Gentle Morning Stretch Meditation for Anxiety Relief

If you wake up feeling anxious or nervous for the day ahead, practice this morning stretch and breathe meditation. In this grounding practice, you will embrace gratitude and connect with a 3 part breath. In this 3 part breath you will be incrementally guided to breathe into your belly, ribs and chest and breathe out releasing the air from your chest, ribs and belly. The instruction is intentionally slow to bring a mindful awareness to your experience; however, please breathe at a pace that feels right for you. Next, you will move into some seated gentle neck, shoulder and side body stretches to help you gently calm and soothe the mind and body. This will be followed by a brief visualization of recalling a joyful moment to help inspire those similar feelings for your day and your priorities ahead.

Transcript

Begin by sitting in a comfortable position.

If you're seated in a chair,

Come to the edge of your seat so your feet can root into the ground.

If you're seated on the ground,

Consider sitting on top of a pillow or blanket to elevate your hips off of the ground.

This creates a little more space and lift in your back body.

Wherever you are,

Relax your hands and your lap and empty all the air from your lungs.

Take a slow breath in through your nose and fill all the way up.

And open your mouth and audibly sigh out all the air.

Two more times just like this.

Take a slow and even breath in.

Open your mouth and gush out all the air.

One more time.

Take a slow and steady breath in.

And open your mouth.

Exhale it out.

Allow your eyes to soften down or fully close if they haven't already.

Continue to breathe in through your nose.

Seal your lips and take a slow exhale out through your nose.

Inhale,

Feel your spine lengthen and the crown of your head reach up.

Exhale,

Soften your shoulder blades down your back.

Create space between your ears and shoulders.

Bring your awareness to your breath.

As best as you can,

Without judgment,

Notice where you feel your breath the strongest.

Is it in your belly,

Your chest,

Or perhaps your nostrils?

There's no wrong answer.

You're simply bringing a mindful awareness to the physical sensations as you breathe in and as you breathe out.

With your next deep breath in,

Allow gratitude to fill your heart,

Appreciating the gift of this new day and this new moment.

And as you exhale,

Remind yourself that every morning and every moment in between is a chance to start fresh and create the life you want.

Take a slow breath in and bring yourself into this present moment.

Exhale,

Let go of any fears or worries you may be holding on to from the past or any apprehension for the day ahead.

Focus your attention on the now.

All that matters in this moment is you and your connection to your breath.

Inhale slowly and deeply.

Appreciate your breath and the time you have made for yourself.

As you exhale,

Imagine your stress,

Fears,

And anxieties melting away.

Allow yourself to simply exist in this moment of calm and allow your mind and body to relax and restore.

Breathe in a feeling of peace.

Allow it to seep into every fiber of your being.

Breathe out and let go of anything and everything that does not serve you right now.

Breathe in strength and resilience and breathe out fear and worries.

Start to deepen your inhales and lengthen your exhales.

Rest your right hand on your belly and your left hand over your heart space.

Breathe in slowly,

Feeling your belly expand like a balloon.

As you exhale,

Feel your belly soften back towards your spine,

Releasing all the air.

Take another slow breath in,

Feel the expansion of your belly and feel that same expansion begin to climb up your ribcage.

Pause at the top and notice without judgment what that feels like.

Then exhale,

Feel your ribcage contract and your belly draw back towards your spine.

One more time,

Find a slow and steady breath in through your nose.

Notice your belly expand on all sides.

Notice your ribcage expand and create space between each of the ribs.

Finally,

Feel the hand on your chest rise as it fills up with air.

As you exhale,

Notice the hand on your chest begin to soften back down.

Your ribs slowly contract back together and the hand on your belly softens down.

Continue with this three-part breath by breathing into your belly,

Your ribs and your chest.

And then breathing out,

Releasing the air from your chest,

Your ribs and your belly.

You're welcome to place your hands wherever comfortable and continue this breathing pattern of breathing in and out of the nose or return to a breath that is comfortable for you.

If you notice your mind begin to wander away,

Gently and kindly acknowledge your thinking mind and bring your attention back to your breath.

Do this as many times as you need to and allow yourself to begin again.

On your next inhale,

Find a little lift through the crown of your head.

You might imagine there's a string at the top of your head pulling you up just a little bit straighter and taller.

Exhale,

Draw your chin to your chest,

Creating a stretch in the back of your neck.

Inhale,

Slowly start to draw your chin up to the sky to stretch the front of your neck.

And exhale,

Draw your chin back to your chest.

Inhale,

Draw your chin up towards the sky.

Look up.

And exhale,

Return your chin so that it's parallel to the ground beneath you.

And on your next exhale,

Lower your right ear to your right shoulder.

Inhale,

Roll your chin back down towards your chest.

And exhale,

Your left ear to your left shoulder.

Inhale,

Roll your chin back down to your chest.

And exhale,

Lower your right ear to your right shoulder.

Inhale,

Roll your chin back to your chest.

And exhale,

Roll your left ear to your left shoulder.

Inhale,

Roll your chin back to your chest.

Continue with this semi-circle neck stretch,

Moving slowly and mindfully with your breath.

Invitation to pause or hold in certain spots that may feel a little more tight,

A little more sticky.

Notice if you're holding any tension in your face or jaw.

And see with each breath if you can invite in a little more softness,

A little more ease.

