This practice is meant to help you move through moments of intense anxiety and cultivate a new method of coping.
We're first going to do some grounding exercises to help you reach a more calm state,
Out of that fight or flight mode,
And then we'll work on moving this energy a bit in one of my favorite techniques.
I'm here with you.
Let's move through this together.
Find a comfortable position to receive this meditation in.
Whether it's lying down or sitting,
Get yourself cozy as you can.
Adjusting the temperature,
Wrapping some blankets around you to start,
Whatever you need.
It's safe to simply exist here right now.
Whatever has you anxious is not important at this moment.
Leave everything behind here just for a bit.
Let's start by just slowing our breath.
You can close your eyes or keep them open,
Whatever feels safer.
We want to remind our mind and body that we're not in any danger right now.
Take a slow,
Deep breath into your belly with me.
And slowly exhale through your mouth as if you're blowing through a straw.
Let's do that again.
Big,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Slow exhale through pursed lips as slow as you can without restricting too much.
Beautiful.
Nothing else needs your attention right now.
Just this meditation.
Just your own mind and body.
It's safe to just exist here.
We're going to add a layer of bilateral tapping to our breathing exercise now to help us ground in our body.
You can take one of two positions.
The first would be to cross your arms in front of your chest and slowly tap back and forth on the front of your shoulders.
Your second option is to rest your hands on the top of your thighs and slowly tap back and forth there.
Try them both out if you'd like and see which one feels better and more grounding.
We're going to tap slowly in this rhythm.
One,
Two.
One,
Two.
One,
Two.
One,
Two.
Keep tapping and if it feels comfortable for you,
Go ahead and open your eyes if they aren't so that you can ground more firmly into the present moment.
Find something pleasant to look at.
Something with texture or color.
Or let your gaze wander and take in the environment.
I'll be guiding you the whole way.
We're going to continue our breathing and I'm going to count for you this time to help you find a rhythm.
We'll inhale for five seconds.
Hold for three.
And exhale for eight.
Keep tapping slowly back and forth as we do this.
Take one big breath in for nothing and out for nothing.
And then we'll start.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold for three,
Two,
One.
And exhale for eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two.
Let it all out on the one.
Again we'll inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold for three,
Two,
One.
And exhale eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let it all out.
We'll do that one more time.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold for three,
Two,
One.
And exhale for eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hopefully by now you're feeling at least a little bit more calm and grounded.
You can rest your hands and arms now if you'd like and just keep breathing slowly but at a more natural pace.
You can also keep tapping if it's helping you.
We're going to do a little exercise to help move some of this discomfort now.
Anxiety and panic can be intense and even painful energy to hold in the body.
If you're able,
Try to relax your muscles a little bit and try to identify any areas in your body where that feeling is still lingering.
Maybe it's in your chest or the pit of your throat.
Maybe it's deep in your stomach or at the root of your torso.
Wherever it is,
Just observe it.
No need to attach any thoughts or meaning to it.
Just identify the location and the sensation of it.
Notice what kind of sensation it is.
Again,
Let the thoughts around it go and focus only on the feeling.
Return to your breathing and tapping if you need to.
Is the sensation sharp?
Is it light and flighty or is it heavy,
Sinking?
Does it feel tight and constricting or is it more fluid?
Whatever form it's taking,
See if you can breathe a little love and acceptance into it.
It only wants to help you stay safe.
We're on the same side.
If it's comfortable,
Allow your eyes to close now.
And if you can,
Try to shift that sensation up or down just a bit.
You may have to use your imagination a little,
But just try.
If it's sitting in your chest,
Allow the sensation to drift down to your stomach for just a moment.
Just see what happens.
If the sensation feels really tight and stuck where it's at,
Get a little creative.
Imagine you're trying to jostle it free,
Moving it back and forth a little bit,
Front to back.
See if there's any direction at all that it's willing to move.
Keep experimenting for a moment with moving that energy around.
If at any time this gets too uncomfortable,
You can always stop and return to your breathing.
Now that we've got that sensation unstuck a bit,
Let's move it to an area of our body that feels less intense,
More manageable.
I'm going to guide you to move it into your hand,
But you can choose another point on your body that feels right for you,
If you'd like.
Locate the sensation again.
Feel its texture,
Its weight,
Almost like a buzzing energy.
Start moving it slowly up towards your chest.
If it's not there already,
Feel it there.
Then up a little further at the base of your throat,
And then allow it to drift just to the right a little.
Breathe.
Moving it slowly across the top of your chest,
Into your shoulder.
Feel that sensation,
That energy sitting there,
Like a fuzzy static.
Feel it drifting into your arm,
Down through your bicep,
Through your forearm,
And finally,
Right into the palm of your hand.
Hold that sensation there.
Keep your focus on it.
Feel it tingling in your palm.
Feel its temperature.
Feel it swirling.
Try to observe it in your mind's eye for a moment,
This intense sensation,
Able to be held in the palm of your hand.
It's just energy.
Something that wanted to help,
To keep you safe.
And now that it's not overwhelming you,
You can do exactly that much easier.
Send a little gratitude and acceptance to this energy,
For wanting you safe,
For reminding you that you're fully alive.
If you feel like you need to,
You can keep holding it in your hand until it dissolves on its own.
Or maybe you're ready to let it go now.
Allow it to float up and out of the palm of your hand,
Or maybe even flick it out of your fingers.
Let the universe take it.
Remember that you can always relocate this sensation of anxiety anytime it comes up or starts to overwhelm you in the future.
This can certainly take some practice,
So try to come back to it a few times if it didn't fully work for you this time.
I hope you're feeling a little more grounded and centered now that this has given you some more tools to work through your anxiety.
I'm sending you so much love and peace.
