Mindfulness, insight, & self-healing with Zachary Philips Trauma-informed sessions blending mindfulness, insight, somatic connection, Internal Family Systems, visualization, counseling theory, self-awareness, writing therapy, and compassion.
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"Recognise, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture". The RAIN approach to mindfulness meditation offers a simple, gentle, yet expansive practice to introduce mindfulness meditation. This session begins with a calming of the nervous system with slow calm sighing breaths and the stillness of the body, then guides you to become non-judgmentally aware and accepting of what is arising in this moment. It finishes with a 10-minute silent sit and a gentle grounding into the present moment. Listen next: Explore more guided meditations (also available via iTunes, Spotify, & Amazon). You can find 100’s more tra
In this session we practice 'entrainment' the process of mindfully focusing upon multiple objects of meditation. This is a meditation for busy minds. We begin with a focus upon the sensations of warmth of a hand upon our skin. From there we continue to add points of focus until we reach a point that is challenging but not overwhelming. Eventually our minds will settle into the process, growing calm yet focused. In order, we entrain a focus upon: warmth, visualization, breath, mantra, eyes, and connection. Listen next: Explore more guided meditations (also available via iTunes, Spotify, & Amazo
Are you afraid of silence? We are blessed to have the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, but endless access comes at a cost. We fill every quiet moment with content, but lose something in the process. Silence itself is a teacher, and the most direct path to the self is to simply sit. This talk explores the importance of silence, reframing it as a mirror to the self and its embrace as an act of radical self-acceptance. Listen next: Explore more guided meditations (also available via iTunes, Spotify, & Amazon). You can find 100’s more tracks, talks, and full courses on the Insight Timer app, a
In this session we practice 'Forgiveness.' We begin by slowing down the breath, releasing the muscles, calming the body and connecting to the heart. From there we practice forgiveness in three directions, feeling in our bodies where we are holding onto tensions. 1: Asking forgiveness from those you have harmed. 2: Forgiving yourself for the ways you have caused harm or fallen short. 3: Offering forgiveness to those who have harmed you. "I forgive, and ask for forgiveness" "I let it go, and just feel" We finish by returning and grounding in the present moment. Listen next: Explore more guided m
This short guided meditation begins with a brief check-in, followed by 10 slow, deep, sighing breaths into the belly. This simple breathing practice helps calm the nervous system, release physical tension, and bring your attention back to the present moment. Use it whenever you feel stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or need a reset. Begin with a brief check-in. Breath in through the nose, low into the belly, and slow. Add a sighing out breath. As your body begins to settle, notice what you are feeling. Ask yourself what you need to feel safe, supported, and calm, then respond to that need with k
What am I feeling? This simple question can tell us so much about what we are experiencing and what we need. This meditation helps kids to develop introspective skills by guiding them through a process of self inquiry, prompting them to explore and express their inner world. With practice they will learn the language of their body and mind and grow the confidence to share it with you. Reducing meltdowns and overwhelm. Begin by taking some slow, deep, sighing breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Turn your attention to your senses. What are you feeling in your body right now?
