Welcome to our 10 minute moving through anxiety practice.
So this isn't our typical seated meditation.
We are really going to be moving here.
Movement is a great tool for bringing our minds back to the present and out of the future where anxiety often lives.
So you could start this practice seated,
Really wherever you are.
Notice any feeling in the body right now.
Oftentimes when we're experiencing feelings of anxiety,
The body can be a little shaky,
Maybe the breath is shaky or shallow.
Sometimes there's a temperature associated with it,
Maybe any tingling.
Notice.
And when you're ready,
See if you could feel your body against the earth.
So maybe that's your feet on the floor,
Your seat on your chair.
And then we're going to bring our hands just to rest on our legs.
So palms facing down,
Hands on your thighs or knees.
Lift both index fingers.
Plant them down.
Then lift your little fingers.
Plant them down.
Lift your thumbs.
Lower them.
Right hand first finger,
Left hand middle finger.
Let those go.
Right hand pinky finger,
Left hand thumb.
Lower them down.
Lift your left hand middle finger and first finger.
Lift your right hand thumb and ring finger.
Plant them down.
It gets trickier.
Lift both thumbs.
And lift your right pinky finger,
Your left middle finger.
Plant them all down.
Left hand first finger and pinky finger.
Right hand middle finger and ring finger.
Plant them down.
Lift all your fingers at once.
Plant them down.
Next we're going to curl our fingers into our palms,
Making fists.
Squeeze your hands into the tightest fists you can make.
And then let it go.
Do that again so slowly.
Curl your hands into fists.
Squeeze slowly and tightly like it's not going to stop and hold this for three,
Two,
One.
Let it go.
Do the same thing.
Make fists.
Squeeze tight,
Tight,
Tight.
And then squeeze your arms.
Maybe squeeze your shoulders up to your ears.
Hold this tension for three,
Two,
One.
Let it all go.
Feel that relaxation in the arms,
The hands.
Do that again.
Squeeze fists,
Squeeze arms,
Shoulders up high.
Press your feet down into the earth.
Feel your legs activate.
Maybe you even squeeze your toes in for three,
Two,
One.
Let it all go slow and steady.
Release and relax.
One more.
We're going to squeeze every part of the body.
Squeeze your hands,
Your arms,
Your shoulders,
Your feet,
Your legs.
And squeeze all the muscles in your face into center,
Almost like you ate something sour.
Hold all this tension for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let it all go.
Maybe it feels like the body is sighing.
Give yourself a moment to feel this.
How the body softens.
The difference between tensing and relaxing.
When you're ready,
Start to flick your hands like you're flicking water off of them.
Then you could turn that into a shake.
Maybe you start shaking your elbows and your shoulders too.
Instead of water coming off of your body,
Maybe you're imagining any of those kind of sticky thoughts and feelings of anxiety.
Visualize them leaving your body.
Shake it all out,
Even though it might feel a little silly.
Shake,
Shake,
Shake as much as you can for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let the body settle.
And from here,
You could do this seated or standing.
I invite you to hover one foot up off the ground so you're balancing.
But just hover the foot an inch.
And see just how long you can keep that foot hovering up off the ground.
If it feels easy,
You could look up towards the ceiling.
You could even close your eyes.
And see just how long you can keep that foot up off the floor.
Just focus on keeping that foot up as long as you can.
And maybe today that's one second.
Maybe you've had your foot off the ground this whole time.
We're going to do that for three,
Two,
One.
Plant your foot down.
Feel both feet heavy.
Lift the other foot.
Just hover it an inch.
It doesn't need to be a big movement here.
Just see how long you can keep that foot up off the ground.
Feel how your body works to keep you upright,
To keep you balanced.
Keep balancing.
Every time you fall out of it,
Just come back into it.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Plant both feet down.
Nice.
From here,
Bring your left hand to your right shoulder.
And sweep it down like you're sweeping dust or sand off the body.
And then do that again a few more times from right shoulder all the way to right fingertips.
Sweeping off any excess energy.
You're also awakening the touch receptors in the body.
Feel your own hand against your own arm.
And once you think you've swept off every part of the right arm,
Do it to the left.
Right hand to left shoulder,
Sweeping down a few times,
One long motion.
Sweeping off any feelings of anxiety,
Any feelings we don't need to carry with us into the rest of the day.
Once you've swept off the whole left arm,
You could sweep off the chest.
Give yourself a pat on the back.
Maybe you use both hands.
Sweep off the belly,
Sweep off the hips,
Sweep off the legs,
Sweep,
Sweep,
Sweep the whole body.
For five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Once you're all done your sweeping,
Bring both hands over your heart.
See if you could feel your heartbeat in your hands.
Send gratitude to your heart for beating.
To your body for all the hard work it does.
And to yourself for coming to do some movements and meditation in a time when our body is really asking for it.
Thank you for listening to your body.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Stay well and take care.
Peace.
