10-Minute Anxiety Meditation

This is a simple 10-minute anxiety meditation that focuses on self-compassion and being with the anxiety rather than attempting to push it away. We begin with simple mindfulness, followed by some intentional self-soothing.

Transcript

Okay. Welcome to your 10-minute anxiety-focused meditation. Let's start by arriving all at once for the next couple minutes. We don't have to worry about what's already happened. We don't have to worry about what might happen later. We'll just arrive all at once. So we can begin by sitting up straight, Comfortable, Yet aware at the same time. Maybe sense what it feels like to be sitting where you're sitting. Feeling into your sit bones. Feeling your back up against the cushion or the couch or whatever it is. Grounding ourselves in our body. Feeling our feet on the ground. Sort of noticing whatever you notice about the sensory perceptions in the lower half of your body, From your hips all the way down to your feet. And now bringing your awareness to the rising and the falling of your chest. And making a decision here to allow the breath to rise and to fall as deeply and slowly as is comfortable. Deep inhale until your chest is comfortably full. And once it's comfortably full, Just letting the breath kind of fall out of you at its own pace. You can lean into this deep breathing at your own pace. Just sort of sensing the rising and the falling of your chest. Now, If you've come here for a re-centering and you're dealing with some anxiety today, It can be helpful to notice what is the quality of the anxiety. Where is it? Where do you feel a sense of tightness or tension? Where do you feel it in your body? Is it in your chest, Your throat, Or your head? Is it tingling in the arms or the legs? Tingling in the arms or the legs? Anxiety shows up for different people in different parts of the body. Keep breathing deeply and slowly as you just mindfully locate, Where is it? What does it feel like? For me, Oftentimes, Sense of anxiety will feel like a tightness in my chest or my throat. And just sort of being with that. Noticing how anxiety shows up in the body and perhaps noticing that we don't have to push it away and we also don't have to ignore it. We can notice the sensation of anxiety wherever it is in the body. Wherever it is in the body. You can also notice whatever attendant thoughts, Fears, And anxiety spirals might also attend the physical sensation. And allowing those thoughts to come and go while we continue to breathe. Just continuing to breathe and sort of sitting back as a witness to the thoughts, The emotions, The emotions, The physical sensations that are tied to that sense of anxiety. Oftentimes, When we're experiencing acute anxiety, Somebody might ask us, What's wrong? What are you anxious about? And sometimes that can be frustrating. If you're anything like me, Sometimes the anxiety is nebulous or ambiguous. You can't quite describe what it is. You just know you don't feel very good. So the intention here is to breathe deeply, Feeling our chest rise and fall, Noticing where and how that anxiety might show up in the body. And just being a gentle, Patient witness to all of that. Now, In the last couple minutes here, We might experiment with placing our hand on our chest. It could be one hand or two hands. And bringing perhaps a sense of compassion and forgiveness for ourselves. Just being here and seeking out a meditation like this suggests that you care about yourself. You want yourself to have peace and comfort. So maybe placing a hand on the chest and feeling the rising and the falling of the breath. Witnessing the emotions. Witnessing anything that's coming up for you with a sense of patience and compassion. Making room for the experience of anxiety. And finally, A more focused wish for ourselves to turn down the volume 20 percent. Turn down the volume 20 percent. A sense of urgency or fear or frustration. Whatever is in your control, And some of it won't be, But whatever is in your control to just turn down the volume 20 percent. And allowing yourself to go on with the rest of your day with just a little bit more patience and compassion for yourself. Allowing the anxiety to be here. See if that helps. Okay, I hope you feel slightly more centered than you did at the beginning. Thank you for stopping by. All right, Have a good day.