The next time you pass through the center,

Inhale and reach your arms up to the sky.

You can raise them as high as it's comfortable for you.

As you exhale,

Allow your shoulders to melt down your back,

Creating space between your ears and shoulders.

Inhale,

Create length in your spine as you reach up.

And reach your right hand over to gently hold your left forearm or wrist.

Exhale,

Slowly bend to the right and create space in your left side body.

Notice if your left hip wants to lift up.

See if you can press your hip down and lift up and out of both of your hips.

Stay for a breath in.

And stay for a breath out.

Inhale,

Return back to center and release your grip.

Exhale,

Relax your face and your shoulders.

Inhale,

Reach your left hand to gently hold your right forearm or wrist.

Exhale,

Slowly bend to the left and feel this stretch in your right side body.

Notice if your right hip wants to lift up.

See if you can press your hip down and again lift up and out of your hips.

Stay for a calm breath in.

And a slow and even breath out.

Inhale,

Return to center.

And exhale,

Relax your shoulders.

Find this side stretch two more times on each side at your own breath.

Return back to center and allow your hands to rest comfortably on your knees or legs.

Inhale,

Draw your belly and chest forward as you arch through your back.

Your gaze may go up towards the sky.

Exhale,

Press your hands forward on your legs or knees as you tuck your chin to your chest and round through your back.

Relax your shoulders down and away from your ears.

Inhale,

Press through your hands as you arch through your back and feel your tailbone lift as your gaze goes towards the sky.

This is your seated cow pose.

Exhale,

Tuck your tailbone as you round through your back and tuck your chin to your chest.

This is your seated cat pose.

Inhale to your seated cow.

And exhale to your seated cat.

One more time.

Inhale to seated cow.

And exhale to seated cat.

Inhale,

Return back to center.

Exhale,

Release any effort in your body and invite in a little softness and calm to your face,

To your jaw,

And to your entire body.

Start to bring a moment to mind that filled you with joy.

It could be something recent or something that happened a while ago.

Notice where you are.

Notice what you see,

What you hear.

And most importantly,

What do you feel as you recall this memory?

Perhaps you felt weightless and free,

Or maybe you felt a sense of warmth and ease.

If no specific scenario is coming to mind,

Bring to mind a situation in which you can cultivate a sense of joy.

Perhaps it's a scenario with loved ones,

Or maybe it's a little bit of alone time at your favorite place.

Wherever you are,

Allow yourself to visualize your surroundings.

Notice the colors,

The shapes,

Even the textures,

And the feelings that arrive as you picture yourself in this place of joy.

Savor each moment as you recall this memory.

Hold on to this feeling that you're generating right now,

And let it be with you for as long as possible.

Allow yourself to bathe in this joyful place,

And let it be with you for as long as possible.

Hold on to this feeling that you're generating right now,

And let it be with you for as long as possible.

Allow yourself to bathe in this joyful place,

And feel the warmth throughout your entire body.

Notice any other sensations or feelings you may be experiencing.

Perhaps a slight smile even comes to your lips as you recall this joyful moment.

Take a slow breath in,

And a calm breath out.

Holding these feelings of joy,

Peace,

Happiness,

Whatever is coming to mind right now,

And start to shift your attention now to the priorities that you have today.

Bring your attention to the priorities that are most important.

Start to visualize yourself working through these priorities one task at a time,

With ease,

Confidence,

And joy.

Acknowledge right now that you are strong,

That you are capable,

And that you have everything you need inside of you right now.

Acknowledge that you and only you have the power to choose how you respond to the day ahead.

Take a slow breath in,

And a slow breath out.

I invite you to set an intention for the day,

An intention that you will never forget.

Set an intention for the day.

An intention is one word or phrase of words for a mindset or attitude you'd like to cultivate.

Some questions to consider might be,

Who do you want to be?

What value or values do you want to honor today?

Perhaps it's trusting yourself,

Or allowing yourself to be present,

Or offering yourself compassion and kindness.

Remember again that you have all the answers you need within.

And if you don't know an answer right away,

Remember to take slow and deep breaths.

Stay present,

And give yourself grace to find what you need with ease.

Breathe in deeply through your nose.

Open your mouth and audibly sigh out the air.

Take another slow deep breath in.

Fill all the way up.

And open your mouth and let it go.

One more time together.

Take a slow rich breath in.

Fill all the way up.

And open your mouth.

Exhale a calm breath out.

Say aloud to yourself,

Or quietly,

Today is going to be a great day.

And I know I have the strength and the ability to accomplish my priorities with peace and ease.

Today is going to be a great day.

And I know I have the strength and the ability to accomplish my priorities with peace and ease.

Slowly blink your eyes open,

Returning your attention back into your physical space.

Allow yourself to find joy,

And give yourself grace to find what you need with ease.

Allow yourself to find joy,

And give yourself grace throughout the rest of your day today.

Remember,

You are always worthy of this.

Thank you so much for practicing with me today.

Reviews

Lovely way to start the day with positivity and self compassion

Wonderful guidance without any clutter, expansive breathing with added stretching to balance out a soothing and tranquil meditation to start the day. Namste, Faye

A little bit of everything to start your day in a good mood

Hello beautiful 🌸🎀🌸🎀🌸Thank You so much for the wonderfully morning ☯️I’m feeling so soft and have a sweet smile in my face 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste