It's Okay - Self-Soothing For Anxiety

This practice uses one of the most soothing mantras for our system - the words and vibration of "It's Okay", along with simple breathing. This meditation can be used any time you need to feel soothed, reassured and that underneath everything, it's okay. Everyone of us needs to hear this and know that at some time.

Let this mantra permeate every cell and feel yourself centred in peace.

Transcript

Sometimes we don't feel okay. We don't feel that we are okay, Or we feel that a lot of things around us or in the world are not okay. And that feeling makes us very anxious. We feel unsteady, Ungrounded, And uncomfortable. And one thing to say is this is a very common human experience. And so much of the time, Although we don't feel okay, We are okay, Fundamentally. Or though we feel nothing in the world is okay, There's actually so much that is and so much goodness, But we're not able to connect to that. So this practice that we're gonna share together is for creating in our body, In our being, A feeling of being okay. And it is a way of stepping in to support ourselves with some self-soothing. We're simply going to use our breath, Not in any complicated way or controlling way, But we're going to use the support that breathing is. And a mantra that is incredibly soothing, And we all know this one, Which is, It's okay. When you say that to someone, When they're distressed, It's okay. That person feels seen, They feel safe or a little safer, And they feel able to ground. And that's what your system is asking for when it feels not okay. It's not trying to punish you. It's not really that something bad is gonna happen or is happening. Your system is asking to be reassured of safety. And your system is your body, Your nervous system. And the best way to help our body and our nervous system feel okay is to step right inside towards that distress and pay it some really good attention. So let's begin. Just in some simple way, Greet yourself here. Feel all the points in your body that are connecting to their support. Might be your feet, Your back, Your seat, And have a sense that you're releasing into the embrace of the ground underneath you, The earth. That wherever you are, No matter where you are, The earth holds you. And you can let yourself be held. And then begin to feel how your breath is moving inside your body right now. And turn toward what you're feeling. Knowing that you're very human and having feelings is very human. And just in some way, Make that a sacred turning towards your feelings, Your struggles, Emotions that feel uncomfortable. They're allowed to be here and you're able to help them. And when you think about this feeling of not being okay or things not being okay, In your body, What happens? What sensations in your body inform you that there's something wrong? Is it that it's hard to take a deeper breath? Is it that you feel like you're having to rush, That you kind of want to climb out of your skin? Or do you feel frozen and paralyzed? Notice what your body is telling you about how it feels and what it needs. It's okay to feel these things, Their communications. In your body, When things are arising for you that feel not okay, Is there a charge somewhere? Is there maybe a knot in your belly or pain or a heaviness in your chest? Do your shoulders feel tight and unable to let go and loosen? Is your jaw bracing? Just notice these are signs of, Little distress signs in your body that are asking you to give them permission to soften, To find some space. And we're going to do that with our breath and with this soothing of it's okay. See if you can tune in and connect just to the way breath is flowing in and flowing out. As a way of connecting to yourself without having to change anything. And can you notice how soft breath is? It's soft air. It's feather light. It's gentle. And just have this sense that that soft, Gentle breath that is breathing your body now without you even having to instruct it is meeting you with that softness. Is meeting all the places in you, Even the places that you don't like very much because breath doesn't discriminate. As you breathe, Feel your breathing love. That's what breath is. It's a loving energy that looks after you. And now as you inhale, Feel that filling that happens. And as you exhale, Feel how your breath moves down through your body. So make a lovely container for your breathing by feeling the inhale is filling and the exhale is sending energy into your body. You can feel it warming you on the inside. And then the excess just leaves. So, Breathing this soft, Loving breath in and sending that energy down through your body. And that love into every cell of your body. Just knowing that is the rhythm of your breath right now. That love and kindness, Softness, Soothing touch of your breath, Massaging all the parts of you is the flow that is inhabiting you and helping you. And that's what matters, That love is inside you meeting all your parts. And just knowing that, Imagine that your breath, If it had a voice, Is saying, It's okay. It's using that soothing. It's using those words that help, That are true. And that with the touch, The massage of your breath, You're sending it's okay as a vibration into your body. Can you begin to say to yourself, It's okay. Soften your face, Maybe soften down your eyes. Soften your body and your skin. And in your softest, Kindest tone, Say, It's okay. It's okay. And where that place is that you felt that charge, Maybe your belly or your chest, Can you take your hands there? Take them right to your body. And say those words into where your hands are. It's okay. It's okay. You can take a hand, Keeping one on your heart, To your head. Say to everything that's in your head, All the worries and the stresses, It's okay. You can take a hand to your belly, Where all your emotions live, And sometimes feels rather churned up. And say to where your hand is, It's okay. It's okay. You're saying to these parts, It's safe. It's safe to slow down. It's safe to loosen. It's safe to be here. It's safe to look to all the goodness that you are, That you have, That you live in. It's safe. You're okay. Now offer yourself just a little soothing touch. You could rub your hands together from side to side. You could massage your face, Especially if there's tension there. You could stroke your belly, Or you could stroke slowly up and down your thighs, And feel that you're actually massaging in. It's okay. The way you might a lotion or some essential oils, How those oils carry healing and goodness. And you can stroke, It's okay, Into your skin, Into your body, Into your energy field, Into you. You can go on for as long as you like, Saying the words, Breathing them, Stroking or touching. Choose what feels most welcome in your body now, Knowing that anything that doesn't feel welcome may need some time for this to get familiar and feel like familiar safety. We can be out of practice with tending to ourselves in this way. But right now, You can thank yourself. You've done something really powerful, And you've stepped in towards yourself. What does that mean for you? And how are you feeling? Check in with that. And even if there's just a little shift, That's huge. And over time, Taking moments with ourself like this, In this very empowering way, Changes the way we live inside. So it's a good thing to do. And I hope that you're feeling that way.