Working With Anxiety

This is an effective practice for a moment of anxiety or stress. Led by Judson, you will be guided to observe the sensations associated with these emotions, approaching them with curosity instead of judgement. Through a restorative breath exercise, this gentle guidance will help to alleviate anxious thoughts and bring lasting optimism to your day.

Transcript

I'm Dr. Judd Brewer and this short meditation will focus on working with anxiety. So begin by simply taking a moment to thank yourself for being here, For taking a moment to take care of yourself, And check in to see what this feels like simply giving thanks. I've worked with a lot of people with anxiety and a hundred percent of them don't like having anxiety. They're struggling with how to get rid of it. We're going to flip this a little and focus today on using curiosity as a way to work with feelings of anxiety the moment they come up. Ready? Let's begin. First, Find a quite comfortable place if you're not already in one. You can be sitting, Lying down, Or even standing up. You just need to be able to concentrate without being too distracted. If you're feeling anxious right now or even a little stressed, Let's see how you would describe it. If you're not feeling anxious, You can simply recall a recent experience when you were and relive that experience to see what you felt at the time. Take a moment and ask yourself, What is the sensation that I feel most strongly in my body right now? Take a moment to locate where it is. Now see if you can get really curious. Do you feel it more on your right side or left side? Or if it's right in the middle, Is it more toward the front or the back of your body? Did you notice your mind going, Hmm, Where do I feel it most strongly? This is jump-starting or warming up your curiosity. And if you aren't feeling curious, You can simply hit the pause button right now and take a moment to be curious about why you aren't curious. What does not being curious feel like? Now let's take this one step further. Check in again with your body and see where that anxious feeling is strongest right now. Now imagine slowly breathing in through your nose and right into that body part. Let that breath go right into your anxiety and hold it there for a few seconds before letting your breath go out. Let's do this again. Take a slow, Deep breath, Imagining that kind, Curious breath going right into your anxiety. Let your breath hold that feeling of anxiety for a second at a warm, Kind embrace. And then breathe out. Let it go. See how much of that anxiety releases with your out-breath. And again, On the next in-breath, Get really curious, Bringing that kind curiosity right into that anxiety. What do the physical sensations feel like right now? Have they changed at all? And continuing with this practice one breath at a time at your own pace, Breathing kind curiosity right into those physical sensations, Holding them there for a moment in awareness and then on the out-breath letting go. You can continue doing this breathing exercise now or anytime throughout the day for a few seconds, Anytime you feel some anxiety coming on. See what happens as you keep practicing it. And don't forget that attitude of kindness and curiosity. These are key. May this practice help you work with and not be caught up in anxiety.

Reviews

It’s like my anxiety blew out during the exhale. Exactly what I needed, thank you.

This is such a powerful short practice - thank you for helping individuals to understand the nature of evolutionary stress with valuable ways to work with it.

This first time helped me greatly to get a feeling of how to deal with anxiety when it rises. I will try again when it is present to see how it moves within me. The recollection was incredibly strong, so I'm hopeful it will be helpful again when I need it more urgently

Really helped me go from bad feelings to great feelings. Thank you

First time user, I really enjoyed this right before bed when I have the most anxiety.