This is a meditation to recognise our triggers for anxiety and change our responses.
Because mindfulness takes us out of autopilot and makes us aware of what is going on in our experience,
External and internal,
And anxiety is also a form of habit,
It's an emotional habit,
These reactions that we practice over and over and they become a default mode.
We can also apply mindfulness to what triggers our anxiety and change the fight and flight response,
The stress and anxiety response,
To curiosity.
Curiosity is a very simple way to get out of our rehearsed modes of being and turn them into what we call beginner's mind,
The opposite of taking things for granted,
The opposite of being used to things and not question them,
Not marvel at them.
It's observing everything that happens,
Anything,
With interest,
As if it was completely new.
This space is where new options emerge,
New choices can be made and new habits,
Healthier habits formed.
So if you're ready,
Just settle down into a comfortable seat and we're going to go inside to start with,
So rest your attention on the body,
On how it's sitting.
If you have your eyes closed,
Notice how you can still tell the shape of your body,
The outline of your body,
The weight of it on the chair or the cushion,
And how it is supported,
How it is relaxing and resting into that support.
And just for a few moments,
Become aware of your body breathing and how it's moving with the breath,
That gentle swaying,
That gentle expansion and relaxation.
And I'd like you now to bring to mind something which causes you anxiety.
It could be a habitual thing or it could be something that's happening right now,
Like for example being very busy at work and deadlines looming or something you need to do that you're really not looking forward to.
And see what is happening.
What does that resistance feel like?
What does it feel like in your mind and in your body too?
Where is the agitation,
Where is the restlessness in your body,
Where do you feel it?
Is it in your chest,
In your stomach,
In your head?
Does it have a temperature?
Does it have a tightness or a texture even?
And notice that as you are examining what it feels like and where it is and how it is manifesting,
You are already bringing curiosity to the situation.
You're bringing beginner's mind to it as if it never happened before and you were observing something new.
So see if you can stay curious about it,
Open and kind as well without fighting it.
It's just there as part of your experience.
And notice what your reactions are to the observing of the experience as well.
How are feelings and sensations changing for you as you are choosing to stay with the experience and opening up to it instead of shrinking?
Curiosity naturally opens up instead of tightening which is a very different response.
So notice now what is different.
This is a very different way of being with experience.
This is challenging the contraction and instead opening up.
And the more we do this,
The more we are training our amygdala,
Our fight or flight response,
To calm down even in the face of difficult experience.
And basically teaching ourselves that it's okay,
We can relax,
We really can relax even when life is difficult.
So whenever you notice that you are triggered by something and you're getting anxious or stressed out,
See if you can challenge that,
Bring curiosity to it,
Get out of doing mode and into just being,
Just observing,
Not reacting,
Opening up,
Making space for it and getting comfortable around it.
This is the kind of mental space where you really can respond with awareness instead of blindly reacting.
This will give you the choice on how you want to feel and how you want to behave.
So just bring your attention gently back to the breath now,
The breath gently moving your body,
Gently nurturing your body.
And the sensations of the body resting.
Become aware again of the space that you find yourself in,
The sounds around you.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
