Hi,
I'm Carolyn-Ann Budgel.
Welcome to The Daily Insight.
Today's meditation will help you to transform anxiety.
This is a meditation to help cope with the stress we carry from day to day.
It's for the times when we pause amidst our busy lives,
And we feel overwhelmed by how much tension is living in the physical body.
It's for the times when we feel defeated by the anxiety on repeat in the mind.
Together we will explore two simple techniques today.
Controlled breathing and mantra or affirmation.
Soothing our anxieties and finding equilibrium in the nervous system is always possible if we focus.
Our physiology and our emotions are constantly changing and we can guide the shifts in a more positive and empowering direction with just a little bit of practice.
So let's dive in.
Make sure you're sitting comfortably and take a really deep breath to land here in the moment.
Do a little scan from your head to your toes and notice how you are right now.
How are you feeling in this moment?
How are you feeling today physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally?
Observe what you're bringing into this meditation with you.
Lean into it.
Meditation asks of us to be really honest with how we are in any given moment.
And in this way we can become more aware of what we're ready to shift.
So take stock of how you are and we will assess any differences at the end of the meditation with another scan.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Lengthen your inhales and your exhales through your nose.
Taking long,
Slow breaths.
Now control your breath even further.
By inhaling,
Counting silently to yourself to four for the inhale.
And exhaling,
Counting silently to yourself to four.
You can decide how quickly or how slowly you count.
What matters is that you elongate your breath for several cycles or here for a couple minutes.
And this will invite in a sense of balance and it will also slow the heart rate.
Work with that practice,
Inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of four.
And exhaling for a count of four.
And exhaling for a count of four.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You may find that those habitual and well practiced thoughts of worry or of fear take over.
Just keep returning to this present practice of counting the breath.
Keep returning your thoughts to counting the length of the inhale and the exhale to four.
And know that this type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
The parasympathetic nervous system aids in regulating the heart rate,
Aids in digestion,
Resilience in the face of stress,
And promotes relaxation.
So continue with this practice a little bit longer.
Thank you.
Gently release that breathing exercise and soften down into your low abdomen.
Relax the area of your low belly.
And sense for any tightness that may have dissolved anywhere in your body from that practice.
Can you relax a little bit further?
Start to repeat this mantra silently to yourself.
Let it be.
Repeat that affirmation over and over in the mind.
Let it be.
Rather than push away stresses that arise or other thoughts or feelings that come into your awareness,
Let them all be.
There's nothing else that you need to control right now.
Nothing else to do,
But practice letting it all be.
Thank you.
Thank you.
If your attention wanders or you get distracted,
Let that be.
Remember,
You can train the mind to think differently.
The brain's plasticity literally changes when we intentionally direct our thoughts.
We can change the makeup of the brain.
We can change our minds.
Just as you have learned how to act and speak in this world,
You can also create new thoughts and new beliefs,
New ways of being in the world.
Remember that our anxieties no longer require our fuel or our kindling.
Notice them and simply let them be.
Repeating that to yourself a little while longer.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Gently release that affirmation and observe from your head right down to your toes.
How do you feel now compared to the scan that you conducted at the start of your meditation today?
How are you feeling now physically,
Emotionally and mentally?
You may notice a greater sense of clarity.
You may feel some very evident shifts or some insights in how you can catch stress before it happens next time or how to deal with it more mindfully in the moment.
No matter what it is you feel now,
Remember that transformation takes time.
And the more that you practice mindfulness,
The more quickly you will catch yourself before stress consumes you.
Controlled breathing and simple affirmations are tools that are accessible in any moment to help us cope and to keep us present.
They're very effective and they may take some time to really sink in and to land.
I hope that you can go out and that you can live all these practices of meditation or of mindfulness or of breath somehow with yourself.
And I hope that you can live them with the people you encounter each day.
Until next time,
Namaste.
