:35] So just enjoy doing that a couple cycles.

[00:06:41] Then we're going to check in with your body.

[00:06:46] Just notice your body. Notice that there's energy gathered someplace that wants attention.

[00:06:54] It could be an achy muscle or tightness or a vibration or heat.

[00:07:04] So just notice. It could be excitement. It doesn't even have to be negative. It could be

[00:07:18] excitement and fear at the same time that causes you to feel overwhelmed.

[00:07:24] So there could be multiple emotions that are combined that feel like a tight ball and your pit

[00:07:31] of your stomach where your brain could feel on fire because of everything you're trying to figure out.

[00:07:38] So just allow your attention to go to the part or parts of your body that have this extra energy

[00:07:46] that's gathered there that you're noticing. Today if you're feeling all evened out,

[00:07:54] that's good. Just linger in that. We can work with that too.

[00:08:01] So if you're suffering from anxiety that can show up in the chest area,

[00:08:08] the heart chakra. It could show up in the belly as a stomach ache, nervousness.

[00:08:17] It could show up as heaviness in the head.

[00:08:22] It could even show up in your hands tingling or one side of your body,

[00:08:29] the lower back and the right side. There's a difference of that meaning.

[00:08:37] So just take your time, scan your body and if there's one place go there first

[00:08:45] and really just be there and try to become whatever that is, that sensation.

[00:08:53] So now we'll start with the first part of the body or for some of you it might be the only part of

[00:09:03] your body. As you focus on that part of your body, see if an image emerges. If it doesn't don't worry

[00:09:15] but see if that part of the body where there's energy gathered, tightness or whatever it is,

[00:09:24] see if an image takes shape. Now the image could be a texture,

[00:09:32] a kind of rigidity or blurriness. It could be a color, a shape.

[00:09:39] It could become a memory. A memory might be presented or a scene. Just allow and don't judge

[00:09:49] whatever image comes up. If there is no image, don't panic. Just keep noticing what's going on.

[00:10:00] What's going on? Stay focused on that part of your body. Now comes the fun part.

[00:10:09] If there's an image, just notice it and watch it.

[00:10:17] It's in your body so just imagine watching it and see if it changes, if it shape shifts.

[00:10:26] So for an example, one of my clients had a heaviness

[00:10:34] and overwhelm in her head and the image that came up for her was a treadmill.

[00:10:43] Another one of my clients had an image of an orb. That was pink.

[00:10:49] For some clients a memory comes up and so we just want to welcome

[00:10:59] whatever our unconscious is sending us and not try to find meaning yet. Just watch it.

[00:11:07] Now see if you can communicate with the image that's in your body

[00:11:18] and ask it if it could move out of your body so that you could get a better look

[00:11:25] and understand what it's trying to communicate to you. It's part of you.

[00:11:31] You might even imagine taking your hands and gently grabbing hold or gently

[00:11:40] prompting or prodding. If the image doesn't want to move, don't force it.

[00:11:47] Just allow it and communicate in any way you want telepathically or

[00:11:54] in your imagination you might say, hey, hey image, hey orb, I'm so glad you showed up.

[00:12:02] Do you think you could move out of my body so I can take a better look at you?

[00:12:08] I know this seems silly but it works like magic, trust me.

[00:12:16] So just see if that image moves out of your body and for most of you it will.

[00:12:24] And then notice where it is. Is it off in the distance? Is it in front of you?

[00:12:33] Is it to the right side? Is it to the left side? Just notice and watch.

[00:12:41] As you watch this image see if it continues to shape shift.

[00:12:45] It may have movement. It could be a person looking at you.

[00:12:55] So just notice all the details. It could be a very simple circular movement in front of you.

[00:13:04] It could be something very quick moving like a tornado where my client,

[00:13:08] she was able to get the treadmill out of her head and she was able to step off

[00:13:14] and she got immediate relief.

[00:13:19] An image might show up as a younger version of you

[00:13:24] and in that case you can watch and observe that child version of you.

[00:13:30] Is he or she playing or looking at you running toward you? Just allow your imagination,

[00:13:38] imagination, think about it, image and the language of the unconscious is the image.

[00:13:48] So see if you want to communicate with the image.

[00:13:53] Be silly. Once this works for you you'll become really excited to do it again.

[00:14:02] You can ask the image a question like why are you here?

[00:14:06] Or how can you help? I feel so overwhelmed.

[00:14:11] Can you give me a clue? A little bread crumb. What's the next step I should take?

[00:14:20] And the image will communicate back in a voice, in movement.

[00:14:26] And you might at this point get really engaged with your image.

[00:14:35] And for others you might feel exhausted at this point and you might be done.

[00:14:44] So for those of you who have a wild imagination, go on your journey.

[00:14:50] And then for those of you who feel tired, just linger. Just rest.

[00:15:01] When we're done communicating with the image, it's part of us, it's from our unconscious.

[00:15:07] We want to be respectful and show gratitude and thank it for coming up

[00:15:12] and giving us some relief or an answer or an affirmation.

[00:15:20] And then when we come back and don't leave abruptly,

[00:15:26] breathe. You can open your eyes if you want.

[00:15:31] And then I want you to notice how your body feels.

[00:15:34] If you were able to get some relief from what was holding, what it was holding, that extra energy,

[00:15:48] almost every single time my clients feel a respite, get relief from the heaviness,

[00:15:55] from the tightness. And then I encourage you to journal or draw the image.

[00:16:05] So just like we are not our thoughts, we can be the observer, we are not our emotions,

[00:16:11] we are not anxiety, but we get confused and we identify with it.

[00:16:17] So active imagination is helping you get some distance, get it out of your body

[00:16:24] and the brain doesn't know.

[00:16:27] It doesn't know the difference between the imagination and reality.

[00:16:31] It's our mind that decides that.

[00:16:37] So I hope you enjoyed this and you'll come back whenever you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed.

[00:16:53] So until next time.

[00:17:00] I'm your host Deborah Lukavich and you are listening to Dose of Depth Podcast.

[00:17:05] To get updates on new episodes, my writing and how I teach my clients to get to know that deeper

[00:17:10] part of themselves, go to deborahlukavich.com. Oh, and if you're not ready for a coach,

[00:17:16] learn what my clients know in my book. Your soul is talking. Are you listening?

[00:17:21] Five steps to uncovering your hidden purpose. You can check it out on my website or get it on Amazon.