Breathe Through Anxiety

This Breathe Through Anxiety practice teaches you to take deep, calming breaths as you connect with the present moment. All is well. Feel it now through breath and guided affirmations created to help you feel safe and grounded, here and now. This moment is all that’s real. You are okay.

NOTE: This meditation is for all experience levels. The first half guides you into a desired state of BEing, while the second half provides an opportunity for you to practice without guidance.

Transcript

Welcome.

My name is Jessica Amos.

I am founder of Stay With Yourself.

Today's meditation for breathing through anxiety is designed to help you connect with the reality that you are safe here in the present moment.

To help you see clearly that what your mind is telling you is not always true.

What your fears tell you is not always true.

And that we can use practice of breath and presence to breathe through our anxiety,

To calm our fears and come out the other side with more peace,

Clarity and calm.

Let's start by setting up our bodies for relaxation,

Receptivity and letting go so that anxiety can move through us and out of us as we get to our breath practice.

Depending on what is most comfortable for you,

I encourage you to either sit in a chair or lie down on your back.

If lying on your back causes you to feel more anxious,

I encourage you to sit upright with a tall spine,

Feeling the back of your body supported,

Centered,

Anchored all the way from the back of your skull down your spine into your pelvis.

Feel yourself solid here now and plant your feet firmly on the floor so that your legs can soften and relax.

And allow the front of your body to soften and open.

Drop your shoulders down and back,

Tuck your chin slightly.

Breathe and open your heart space.

Relax your hips.

Relax your face.

And make any adjustments you need to your posture to help you feel comfortable and allow you to truly be held by your seat.

And if you are lying down,

Just allow the back of your body to be fully supported by the floor and allow the front of your body to soften and open to fully relax and melt and surrender.

You are safe and you are held by the floor.

You are safe and held by the back of your body wherever you are and the front of your body is free to let go and soften.

Feel this now.

Find this balance now.

Let's breathe into our bodies and release a bit more attention.

I will prompt you through the breath practice.

With each inhale,

I want you to imagine your tummy is an empty balloon being filled with air and on each exhale imagine your tummy softening and releasing tension.

Take a deep breath in through your nose,

Out through your mouth.

In through your nose,

Out through your mouth.

One more time,

In through your nose,

Out through your mouth.

I want you to continue breathing deeply like this for as long as it's comfortable as I prompt you as to where you can send your breath and focus your breath to relax and release tension from your body.

As you breathe deeply in,

Breathe deeply into your belly allowing it to expand and fill with air.

You can hold it there for a brief second or two before exhaling slowly through your mouth feeling your tummy softening and the air moving back up through your lungs and out of your mouth.

This is called diaphragmatic breathing.

It is deeply calming.

It presses on the spinal column and activates the calming centers in the body.

If you imagine a cat or a dog or a baby sleeping,

You can easily picture their tummies filling like balloons expanding with air and releasing tension and softening on the exhale.

This is how you came into the world breathing.

This is how you are designed to breathe.

So coming back to this deep breath where you breathe deeply in through the nose,

Deep inhale,

Expanding your tummy with air and then exhaling and releasing tension.

This is a deep full calming breath.

This is giving your body all the oxygen it needs.

You can also focus your breath into your neck and shoulders.

Breathe into any tension you are carrying in your neck and shoulders.

Deep breath in,

Expanding in your neck and shoulders and exhaling,

Releasing tension,

Dropping your shoulders down and back.

Can do that a couple more times.

Breathing deeply in and out,

Shoulders down and back.

In and out.

You can breathe into your heart space and your chest if you tend to slouch or pull your shoulders forward to protect your heart space.

This is a good time to just know you are safe and supported to pull your shoulders down and back,

To breathe into your heart space and allow it to expand and open.

The deep breath in,

Expand and exhale.

Feel your heart space softening and opening.

You can breathe deeply into your hips,

Releasing tension in your hips and thighs,

Releasing tension in your bottom.

Allow your arms to hang,

To let go.

Don't need to hold on in your arms.

Breathe up into your face,

Release any tension you are carrying in your forehead.

Relax around your eyes,

Around your mouth.

Relax your skull.

Breathe into your jaw,

Open your mouth slightly,

Allowing your jaw to loosen.

Breathe deeply into your brain,

Filling your mind,

Your brain with oxygen.

