Hello dear heart,
Welcome to your meditation for general anxiety.
My name is D.
L.
And I'll be guiding you for the next 8 minutes.
If you have something heavy that you can place on your lap,
For example a weighted blanket,
A yoga sandbag,
Or a heavy bolster,
Please pause the recording and get it now.
Otherwise please be comfortably seated,
Sitting tall and light through your spine,
Feet flat on the floor.
Rest your hands in your lap,
Palms face down.
Give yourself permission to be still for these few minutes we're together.
General anxiety is an uncomfortable and unsettled feeling of a distant and unnameable doom.
It can make us feel tense or shaky,
Unable to concentrate or sleep,
And unable to quiet a racing mind.
It can make us feel so alone.
I want you to know,
Dear heart,
That I'm here with you.
You are not alone.
Take a moment,
Dear heart,
To feel the ground beneath your feet.
Notice the contact points of each toe,
The balls of the feet,
The outer edges,
And the heels.
Let your feet spread into the floor like the roots of a tree spread deep into the earth.
Now dear heart,
Move your attention to the surface that's supporting you.
Feel its presence beneath your sit bones.
As you exhale,
Allow the body's weight to release toward that supporting surface.
Now dear heart,
Let's take some purifying breaths.
We'll take three sniffs in through the nose as we gently lift the shoulders up towards the ears with each sniff.
We'll hold the breath a moment and squeeze the shoulders,
Then exhale forcefully through the mouth as we release the shoulders.
Holding in three sniffs,
Squeezing the shoulders at the ears,
And release the breath.
Again,
Three sniffs.
Hold and release.
Last time,
Three sniffs in,
Squeeze and hold,
And release.
When we're anxious,
Dear heart,
The breath can become shallow and rapid as a result of the tension that we feel.
So let's practice some calming breaths now.
Reach up overhead with your left arm,
Elbow unlocked.
Concentrate on the feeling around the side of the body as you raise your arm.
Feel how more space is created in that left side.
And while you hold your arm gently in space,
Your fingers soft,
Breathe into your left side.
Deeply inhale,
And on the exhale,
Lower your arm,
Focusing on the sensation of everything coming back together.
And pause.
Now dear one,
Let's raise the right arm gently overhead,
Elbow unlocked.
Concentrate on the feeling around the side of the body as you raise your arm.
Feel how more space is created in that right side.
And while you hold your arm gently in space,
The fingers separated and soft,
Breathe into your right side.
Deeply inhale,
And on the exhale,
Lower your arm,
Focusing on the sensation of everything coming back together.
Notice any differences you feel.
Now let's raise both arms overhead as we inhale deeply,
Again focusing on each side of the body as your arms lift,
Feeling the increase in space for the breath to fill.
You can hold the inhalation,
Or simply release the breath and the arms and relax in a moment of silence.
Dear heart,
Please gently open your eyes.
Acknowledge any changes to your state of mind and being.
Emerge more relaxed,
The mind quiet and at peace.
That concludes this meditation,
Dear heart.
