Okay,
Let's take a deep breath together.
Inhale slowly through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.
There you go.
One more time.
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Anxiety is something that we tend to hold on to without even realizing that we don't have to.
There's something within our minds which tells us that if we let go of this anxiety then we'll be underprepared or disorganized in some way.
We're here to remind ourselves today that we can give ourselves permission to let go.
There are times when that anxiety does not serve us anymore and that recognition is something that we're going to honor throughout this meditation.
We're going to honor a sacred space where we're allowed to just feel okay.
The fact that you're here right now is a massive win because it means you've given yourself the opportunity to get out of that fight or flight mode that you've been in and to find a place of relaxation and comfort.
Today we're not going to shout back at the anxiety or fight it in any way.
We're going to whisper something else and that's gratitude.
So let your eyes close if that feels good.
Once again take another deep breath in through your nose and release through your mouth.
Let's bring our mind to one thing that we're grateful for in this moment.
It doesn't have to be your entire life story,
It's just one thing.
It could be small like the taste of coffee you had this morning or maybe the feel of the breeze on your skin when you step outside.
Just tell yourself one thing you're grateful for.
And also remember you're allowed to feel anxious and also be grateful at the same time.
In fact the gratitude practices that we're going to be taking part in today are going to help us just naturally step away from that anxiety without trying to force ourselves out of it because it's the fight that often amplifies the anxiety.
This is about letting go and just taking all the pressure off ourselves today.
I want you to sit with that gratitude just for a moment longer.
One thing that you pinpointed in your mind.
And finally take another deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
That's great.
Hopefully you're feeling a little more present.
Now we're going to amplify the level of gratitude that we're giving to the world,
That we're giving to ourselves.
And I want you to just say out loud for the next 60 seconds anything that comes to your mind that you can be grateful for.
It might be your family,
Your friends,
The night sky,
Wonderful tastes of food.
Whatever it may be just give yourself the next 60 seconds to just be grateful and focus on that.
That's wonderful.
Hopefully just because we've been focusing on gratitude rather than our anxiety we would have had a little break from that intense feeling,
That overwhelm.
And I want this to serve as a reminder as you go into the rest of your day or into the rest of your week or into the rest of your evening whatever it may be,
That you're grateful for.
When you switch your focus onto something for some time especially something as powerful as gratitude you can completely change your inner reality in that moment.
And that's a great thing to know that you are not the anxiety because we have the ability to move from that feeling almost instantaneously.
Anxiety is just a response,
A reaction to the world around you and when we recognize that we can take action.
Well done for today and remember that you can return to this practice whenever you're feeling overwhelmed because the power and the choice is always within you.
