Welcome to this meditation for managing anxiety.
The difficult experience of anxiety causes us to be outside of the present moment and consumed by a future worry.
While we need anxiety to keep us safe,
It has a tendency to show up when we least want it.
So let's lean in and find a way to reduce and honor our anxiety,
Potentially even as an early warning system that something may be out of balance.
So as we come into this space,
We're gonna take some moments just taking some deep breaths,
Just calming our bodies,
And even just noticing whether,
Even considering the idea of relaxing our bodies also creates some anxiety,
Some worry about what might happen if we let our guard down.
And yet our higher self knows that the anxiety is not actually keeping us safe in the way that we would like it to.
So coming into the breath,
Grounding yourself in the present moment,
Slowly breathing in and holding that breath,
And releasing,
Breathing in and holding and releasing,
Feeling the breath coming in and out of the body,
Through the lungs,
Through the belly,
Taking a moment to notice how the breath feels,
Feeling the breath start to reach the bottom of your lungs,
Taking slow,
Deep,
Full breaths,
And focusing on the breath throughout this meditation,
Breathing in,
Releasing,
Pulling that breath through the body,
And with kind compassion,
Just paying attention to what your body is telling you to do,
Focusing on the breath,
Just helping to slow our anxiety.
As we lean into the breath,
Our body can let our mind know that it's okay to relax.
And if you find your mind wandering,
That's okay too.
Just coming back to the breath,
Breathing in from the belly all the way to the top of the lungs,
And releasing,
And bringing our attention to the toes and the feet,
Just noticing if there's any tension there,
And breathing into that tension,
Maybe tightening it a little more,
And then releasing it,
And breathing into our calves,
Breathing into the tension that might exist in the calves,
Squeeze those calves tighter,
And then on the out-breath,
Release,
And bringing your attention to the area of your entire leg.
If there's any tension there,
Just notice it without judgment,
Making it a little tighter,
And then breathing and releasing,
And bringing your focus to your belly,
Just feeling the breath rise and fall,
Honoring and paying attention to any tension in the stomach.
And if there is tension there,
Then tighten it,
And release it,
Letting it pass,
Feeling any tension in our torso,
Our chest,
Or our upper back,
And breathing into that tension,
Making it even a little tighter to bring attention to that area,
And then maybe release it with a sigh,
And bringing our attention to our arms,
Just noticing if we're tensing or grasping through the fingers or the shoulders,
And if there's any tension there,
Just tighten it even more,
And release it,
And paying attention to the area of our chest and our shoulders.
This is where a lot of people feel anxiety,
So if our chest hurts a little bit or feels heavy,
Our shoulders feel clenched,
Just breathing and give your attention to that area,
Maybe even taking some time to be curious,
And just releasing that tension.
Sometimes it's easy to get too busy,
To get too focused,
To not take the time to just ask ourselves,
How am I feeling?
What do I need?
What does my heart need?
So taking a slow,
Deep breath in,
Bringing your focus of attention to your face,
Maybe your head,
Your temples,
The tension that we may hold in our jaw,
And if that's true for you,
Take a breath,
Tightening that area even more,
And then letting it go,
Bringing into awareness again,
Curiosity.
What are the thoughts that may be making me anxious?
What is it that I'm really worried about?
Is there anything that my mind needs,
Or that my body needs in general?
Maybe more sleep,
Maybe more or less time with friends and family,
Really tuning into that heart space.
What does your heart need to sing,
To relax?
What does your mind need to feel calm,
To enter into this space of deep,
Meaningful knowledge of ourselves?
And taking a moment to acknowledge that we have all we need in this moment.
And it's okay if we get anxious from time to time.
It's how we're wired.
There's knowledge in that anxiety,
In that tension.
It allows us to know that something's not quite right.
And if we know that something's not quite right,
Then we can lean in with more curiosity about coming back into balance,
Noticing how it feels for your body to breathe on its own,
For your blood to pump as it's meant to pump,
That your body knows what to do.
It's okay to have needs.
It's okay to take care of yourself.
Taking slow,
Deep breaths,
However feels good for you.
Just paying attention to the breath,
Paying attention to the body,
The amazing,
Miraculous way that it breathes on its own.
And maybe now we can tell ourselves,
Even just a little bit,
That it's okay to be calm in this moment.
I can be calm.
I can focus.
I can relax.
It's okay to slow down.
It's okay to lessen the urgency,
That pressure,
Internal or external.
And we can honor that anxiety and how it keeps us safe as we come back into balance,
Knowing that anxiety will probably show up again for us at some time,
But that the body and the mind and the spirit remembers this breath,
Remembers that it's okay to come home to the body as we breathe in and breathe out,
Relaxing into a beautiful space,
Slipping in to sleep if that feels good.
Namaste.
