Hi,
My name is Dina and welcome to this simple meditation on relieving anxiety.
Anxiety can be really challenging because it's physically felt in the body and therefore influences how we feel,
How we act and react,
And as much as we try to will it away,
It sometimes stays with us,
It clings on.
The best thing we can do in this case is to sit with it,
To try and feel it,
To breathe with it until hopefully it begins to pass.
Let's begin this meditation by finding a comfortable seated position.
This can be any seat of your choice,
Be as comfortable as you like,
Sitting on a chair,
On the floor,
Just as long as you're upright so that the spine can be tall and lengthened.
Feel the crown of the head lifting up towards the sky.
Feel the weight of both of your sit bones rooting down into the earth.
See if you can really connect to that feeling of becoming grounded,
Becoming aware of your physical body and how it's perfectly placed,
Perfectly seated,
Just as it is,
Just as you are.
There's no need to fix or change anything at this time.
Eyes are closed,
Face and jaw relaxed,
Shoulders,
Chest,
Ribs relax,
Belly,
Thighs,
And legs relax.
Just as much as possible,
Allowing a wave of softness to just wash over the entire body.
Once you feel very calm,
Very comfortable,
Just trying to hold still as best as possible,
Knowing that you're free to adjust and fix your position at any time,
If that's going to serve you feeling better in your body right now.
Turn your awareness and your attention to the breath.
Just check in to see where you've landed.
Maybe the breath is feeling a little choppy,
A little uneven.
I encourage you to observe it without judgment.
This is what's here now.
Maybe you feel some sensations in the body,
Some discomfort.
Your anxiety is feeling intense.
Perhaps you're feeling it physically in the body.
Just see if you can notice where.
Where are you holding on to?
The sensations,
The emotions,
The stress,
The tension.
Is it in the neck or the shoulders?
Is it in the heart?
Is it in the abdomen or the belly?
Or is it in the hips?
Begin an exploration using the mind's eye to travel awareness across the whole body,
Scanning from the tips of the toes to the top of the head,
Holding in any places where you feel needs attention.
Once you come to a place that feels intense emotionally or physically,
Send awareness there,
Send breath.
Most importantly,
Send an uplifted and positive intention,
An intention of acceptance of what's here and now.
Acceptance of these tremors that may live in the body,
Acceptance of the shortness of breath,
Acceptance of worry,
Of fear,
Acceptance of doubt.
Anxiety is usually a way for the body and the mind to tell you what's happening.
Small signals that reveal little secrets.
Words that haven't yet been spoken that need to be released,
Emotions that haven't yet been felt that need to be released.
Allow those all to come up to as they are.
Hold space for them.
Take a big breath in and out.
May make your way back into your own body and into the space that you're in.
Become aware of your aliveness,
Your breathing,
Your placement on the mat or on your chair in the room that you're in,
The walls around you or maybe the open space around you.
Gently coming out of your meditation.
Gently opening the eyes.
Gently bringing the hands onto the heart or onto any part of the body that you connected to earlier.
Bringing love,
Peace,
Acceptance and gratitude for honoring this moment as it is with all its imperfections.
Take a full breath into the heart.
Gently sigh the air out.
Two more like that.
Deep breath in.
Sigh the air out.
Last one.
Full breath in.
Expand in all directions and exhale.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Take some time to be kind to yourself,
To your mind,
To your heart,
To your body.
Namaste.
