Hello,
My name is Cheryl Bailey from Grit and Grace Meditation,
And today I'm going to be sharing with you a meditation that will help reduce anxiety.
And so before we begin,
I invite you to come into a comfortably seated position and sit with a tall spine.
And you can begin by placing your hands in your lap or gently at your side and just becoming completely relaxed.
And I invite you to close your eyes.
And if you're not completely comfortable closing your eyes,
Then just create a soft gaze on the floor just a few feet in front of you.
And we'll begin by taking a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in through the nose,
Filling up completely,
And then a long exhale out through the mouth,
Letting all of that stress and anxiety go.
Do that two more times.
Long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through the nose,
Filling up completely,
And then exhaling out through the mouth.
Last time,
Long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
To help you to reduce anxiety,
Start by taking a moment to rest fully into your body and breathing any relaxation into tension that you may be holding onto,
Relaxing your shoulders down your spine,
Softening through your belly.
Scan your awareness through these sensations in your body.
And wherever possible,
Soften and release any of those obvious areas of physical tension.
Become aware of your body,
Your body breathing,
Noticing your chest rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.
And now imagine standing in the street outside of your house with two heavy suitcases.
And know that one of those suitcases is full of worries about the future,
And the other suitcase is full of regrets about the past.
And take a moment standing there in the street holding these two heavy suitcases and reflect about each one.
Reflect about the future,
How the future will come on its own accord when it comes,
And that most of what you worry about may never happen.
And standing there in the street,
Reflect on your past,
The other heavy suitcase that you're holding in your hand.
Consider now how the past cannot be changed.
All you can do in the present is to learn from it.
Put in whatever corrections make sense,
Become more skillful,
Become a better person,
And move on.
Standing there in the street,
Feeling the weight of these suitcases and absorbing the wisdom of your own reflections right now,
Make a conscious decision.
Do you want to drop the suitcases of worry about the future?
And if so,
Simply drop it.
Simply drop the suitcase.
Then standing there in the street with the other suitcase so heavy about the past,
Make a conscious decision.
Do you want to drop it?
And if so,
Just drop it.
Simply just drop it.
And as soon as you have dropped the two suitcases,
Walk into your home and take your seat right where you are.
Sit down,
So relaxed,
Like someone coming home from a long trip,
Dropping suitcases and just relaxing,
Rested in this present moment,
Right here,
Right now,
Just breathing,
Resting in the natural well-being,
Resting in the fundamental well-being of awareness itself,
Your awareness,
Which is not worry or regret.
Allow yourself to simply rest,
Feeling a sense of peace,
Of joy,
And of well-being.
This is a natural happiness for you.
This is your true home without carrying those heavy suitcases of worries about the future or full of regrets from the past.
Simply rest here in your body right now,
Total relaxation,
Total relaxation through your body and your mind,
Feeling your breath as you inhale and as you exhale.
Begin to take a few deeper breaths,
Bringing your awareness back into the space,
Knowing that you are complete and whole and perfect just the way you are.
And when you're ready,
You can begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes and start to stretch into the space around you,
And you can open your eyes and come back into the room.
I hope this mini reset allowed you to alleviate some of the anxiety that you were feeling today and know that you can come back to this meditation at any time for a reset.
Thank you and have a nice day.
Namaste.
