Hi everyone,
My name is Kate and welcome to this meditation on re-centering after a anxiety attack.
After dealing with an anxiety attack we can often feel fatigued or exhausted and sometimes we have reoccurring or sudden bouts of anxiety and feelings of restlessness and muscle tension or body aches and even a bit of brain fog or confusion.
So this meditation is here to help you re-center and find a balanced internal state.
You can begin by finding a comfortable seated position with your feet firmly on the ground and allow your body to feel supported by the chair beneath you.
Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling out your mouth,
Almost like you're breathing through a straw.
Allow yourself to arrive in this moment,
Giving yourself permission to let go of the stress and the tension.
For the next 10 minutes you have nowhere you need to be,
Nothing that requires your immediate attention.
Allow yourself this moment to re-center.
Now bring awareness to your body,
Notice how it feels,
Notice any areas of tension or discomfort and without judgment,
Simply observe.
And if it feels comfortable,
Begin to gently stretch or move your body.
Perhaps you'd like to gently rotate your wrists and your ankles or slowly lift and lower your shoulders.
There is no right or wrong way to move here,
Simply listen to what your body needs,
Allowing it to express itself without force.
These movements can be subtle or deep,
But take a moment to move that tension,
Move it out of your body and allow your breath to guide these movements.
And if you'd like a bit more time here to freely express yourself through gentle movements,
You're welcome to pause this meditation and come back later.
Otherwise we'll move on to a progressive relaxation.
Start by bringing your awareness to your feet.
Begin to tighten the muscles in your feet by pressing them down or scrunching them up and hold this tension for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Then gradually release the pressure,
Allowing your feet to relax completely.
Now shift your focus to your legs,
Start to tense the muscles in your calves by flexing your feet up or pressing the heels into the ground and hold this tension for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Release the tension and allow your legs to relax.
Move up to your thighs,
Tightening them by pressing your legs together or squeezing your thighs and again hold for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Then relax and release,
Starting to feel difference between tension and relaxation.
Now let your awareness drift to your abdominal muscles.
Begin to tighten your stomach by pulling your belly button towards your spine or tensing the stomach muscles and hold this tension for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Slowly release,
Letting the stomach soften and relax and notice how your breath might become easier,
Your body starting to feel more at ease.
Shift your focus now to your arms,
Starting with your forearms.
Begin to clench your fists or flex the forearm to create tension and hold this for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Release the tension and let your forearms relax completely.
Moving your awareness now to your upper arms.
Tighten them by pressing the elbows towards your sides or tensing your biceps and hold for a count of three,
Two,
One and release and relax.
Direct your attention now to your shoulders.
Lift them up towards your ears,
Creating a feeling of tension and hold this position for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Gently release,
Allowing your shoulders to drop back down and relax.
Feel the relief as your shoulders let go of tension.
Now move your focus to your neck.
Gently tense your neck by dropping the head to the right shoulder,
Feeling that stretch along the left side of your neck and hold for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Slowly release and gently move the neck and the head over to the left shoulder,
Feeling that stretch now in the right side as you hold for a count of three,
Two,
One.
And slowly bring your neck and your head to a neutral position.
Now bring your awareness to your face.
Tense your facial muscles by scrunching your face,
Closing your eyes tightly and even clenching your jaw.
Hold for a count of three,
Two,
One.
Then release completely and allow the face to soften.
Take a moment to scan your entire body now,
Noticing the contrast between the areas of tension and relaxation.
Breathe deeply and observe how each part of your body feels.
And as you do,
Allow any remaining tension to melt away with your breath out.
Start to relax even further by softening the muscles,
Allowing a sense of heaviness to enter the body,
Heaviness in the feet,
Calves,
The thighs,
Feel the weight around the hips and the belly,
Feel a softening in the shoulders,
The elbows and the fingers,
Feel the jaw and clench,
Feel the muscles over your eyelids begin to soften,
Feel even the ears and the back of the head relaxing.
Allow all remaining tension to melt away.
Simply exist in this moment of complete relaxation.
And as you settle even deeper into this moment,
Shift your focus to your breath.
Observe its natural rhythm without trying to change it.
Inhaling deeply through your nose,
Filling your lungs completely,
Hold this breath for a moment and then exhale slowly out the mouth.
With each exhale imagine letting go of any lingering emotions,
Any lingering anxiety or tension,
Allowing it to dissipate completely with your breath.
And as you sit with your breath,
I invite you to take a moment to sigh out any lingering emotions or any lingering tension.
Take a full breath,
A deep breath,
Hold that breath for a moment and then when you're ready let everything go with a nice loud exhale,
A nice loud sigh and do that as many times as you need,
As you let your body and your mind re-center.
And I invite you now to gently bring your mind to some affirmations that might resonate with you.
Repeat them silently or aloud.
I am safe and I am secure.
I am grounded and I am present.
I let go of what no longer serves me.
Now gently place a hand over your heart and offer yourself kindness and compassion.
Acknowledge the experience you've just had and remind yourself that it's okay to take time to heal and re-center.
Trust that you are moving forward towards a place of calm and clarity.
Now begin to bring your awareness back to the present moment.
Start by noticing any sounds around you,
The feeling of your body against the ground or chair,
The rhythm of your breath and when you feel ready gently open your eyes.
Take a moment to appreciate the sense of calm that you've created and remember it's okay to return to this practice whenever you need to re-center and take a moment to ground yourself.
You are capable and you are moving forward with strength and resilience.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
