Soothing Anxiety

Anxiety is a very human response: to the chaos of the world, to the pain and wounding within our own being. Allow me to guide you back to presence, to re-orientate away from the thinking, anxious mind and into breath, into body, into peace. Healing is always possible.

Transcript

Hey,

It's Mar.

Welcome to this guided session for soothing anxiety.

Whether this experience of anxiety is new for you or a lifelong acquaintance,

My deep wish for you is that you find some relief and comfort through the practice.

That you get a little break from the sometimes overwhelming sensations,

Thoughts,

Beliefs and emotions that the experience of anxiety can create.

Before we begin,

I invite you to find the position in which you feel safest.

Take a moment and tune into your body now and listen.

Be guided by its wisdom and when you feel called to,

Move gently into the position that your body recognizes as safe.

One in which it feels protected.

This may be seating,

Standing,

Curled up in a ball.

There's no right or wrong.

Using any props that enhance this feeling,

A blanket,

Pillow,

Any item that brings a sense of comfort and protection.

Making any final adjustments you need now.

As you begin to settle in,

I invite you to really feel that you are not alone.

That you are being guided,

Held,

Supported.

Though we may not be together in person,

I am here with you right now and holding this space for you.

So that for this time together,

You may surrender the need to do anything.

It's okay just to be here.

For this next while,

Know that there is nowhere else to be and nothing else to do.

When we're in the midst of the experience of anxiety,

It can feel impossible to step back,

To put everything down,

To recognize the looping thoughts,

The planning,

Fixing,

Worrying,

Ruminating and to simply down tools to switch off.

And this makes so much sense because these are all the ways in which our system is attempting to keep us safe.

Our loyal,

Protective parts are working round the clock to anticipate all the ways the world or other people could harm us and are actively trying to prevent that from happening.

So these parts that seem to cause us so much pain and stress are simply acting in service of survival.

They don't want to see you get hurt.

And we can't simply tell these parts that you are safe.

They must be shown.

They need to feel safe.

Let's see if we can help these protective parts find a sense of safety.

Begin by orienting to the space you're in.

So without an agenda,

Look slowly,

Mindfully around your space and see it as though for the first time through fresh eyes.

So this is not an active experience.

We're just allowing our focus to go where it likes.

Gently noticing shapes,

Colours,

Shadows,

Light,

Texture.

Stay with that,

Just noticing.

And when the mind jumps in with judgements about your experience,

That's okay.

Just return your attention.

This space that you're in,

You might know it intimately and yet we're often not really here.

Our physical body may be,

But our energy,

Our attention is off in other places.

And this is especially true at times of heightened anxiety.

It can be hard to fully land.

So what we're doing here is just seeing if we can really inhabit our body to call all awareness back and to orient to this space around us.

And let your focus land on an object around you that you feel called to and receive whatever it is.

Really see it.

Stay with it.

As you do this,

Just noticing how you feel in the body.

Sensations,

Heat,

Cool,

Tingling,

Anything that's here now.

Our protective parts are often stuck in pain or trauma from the past and also projecting into the future.

So this subtle,

Gentle exploration helps our system to know where we are.

To call all our awareness into presence.

To really land,

To arrive here in this body,

In this space,

In this moment.

If it feels good for you at this point,

You can close over the eyes now and draw all awareness inward.

And if that doesn't feel nourishing for you,

Just leave them open.

Calling awareness on to the breath now.

Beginning to feel the physical sensation of breathing.

Just noticing the breath and feeling into the physical movement of air and the subtle sensations in the body that you experience as you breathe.

Maybe you're aware of your nose,

Throat,

Chest,

Belly.

Play with tracking a full breath cycle.

Feeling a new breath arrive into the body.

Following it to the belly and all the way back out again.

Stay with this a few moments without changing or forcing your breath.

Just following it and feeling it.

And now if it feels okay for you,

We'll deepen the breath just a little to allow for some long,

Slow,

Controlled exhalations.

These are what signal to the nervous system that we are safe.

That it's okay to rest.

So breathing down into the belly to the count of four,

Pausing and out to the count of six.

And if it's available to you,

Breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth as though you were gently blowing out a candle.

Breathing in,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause and out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause and out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Last one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

I'm just taking a moment now to check back in with the sensations in your body.

Noticing whatever is present and allowing it.

