This exercise can be done as a meditation or as a paper and pencil task.
Select what is more convenient for you at this moment.
Sit comfortably,
Back straight,
Shoulder relaxed.
Keep an alert and dignified posture.
Close your eyes if that is comfortable for you.
Otherwise,
Let them partially open,
Finding a spot on the floor to focus on.
Become aware of your body.
Notice your posture.
Notice if there is any tension in your body.
And notice if there is any tension in your body.
Feel the sole of your feet,
Your buttocks,
Your buttocks,
Your back,
Your hands,
And your face.
Connect with your breathing.
Take three slow and deep relaxing breaths.
Follow the air coming in and out with your mind's eye.
Come back to the natural rhythm of your breath and bring to your mind something that is worrying you and making you anxious.
If you have several options,
For now,
Just select one.
With this thought in mind,
Become aware of the emotions it makes you feel.
Name two of the strongest emotions it elicits and rate them from one to ten,
Ten being the strongest.
How strong are these emotions?
Can you express in one phrase what you think it is going to happen?
Can you tell from one to ten how certain you are that this outcome you are fearing will actually happen?
Take one slow and deep breath.
Allow the air coming in to help you create inner space and the air going out to help you release tension.
Then come back to your natural breath.
Whenever we worry in excess about things that may or may not happen,
Negativity starts to fill our thinking,
Affecting our decisions,
Our behaviors,
And the way we feel.
When we give space to anxiety,
We send our mind to an unknown negative future.
In this way,
We miss precious time with ourselves and people around us.
Keeping this in mind,
Consider how is this worry affecting your life?
Take one slow,
Deep,
Relaxing breath,
And then come back to your natural breath.
At first,
When the possibility of a stressful situation appears,
We start to worry because our inner wisdom tries to find ways to solve the situation that cause us discomfort or suffering.
Keeping this in mind,
Reflect for a second on a healthier or more helpful way to approach this worry.
Express this in one phrase.
If this is challenging for you,
Try to think about an advice that you will give someone you love in a similar situation.
Keep connected to your breathing.
When we fall in the circle of worry and anxiety,
The initial problem-solving process stops being adaptive and become inefficient,
And then we get stuck in negativity.
This brings a lot of suffering because we keep only imagining the worst case scenario.
If indeed the worst thing happened,
Living with worry and anxiety our pain is tripled as we suffer before,
During,
And after the situation takes place.
On the other hand,
If the real outcome is not as we expected,
Then we would have caused ourselves a lot of unnecessary pain and discomfort.
Keeping this in mind,
Use a phrase to express a healthier thought to replace your worrisome thought.
Come back to your breathing.
Follow the breath with your mind's eye.
Through your breath,
Connect with your body.
Now explore if you can find a point of connection between your breath,
Your body,
And the surface supporting you.
Fully present in your body,
Listen to the sounds that are around you.
You don't need to tug them,
Just let them be.
Fully connected to the present moment,
Whenever you feel ready,
Open your eyes.
