Give yourself a moment to just arrive.
In the end.
When you've done so,
Find a position that feels comfortable but awake.
Allowing your spine to rise naturally without holding it too rigidly.
When you feel ready,
Just allow your eyes to close,
Unless you prefer to keep them open,
In which case just relax your gaze.
Then take a gentle,
Unforced breath in through the nose.
And then allowing the breath to leave slowly and easily.
If anxiety is here this morning,
It may have arrived before you had properly oriented yourself,
Before you remembered what day it was,
Before you had consciously thought about anything at all.
The body wakes first and some mornings it wakes already preparing for danger.
So we're not going to begin by asking why,
We are simply going to notice what is actually here.
So if I had to place a hand somewhere that feels steadying,
Perhaps your chest,
Or your stomach,
Or somewhere else that feels naturally.
And gently bring yesterday to mind.
Not every detail,
Just the general shape of the day.
Think of one thing you were carrying or worrying about.
What actually happened.
Perhaps the mind predicted more than reality actually delivered.
Or perhaps something difficult really did happen.
Either way,
Notice the difference between anticipating an experience and actually living through it.
And then also notice that you are here now.
You met yesterday as it unfolded.
Anxiety is not stupid,
And it's not trying to deceive you.
It's part of a protective system.
But sometimes that system responds too strongly,
Too early,
Or before it knows what the moment actually requires.
So coming back to today and to right now.
Where,
If anywhere,
Do you feel anxiety in your body now?
Not necessarily what it's about,
Just where it is.
You might find tightness in the chest.
Perhaps a fluttering or pulling sensation.
You might notice it in the stomach.
The jaw,
The shoulders or the hands?
Choose one vase.
See whether you can become curious about the sensation itself.
And now notice whether anything else has gathered around it.
A bracing against it perhaps,
Perhaps wishing that it would leave.
An accompanying fear may be that its presence means something is wrong.
And this is where we practice something different.
Instead of trying to force any anxiety away,
We see whether you can soften that second struggle even slightly.
You don't have to like the feeling.
You don't have to call it pleasant.
The trick really is simply allowing it to be present without immediately fighting it.
You may want to silently recognize that this is what's here right now,
And I do not have to make it larger by struggling with it.
And as you breathe,
Let your attention remain gently with that area of the body.
Imagine the space around the sensation becoming just a little wider.
Not to push it out.
Not to make it disappear,
More just to give it a bit of room.
The premise is not to force the feeling away.
It's to make room for it,
Whether it changes or not.
And now,
Looking ahead to the day,
How do you want to carry yourself if anxiety comes with you?
Not the how do I get rid of this,
But instead how do I choose to respond.
In order to find a simple sentence in your own words.
It might be that I can feel anxious and still do what matters,
Or I will slow down before I decide anything.
Or something like,
I can let this be here without handling the control of my morning.
Or some other sentence that feels more honest today.
Give yourself a moment to find a sentence that feels appropriate for you.
You don't have to embody that intention perfectly.
You might forget it.
You might get caught up in the day.
That's okay.
The practice is simply to notice and return.
Take another gentle breath in.
Let the exhale be easy and unforced.
Anxiety turning up does not mean that something has necessarily gone wrong.
It means your protective system has become active.
And every time you can meet it without immediately fighting it,
Obeying it or becoming frightened of the feeling itself,
You practice coming into a different relationship with it.
You can feel anxiety and still move through your day.
That's the work.
Small moments,
Repeated over time.
See you tomorrow.
