Retrain Your Anxious Brain

It's a breathing pattern that stresses a long exhale. You take a quick breath in through your nose to fill your lungs halfway, then straight away a second, deeper breath in to fill them fully. Then you let all the air out slowly through your mouth, much slower than the inhale. The session walks you through it twice.

The track suggests practising it for five minutes each day, and using it whenever a moment of anxiety or stress arrives. The idea is that simply knowing you have this tool gives you a sense of control. It's also described as something you can do anywhere, at any time.

The staircase is a countdown that deepens relaxation with each step. You put your hand on a firm handrail to your left and go from ten to one, hearing phrases like "each muscle releasing." At the bottom you let go of the handrail and, with it, your worries, arriving in your own place of nature.

You bring to mind something that has been bothering you, knowing you are safe and in control. Then you zoom out: first to see yourself through a window, then down the street, then to the next town, until you see the world below and the situation is barely visible. From that distance you ask yourself what advice you'd give, and you're given quiet time to listen.

The session describes the subconscious as something that tries to protect you by keeping you in old, out-of-date patterns. Rather than fighting it, you thank it for that work, then invite it to be open to new, positive suggestions. It sets up the reframing that follows.

It's built as a night-time wind-down, and the staircase and breathing are very relaxing. But it finishes by counting you up from one to five until you are wide awake, alert and fully back. If you want to drift off, you may fall asleep before then, but the ending itself is a gentle wake-up.