And as you stay with the sensations beginning to notice your sense of contact with the space and surfaces around you.

Noticing what parts of your body are touching a surface and calling all awareness on to that.

How does that sense of touch feel,

Physically feel?

Connecting deeply into that sensation of touch.

Not thoughts about it,

But the direct sensation of touch.

Feeling that you are in this body,

Feeling this touch right now,

In this present moment.

And taking a few moments now to gently move awareness back and forth between breath and the sensation of touch.

So feeling your breath and then maybe feeling your feet on the floor.

Feeling your breath and then the contact your back makes with the chair if you're on one.

Your breath and then the feeling of your hands wherever they rest.

And gently seeing if it's possible to connect these now.

So as though you're breathing directly into each area of the body that you can feel.

Breathing into the chest,

Breathing into the legs,

The belly,

Whatever area you become aware of,

Simply breathing directly into that space.

Knowing that you are safe.

It's okay to be here.

Stay with the breath and continue to call all your awareness back into your physical being.

All of this energy that has been caught up in worry and planning and doing is called back into the body now,

Into presence.

You are calling all parts home.

And if it is nourishing for you,

Placing one hand on your heart and the other hand on your belly and receive the nourishment of physical touch.

Either silently or out loud repeating the following phrases.

Everything is okay.

Everything is okay.

Right now I am here in my body in this moment and everything is okay.

I am safe.

I am here.

Everything is okay.

Feeling the support of your own nurturing touch and knowing that right now you are safe.

You are being held.

And right now,

In this moment,

All is well.

Taking a few more healing breaths in and as you inhale feeling a sense of breathing down into the earth.

Grounding and connecting.

And as you exhale,

Sensing any worry or tightness or constriction that you are needlessly carrying,

Just release out into the atmosphere.

Let yourself go.

Breathing in grounding and safety.

Exhaling worry.

And as we begin to draw the practice to a close,

Remember that this feeling is within you.

That I have simply guided you here but that the feelings,

The sensations are within you and you can choose to return to them whenever you wish.

You alone are in control of your being.

If you've had your eyes closed,

Cup them with your hands and gently begin to blink them open.

If you wish to stay a little longer in whatever position you're in,

You're welcome to do so.

Some gentle stretches and movements might feel good to end the practice when you feel ready.

Thank you for sharing this space with me.

I wish you so much peace in your life,

In your heart and I'm grateful to have been with you for this time.

However challenging things may feel in life,

Just know that there is always hope and healing is always possible.

Namaste.

Reviews

thank you, my irish fairy. i started this practice with a racing heart and a tense jaw, and finished it with a smile. namaste.

I find so much comfort and trust when I am guided by Mar’s beautiful meditations. Thank you!✨

Very helpful and really beginner friendly, will be listening again ☺️

I felt so safe, thank you so much for your guidance 🙏✨

Always Soo amazing for when I need it, from the bottom of my heart, thank you 🤍✨🙏

Wonderful meditation! Thank you for sharing this meditation Mar 🙏

This practice is deeply helpful in my life right now and I’m so grateful for it. Thank you.

This was absolutely incredible and exactly what I needed to soothe me this morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🤎

I truly believe the Universe has brought me to your meditations. Two days in a row your meditations have come to me at a time when I needed to hear them. I feel truly grateful I “stumbled” upon them. Thank you 🙏

This has been so helpful for grounding and being present. I had no idea how scattered I was until going through this. Truly a meditation I needed now.

I loved this gentle healing meditation. Your guidance is soothing and relaxing 🙏💕

Dear Mar, your words mean so much to me at this time. Thank you so much.
🙏🕊🦋

What a deeply nourishing experience. Thank you so much for sharing your practice. 💗🙏🏾✨

Fabulous meditation. Love her voice and background music.
💕🐦🌷 Calming

Thank you for this, Mar. A great way to start the day!

Your voice, your words and insight are always so calming and restorative. Thank you.

A gorgeous, sensitive, loving meditation. Thank you.

Beautiful! Thank-you again Mar ❤️ So very healing. I’ve been a psychotherapist for 30+ years and do a lot of parts work. I often recommend your meditations to my clients. Be well ✨

Beautiful! Thank you for such a gentle way to safety to combat anxiousness. Your gentle kindless can be felt in your healing energy and vibration of voice....thank you!

Perfect little meditation to relax. Very nice voice!