This session introduces the practice of 'Gratitude Breathing' - a simple way to respond to overwhelm, stress, and triggers. Begin by taking a breath with and audible sigh, then wait and allow your body to breathe in. Actively relax your body. Foster feelings of gratitude to a person, pet, plant, or place in your life. Repeat this process until the distress passes. Optional: add to the words “I am here, now. And this moment is safe.” This practice was adapted from “The Hidden Power in a Breath of Gratitude” a Ted Talk by Rory Ledbetter Listen next: Explore more foundational healing practices (o
In this session we practice ' Metta Loving Kindness Meditation', a practice of opening the heart and offering love and compassion to the self, others, and the world. Metta is offered as a balm/soothing after deep mindfulness practice. Some believe it acts as a prayer and others that it is simply a self-healing practice. I will leave that for you to decide. Hold a person in your heart and offer them love. Say the words (or the intention behind the words) "May you be free of ill will. May you be free of suffering. May you be full of loving kindness. May you be happy." Begin with someone who is e
This session introduces the practice of The Flame & The Void. Initially introduced through Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, this is a simple alternative approach to mindfulness that offers beginners immediate calm and focus. Visualise a flame (object of meditation). Feed it all emotions, thought, and sensation. When there is nothing left, release the flame. Embrace the void (present moment/mindfulness/self) that remains. If needed, begin again. Listen next: Explore more guided meditations (also available via iTunes, Spotify, & Amazon). You can find 100’s more tracks, talks, and full cours
This session offers a summary of the principles that underpin all of the meditation practices I teach, including mindfulness, insight, breathwork, intuitive guidance, and shadow/parts work. Drawing from psychology, spirituality, and the Self, it explores the mind-body connection, the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model of health, and the skills-based nature of meditation practice. All of these ideas are framed through 'awareness, acceptance, action' lens of self-improvement, while emphasizing a practical approach to growth that values functionality over perfection, and the journey itself over an
There are countless approaches to healing, drawing from science, spirituality, and lived experience. But what if we stepped back and explored the core principles shared across them all? This talk offers a framework for approaching all healing and growth. It will help you contextualize and apply the countless techniques, perspectives, and pieces of advice you may have encountered. Awareness Become aware of what is happening internally and externally. Acceptance Accept reality as it is for what it is, right now. We don’t need to like, agree, or approve of it. Action Take small, value-aligned ste
The present moment is the best antidote to intense feelings. If you are struggling with anxiety, panic, depression, or overwhelm, focus on the moment. Right now, you are okay. Right now, you are safe. In this moment, you can find peace. Slow down the breath and bring your hand to your heart. Feel the warmth. Say the words (internally or out loud) "I am here, now". Focus on what you can hear. These are the sounds of the present moment. Focus on what you can see. These are the sights of the present moment. Focus on what you can feel. These are the feelings of the present moment. Focus on the sen
This session will help kids regulate, play it for your little one when they are overwhelmed, stressed, or having a melt-down. It begins with slow calm breathing, followed by a progressive muscle relaxation, a check in for their needs, a 5,4,3,2,1 grounding. It ends with some positive self talk and affirmations. Slow sighing nose breath. Checking into their bodies needs. Squeezing and relaxing each muscle in the body. What can they feel, see, hear, taste, smell. Positive self talk Have a conversation with your child about how to regulate - discuss with them what you have noticed helps them and
This session guides you through a full Heart Space Expansion practice. It blends tantra, breathwork, mindfulness, mantra, visualization, and Internal Family Systems-style inner connection to support healing and integration. We begin with a gentle hand-to-heart warmth practice, then add a visualization of a light or flame growing in the heart space. We also introduce the mantra “Ham Sa” (or “Love / Trust”). From there, we move the flame through the body in rhythm with the breath, letting heart-space energy connect with every part of you, including the places where the past is still holding on.
