Anxiety is a symptom created by a kind of doom loop.
We tend to overthink,
Our minds want to make sense of stuff,
Even when there is no sense to be made.
So it works harder and harder to try and find resolution and peace.
And as the mind overthinks it makes us feel anxious in our bodies and it raises the stress hormones.
So in extreme cases we can feel sweaty and sick and tense and this causes us to overthink to try and work out why we're feeling anxious and reduce the levels of anxiety.
And because we're overthinking and this makes us anxious it increases again the stress hormones in our body so it's just a loop.
So to break this cycle the easiest way and the healthiest way is to learn to turn the attention from the thinking mind.
You can't stop it with your will but you can turn your attention from it and as it loses that attention it becomes less busy and it quietens of its own accord.
Meditation is a great method for quieting the thinking mind and reducing anxiety feelings in the body and the stress hormones.
This is why it's at practice by so many people and recommended by so many doctors and other health professionals as it does really work and it requires a regular practice.
If you can get in the habit of meditating and calming your mind and body every day you're kind of starting off at a lower level and so it takes longer and it's more difficult to raise the anxiety levels through the day and you find it more easy to drop back into a peaceful state.
There's many meditations that work basically it's anything that takes your attention from the thinking mind but my clients find this one particularly useful and so I thought I'd share it with you.
So settle into a chair or if you're on the floor find a nice balanced position with your feet,
Your body firmly planted on the floor and your back rising nice and tall.
As your back rises tall and straight it means your shoulders can simply drop and hang,
They can let go,
Just allow them to do this.
Now turn your attention to your breath,
Be aware of the movement of your ribcage in and out as you naturally breathe and with each out breath just allowing your body to settle,
Feel that stress dissipate and now begin to make the out breath a little longer than the in breath.
Keep the attention on the movement of your chest and the movement of the air in and out and if your attention is drawn back to the busy mind just turn it back.
Your attention is like a puppy,
It needs gently training,
Turn it back each time it gets caught up with thoughts again and now turn your attention to your brain and just imagine that organ,
Notice that organ inside your skull,
You can notice the sensation in your brain,
It might be tight,
It might be buzzing.
Invite your brain just like any other muscle to simply relax and release.
Imagine it opening,
Becoming porous,
Allowing the energy to simply dissipate and you can imagine breathing up into your brain and as you breathe out let more tension release,
Let it become more relaxed to the extent that it just sinks to the bottom of your brain case and spreads a little and as you feel that relaxation in your brain,
You can allow that relaxation and your attention to drop back into your body,
Back to the breath and with each out breath just say to yourself,
Be still and be still.
And you're going to drop your attention deeper to your belly and then the movement of your belly as you breathe is more subtle but notice your belly does move as you breathe and just track it and as you breathe out tell yourself to be still.
And now dropping deeper into that stillness,
You may notice that this stillness is bottomless and you can drop deeper.
You may notice that there's no bottom to this stillness,
It's infinitely deep.
You may notice that it stretches endlessly in front of you,
It's boundless in front of you and it stretches out behind and to both sides and it's boundless above and you are simply being this infinite expansion of stillness and as you drop deeper into this stillness,
Its quality may change.
The word you choose to describe it may be calm,
May be love,
May be acceptance,
May have no name,
Just this and be still here as this.
Now give yourself an inner smile,
Feel that smile radiate and you notice how your body is feeling now.
You may notice it's calmer,
Your stress levels have reduced.
So you can bring your attention back to the room and open your eyes and start your day.
Thank you.
