Welcome to this anxiety and stress relief meditation.
So whatever state that you're coming to this meditation in,
Know that this is welcome.
This practice is for you,
To meet you exactly where you are at.
So coming to a standing position,
Feel your feet firmly on the ground.
We will begin first with one minute of shaking meditation.
The intention is to allow ourselves to somatically empty,
To empty anything stuck in the body,
Releasing from the mind and the emotions through the body.
So with your feet firmly on the ground,
And a slight bend in your knees,
Arms hanging heavy,
Begin to bounce here,
Shaking.
Staying in touch with your breath,
And allow any emotions that come up through this practice,
Allow yourself to express them in the shaking,
Use them like fuel.
The shaking,
A process of transformation,
Letting yourself empty,
Letting go of holding on in the jaw,
Letting the shoulders bounce freely.
Deep breath in,
And exhale out through the mouth.
Deep breath in,
Exhale out through the mouth,
Allowing the shaking to ripple throughout every part of your body.
Staying in,
And exhale out through the mouth.
And coming to stillness now,
Feeling these sensations,
Your pulsating heartbeat.
We will now go into a practice called box breathing.
So you may wish to stand,
Sit,
Or lie down.
For this practice,
You'll be breathing in through the nose,
Breathing in for a count of four.
Hold for a count of four,
Exhale for a count of four,
Hold for a count of four,
And repeat.
So you'll notice if you follow along with each breath and hold in your mind's eye,
You will be able to draw a box.
So with each movement of your breath,
Visualize this box being drawn in your mind's eye.
Notice all your focus upon the sensations of your breath and this visualization.
Great.
And you can let go of this box breathing now.
Another way that we can access the parasympathetic nervous system and also our compassion is to wrap ourselves in a tight embrace.
So bringing your arms out wide and before wrapping yourself in a hug,
Connect to this feeling of genuine comfort,
Genuine love,
Genuine listening with compassion.
And when you feel this strong inside of you,
You can wrap yourself in a hug.
And allow yourself to melt into this strong,
Sturdy presence of love holding you.
And as we're here,
Breathing in and out through the nose,
Begin to extend your exhalation,
Really savoring the out breath,
Taking your time in it.
These are one of those hacks to calm anxiety,
To activate the rest and digest mode of our nervous system.
And take this moment to acknowledge the strength it took you to be here today,
To choose to initiate a practice of self-care,
To support yourself in this time.
And the caring for yourself,
You offer so much to this world,
So much to yourself.
Strength does not always mean it feels like it.
In times,
Strength comes in our moments of heightened sensitivity,
Of choosing to patiently bring love here.
So taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.
You can stay as long as you would like here.
Otherwise,
When you're ready,
Releasing this embrace,
Coming to let your hands rest down by your sides.
And offering to yourself one thing that you're grateful for,
Gifting yourself the opportunity to taste gratitude.
And whatever this gratitude is for,
Tune into the sensations of this gratitude within you,
The source of where it comes from.
And sitting here for one moment in connection with this source,
This source that is always inside you.
Thank you for joining me in this practice today.
If you feel it would be beneficial to process more.
And when you're ready,
Slowly bring your attention back to your surroundings.
