Preparing for a Procedure

Hi there. It's Eve here with you. Welcome to this guided meditation that is designed to help you prepare for a procedure. Depending on where you are in your journey, you may already have had to have several procedures or you might be preparing for your first one. Either way, it can leave you feeling quite nervous and apprehensive. It's also really normal for there to be a lot of thoughts and feelings associated with an upcoming procedure and all that's involved with it. "Will it work?" "What if I don't get enough X?" "What comes next?" It's completely understandable to worry. Trust me, I'm right there with you. But this can lead to a lot of self-blame and criticism, which can be really destructive in this process. I found loving kindness meditation to be so supportive. This practice really invites you to be friends with yourself, to treat yourself kindly and gently. So I'll provide some phrases, but you can of course, make these your own. So take a moment to get into a comfortable position, either sitting down or lying down, and you can close your eyes or rest your gaze downwards. And inviting you to take a couple of slower, deeper breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Then allowing your breath to return to its normal rhythm and rate, and noticing where in the body you feel the gentle movement of your breath, the feeling of your body being supported, letting go of any tension as best you can. So as you sit here or lie here, taking a moment to acknowledge how you're feeling right now. It's okay if you're feeling a little nervous or anxious. In our practice today, we're really going to focus on nurturing the mind and body. So for now, I invite you to picture yourself somewhere where you feel at ease and at peace. It could be where you are right now, or perhaps it's a favorite place you like to visit. Picturing, imagining your body feeling relaxed, muscles softening. And if you find it comforting, you can place one hand on your heart and one on your belly, and repeating the following phrases to yourself, just silently, "May I be safe and well." "May I be calm and centered." "May my body be nourished and well taken care of." "May I restore trust in my body." Taking a slower, deeper breath here if you need, and repeating the following phrases to yourself, "May I be safe and well." "May I be calm and centered." "May my body be nourished and well taken care of." "May I restore trust in my body." So letting go of that image, but seeing if you can hold those loving and kind feelings close to you. Inviting you to take a couple of slower, deeper breaths here as we start to transition out of the practice. Gently bringing a little movement into the body, opening the eyes, having a stretch...