10-Minute Havening Exercise for Anxiety

Yeah, we call this havening touch. And it's worth mentioning that the word havening comes from the word haven. So we're havening you, we're bringing you to a safe place, to a safe haven. And that's the emotional, physical effect and feeling of, is the feeling of comfort, safety, calmness.

There are three, three different types of havening and this is what you do for yourself. So one is rubbing hands down your arms, from the tops of your shoulders to your elbows on kind of like an every second path. The other one is rubbing the palms of your hands together back and forth. That's also one of the techniques. And the third one is kind of called washing in the face, which is you're taking your hands across the forehead and down the cheeks. Across the forehead and down the cheeks. And in doing the research, so I understand, it's particularly the cheek that can touching the cheek, self touching the cheek that can produce the greatest delta wave for everyone listening.

I don't want you to take anything too traumatic or too stressful. In other words, don't take some massive trauma from your past. Maybe take something that's creating some sort of annoyance or something that maybe is stressing you in your life at the moment that's preoccupying your mind that you'd like to get a positive shift on or some freedom from. So we're going to begin. So I'd just like you to follow my instructions and sit back and relax for a moment. And I'd like everyone just to close their eyes and with your eyes closed, just focus on your breathing and on the sound of my voice. And I'd like you to think about something that's making you feel uncomfortable, something that's been stressing you maybe recently, over the last few weeks or months, or even something that's causing you some sort of anxiety. Really think about it in your mind. Picture it, think of the signs associated to it. Really focus in on what's causing the distress or what makes you feel most uncomfortable. And just notice. On a scale of 0 to 10, how high do you go? 10 is very uncomfortable, 0 is calm and neutral. Just notice if you can feel it in your body and the emotion, then open your eyes, Just look at me. Clear your mind. Then I'd like you to put one hand on your shoulder and one hand on the other shoulder, just crossing your body. And then begin very gently stroking from the top of your shoulder all the way down to the elbows. Imagine if you were comforting a child or even gently stroking a dog or cat. And Then gently close your eyes. And then I'd like you to imagine walking out onto a beautiful beach on a bright summer's day. Begin to imagine a beautiful blue sky, yellow sands, the sound of the waves lapping in against the shore. And as you imagine walking along this tranquil beach, count out load from 1 to 20 with every step you imagine taking. And I'll count with you, starting at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Relaxing with every step. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Very good. Keep stroking, keep your eyes closed. Then we're going to do an auditory distraction. And this can be a bit of fun. We're going to sing a happy song. It can be anything at all. Let's take a Row youw Boat so you can sing along or hum along with me. Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream. Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream. Very good. Keep stroking from the top of the shoulder all the way down to the elbows, taking in a slow, gentle breath. And just ask yourself, on a scale of 10 to 0, what number comes to mind now? And just go with the first number that comes to mind. And then I'd like you to look at me for a moment. Gently open your eyes. Let's do some palm havening. So palm havening is where we just gently massage the palms, the hands together. Talk about washing our hands. Gently caressing, massaging the palms just to get those delta waves going. Then gently close your eyes and keep massaging the palms. This time we're going to count backwards down from 30 to 0 in twos at loud together, starting at 30, 28, 26, 24, 22. Relaxing with every number. 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0. And keep stroking the palms, your hands. And this time I'd like everyone to sing Happy Birthday to Me for the fun of it. So let's begin. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Steven. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Steven. Happy birthday to you. Very good. Now take in a slow, gentle breath and keep massaging, caressing the palms of your hands as you do so. Just notice. Noticing your mind and body can relax. And just notice on a scale of 10 to 0, what number comes to mind now just go with the first number that comes to mind. Keep stroking. Then gently open up your eyes and look at me. And now we're going to do some face have now the face actually produces the highest amplitude delta waves in the brain. Just stroking gently around your forehead and around your cheeks like you're gently massaging, caressing your face or gently washing your face. This time gently close your eyes and I want you to think about a time when you're on a beautiful holiday. Maybe it was on a beach again, or maybe you were walking through the countryside or some mountains with beautiful scenery. Maybe it's a beautiful city or park that you're walking through. Just go back to a very pleasant happy memory of time when you're on a lovely holiday. And as you begin to imagine that scene of that place you were in, really pictured in your mind what you saw the sands and with every step you imagine taking, count out loud from 1 to 20 starting at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Good. Taking a slow gentle breath. Keep stroking and this time just holding Twinkle Star with me. Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are up above the world so high like a diamond in the sky Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are. Very good. Keep stroking, taking in a slow gentle breath. Now gently open up your eyes and we'll just finish up with a few strokes on the arms again. Just close your eyes for a moment, taking in a slow gentle breath. Feeling that sense of relaxation and comfort from gently massaging your arms from the top of the shoulders all the way down to the elbows. And just notice on A scale of 10 to 0 what number comes to mind now. And if you wish, you can go back and watch this video as well and do even a few more rounds of the havening and repeat this entire process. But like everyone now, just open up their eyes, take a little stretch if you wish. So it'd be interesting to see and check in how everyone's feeling. Do feel free to leave comments on the video myself or ances and we can come back and give you some feedback or give you some more tips or advice. But what I'd like everyone to do For a moment, just notice how you're feeling. Some people may notice to feel a bit lighter, bit calmer, a bit more relaxed. Some people feel a bit tired or spacey. It's also worth checking in on the memory. So I'd like everyone just to close their eyes for a moment. That's it. Just relax and think about that thing that was causing you some discomfort or stress and just notice what the difference is. Often you'll find that the image itself, the memory, if there's any image to it, or sounds, will seem more distant or faded or blurry or fuzzy. Even the sounds themselves, you might be able to hear them quite as clearly. And that emotional and physiological feeling that was attached will now be reduced. And for some people, it might even be completely gone. So, as I said, do feel free to share on the comments section.

Well, incredible. I am so grateful that you joined us today. Hope you enjoyed today's episode, and I'd like to point you to the next important step. Hit the subscribe button and the bell to get notified when we release new content. I'll see you on the next episode of the Enlightened Executive.

Sam.