Listening To Anxiety

Anxiety, like all emotions has a purpose. If your anxiety seems meaningless and overwhelming, take a moment to lean in and listen for its message. In this therapeutic practice, we connect to the experience of anxiety, opening our heart and engaging our wise mind to hear what it is that our anxiety wishes for us to learn and overcome.

Transcript

Anxiety can feel like it shows up out of nowhere,

Quickly becoming overwhelming and separating us from the present moment.

With practice though,

We can become more attuned to the triggers for our anxiety and even make space to hear its message without fear.

Sit comfortably and close your eyes.

Start by taking a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Again,

In through the nose and out through the mouth.

Now allow your breath to flow naturally in through your nose and out through your nose without forcing it into any kind of pattern.

Allow your body to settle in to this space and this moment.

If you find that you have been anxious about a specific situation,

Take a moment to connect with that situation just enough to allow your anxiety to show up.

If you tend to feel anxious without any recognizable cause,

Gently invite your anxiety in by bringing to mind the physical sensations associated with it.

Maybe increased heart rate,

Racing thoughts,

Tension in your body.

See if you can make room for these sensations.

Without judgment,

Without tensing up around the experience of anxiety.

When you have fully connected with the experience of anxiety,

Set your intention to listen to this uncomfortable feeling.

Opening your heart,

Engaging your wise mind to hear the really necessary message that your anxiety may be trying to communicate.

Take a few moments to be in this open,

Willing space with your anxiety.

Returning to the breath whenever you find yourself getting too caught up in the story.

Keeping your heart open and soft,

Compassionate and receptive to whatever your anxiety is trying to tell you.

Perhaps it is trying to help you become aware of how hard you are on yourself.

Maybe your anxiety is trying to get you to be still rather than react or make a change right now.

Know that you possess all the wisdom and all the space necessary to be with your anxiety effectively.

To allow this feeling to work for you,

For your growth.

Take these next moments to continue to hold the space for the important message your anxiety is trying to communicate.

Reviews

This really helps me to calmly sit with my anxiety, and that allows it to naturally soften. Thank you 🙏 It is one of my favorite meditations.

Thanks that helped me a lot 🙏🏻

Very helpful - thank you!

This is a good approach. It helped, as I can’t identify the ongoing cause of the anxiety. It helped ease settle for the moment and just allow it to be. Thank You 🙏

So impactful! Thank u , soul!

very relaxing and great truths. thank you

Anxiety is kinda like a knock at the door! And how we respond to the messenger at the door is up to us!
Thank you for this awesome insight!

Excellent!!! My 13 yo is experiencing lots of random anxiety and I plan to share this with her. what I love most is that you start by recognizing and relating the feelings and sense of discomfort that she has been experiencing and send a message that this is normal and okay and to work at getting ccurious and calm. Those three steps in 6 minutes! Perfect way to start with her, in a short piece that she will be able to get through as a new meditator. Thank you!

This was very effective and calming.

Very very helpful when in the moment of anxiety. I like the open ended way it ended since it let me sit with my anxiety as long as I needed to without any interruptions.

I cannot believe that in 5m I was completely fully in stillness and found this to be the most helpful way that just started my day. So thank you

New way to listen to my anxiety and actually try to see what it's trying to say, instead of running away from it

Great thank you. It was good to ask myself what does my anxiety wants to tell me.

Really like this one. 🙏

Very good messages

Very helpful. A longer version would be great. Thank you.

Excellent!! Thank you!!!

Simple and powerful. Deeply GRATEFUL. Thank you