Mindfulness Meditation is the act of purposefully paying non-judgmental attention to the present moment. Mindfulness both focuses the mind and increases our chances of catching ourselves when distracted by thoughts, emotions, and sensations. Daily mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety, improve performance, reduce addiction, and lead to all kinds of health benefits. Description: This session guides you through a basic mindfulness meditation practice. You’ll adopt a comfortable meditation posture, choose an anchor (the breath at the nose), and rest your attention there. When yo
This guided session takes you through the practice of box (square) breathing: a simple process that helps to reduce anxiety. From there, it adds a visualization to further occupy and focus the mind. This session finishes with the introduction of a finger counting method that will give you the ability to take your box breathing practice wherever you go. Breathe in for four seconds Hold for four seconds Breathe out for four seconds Hold for four seconds Repeat for 5 minutes or until calm. Addition: Visualization In your minds eye picture a square. Starting with the in breath at the bottom left c
This track will guide you to sleep. It features a calm, reassuring voice, peaceful background music, the slowing down of the breath, relaxation of the body, and gentle encouragement to put it all down, let it all go, and allow sleep to come. Set up your sleep space: lights off, notifications off, comfortable position. Slow down the breath and close the eyes. Relax the body. Let go of any commitments, thoughts and distractions - you can pick them up if you like in the morning. Fall asleep. Establish good sleep hygiene by setting a sleep and wake time, monitor screen time late at night (stopping
This track helps your child calm down and regulate. With gentle background music, it starts with slow, steady breathing, then guides them to notice what they’re feeling in their body. It finishes with a simple squeeze-and-release muscle exercise to soften tension. Your child will feel more settled, and they’ll learn practical tools they can use anytime, during the track and after it ends. Slow sighing nose breath. What can you feel in this moment? What can you hear in this moment? Squeeze and relax each muscle in your body. Have a conversation with your child about how to regulate - discuss wi
Description: Find calm and grounding. This is a “break glass in case of emergency” guided session for panic attacks, overwhelm, triggers, and dysregulation. We’ll slow and deepen the breath, anchor into the present with 5-4-3-2-1 grounding, and steady the mind with simple affirmations and calming music. Along the way, you’ll hear gentle mind-body education to help you understand what’s happening in real time. Use this session to reduce the intensity, duration, and impact of distressing physical and mental sensations, and to come back to a felt sense of inner and outer safety. Goal: To provide
Description: This guided session leads you through the full Intuitive Guidance process. It combines breathwork, somatic awareness, energetic healing, and symbolic inner exploration. You will connect with the parts of you holding pain, numbness, or unprocessed emotion, and gently offer them space to express and release. This is a powerful and intense practice, ideal for those seeking deep healing, self-trust, and a return to inner safety and belonging. Goal: To allow space for the body to feel safe and seen, allowing it to unburden and heal. Summary: Scan the body for parts that are calling to
Description: This guided session leads you through the full Mind Space Witnessing process. Combining mindfulness with deep inner observation and Internal Family Systems inspired parts work, you will move through for full spectrum of awareness, from the most overt and explicit, like sensations, thoughts, and emotions, to the more subtle and hidden layers of memories, imagination, impulses, and metacognitions. By the end of the session, you’ll feel reconnected to your highest self, with greater capacity to integrate and heal. Goal: Get into the Self by mindfully witnessing all of the mind space
Description: This guided session takes you through the full Inner Healing and Protection Visualization. We hold that the greatest form of healing and protection comes from the Self, and here you’ll be guided to embody, embrace, and empower the eternal strength within. Together we’ll move through a simple yet powerful visualization that protects, cleanses, disentangles, heals, and transforms heavy emotions into compassion. The sessions ends by returning to the present with grounding and gratitude, leaving you centered, supported, and ready to carry these insights forward. Goal: To cultivate inn
Description: This guided session invites you to express the mess and release the stress. Using the art of words, you’ll connect with your deepest self, writing to, from, and about the parts within. Together, we’ll explore hidden feelings, unspoken truths, and buried wisdom through gentle, trauma-informed guidance. This process supports healing, release, and reconnection while opening new pathways of expression and self-understanding. The session ends with grounding and gratitude, leaving you clear, calm, and creatively renewed. Goal: To use poetry as an expressive practice for emotional releas
Description: This guided session invites you to rest, breathe, and simply be, exploring your own practice in whatever way feels right for you. We begin with a short introduction, offering a few different approaches you might bring into the sit: mindfulness, heart-centered visualization, transmuting fear into love, or simply letting thoughts and sensations rise and fall without engagement. From there, we share thirty minutes of silence together, creating space for stillness, presence, and self-connection. The session closes by gently returning to the present, leaving you calm, grounded, and mor
Welcome to Intuitive Guidance for Self Healing, a transformative course that invites you to release old wounds, reintegrate lost parts, and reconnect with your true self. Intuitive Guidance holds to the premise that the body keeps the score. Simply put, what we don't or can't process manifests over time as illness, injury, psychological blocks, and stress. The good news is that by turning our attention to the body, connecting to it, and allowing it to express, it will begin to release. Over the next five sessions you will be guided step by step in the process of calming your nervous system, sc