Breathe into your brain again and when you exhale,

Imagine your thoughts and worries and ruminations exhaling through your mouth with your breath and evaporating and going away.

Carry breath up in through your brain.

Carry out anything you don't want to hold onto that's bothering you and release it.

When you're able to fully relax and breathe into your body,

Release tension that's being carried in your body.

You begin to release anxiety that's being carried in your body as well and stress.

Breathing deeply like this,

It cleanses your internal organs,

It lubricates your joints,

It gets your blood flowing a little more cleaner,

Improves your circulation.

Your entire body is able to be more calm when you practice diaphragmatic breathing.

Now as you breathe through your anxiety and you're taking these deep breaths,

Really focusing on breathing in through the nose,

Down into your tummy,

Feeling it expand and exhaling,

Releasing tension.

I want you to just listen to my words and receive them as truth.

Continue breathing as you receive these words.

You are safe here in this moment,

In this body.

Feel where you are now.

Feel your feet firmly planted on the floor.

Feel the back of your body supported.

Feel the edges of your body.

You are contained.

Be aware of this very present moment of where you are here and now,

Wherever you are.

Notice that you are under no threat in this moment,

That your mind and your brain might be telling you that there are things to fear,

That it might be coming for you in the future.

But that's just thoughts happening here in the present moment.

You might be ruminating on things from the past.

It might be causing you anxiety,

Could've,

Would've,

Should've.

But that's just happening here in the present moment.

Breathe into those thoughts and those fears.

Imagine them evaporating on the exhale.

You are here now and you are safe.

Feel yourself safe here in your body in the present moment.

Your surroundings and the place that you are in now is neutral.

In this present moment,

All is well.

In this present moment,

You are well.

You do not need to worry about the future.

You do not need to ruminate on the past.

This is all that is real right here and right now.

This present moment is all that truly exists.

Any thoughts or ideas or worries you have about the future or could've,

Would've,

Should've or that might maybe someday happen,

Those are all just thoughts happening here in the present moment.

They are not reality.

Here now you are safe.

You are safe.

You are safe.

If you need to repeat that to yourself now,

I encourage you to do so.

You can even put your hands over your heart.

You can put one on your tummy and one hand over your heart and press down slightly to give you a little bit of a feeling of a hug.

You can even hug yourself and you can say,

I am safe.

I am safe.

I am safe.

Here and now,

I am safe.

The present moment is all that is real.

Keep breathing.

Breathe deep into your tummy.

Fill with oxygen.

Hold it and exhale.

You are safe.

Continue telling yourself,

I am safe.

If you need to say it like an external voice,

You can say,

You are safe.

Dear one,

You are safe.

I have you.

I am here.

Whatever comes,

We will handle it when we get there.

You do not need to worry.

All we have control over in this moment is ourselves.

Our breath here and now choosing to be present,

Trusting that the present moment is enough.

You are enough here and now in the present moment.

You are safe.

Feel yourself safe here now.

Feel the edges of your body here in this space.

Feel the presence of your body,

Your breath.

You can only breathe in the present moment.

Your heart can only beat for you in the present moment.

Your body can be nowhere but here right now in this space in the present moment.

You are your greatest friend and ally.

Anything that might happen or could happen,

You always have a choice when and if that time comes.

But right now,

Here you are.

You are safe.

You are okay.

In this moment,

In this space,

You are alive.

You are breathing.

All is well,

Here you are.

You're doing really good.

Continuing to breathe into anxiety,

Allowing yourself to be present.

Let's come back to our breathing practice.

Deep breath in through the nose,

Out through the mouth,

In through the nose,

Out through the mouth.

Focus on your tummy expanding,

Filling with air.

Imagine that napping cat,

Dozing dog,

Sleeping baby at peace,

Present,

Breathing deeply.

You have that within your power that is yours to have peace and presence.

Here you are,

There's nowhere else to be,

But here now,

Keep breathing.

Come back to this practice as often as you need it.

Wherever you are,

Whatever you are doing,

You can always breathe here now and remind yourself that you are safe here now in your body with your breath,

Your beating heart.

Remember that your mind and your fears want to tell you things based on past experiences that are not true.

I know it seems real.

Your anxiety is telling you that your fears are real.

They are not.

You are safe.

Here you are,

There's nowhere else to be.

Thank you for sharing your meditation practice with me today.

I am deeply grateful for your presence and your breath.

May you stay with yourself today and always.

Thank you.