Hello and welcome.
I invite you to take a deep cleansing breath,
Inhaling through your nose,
Filling your chest and lungs.
Exhale slowly through your mouth and again,
Inhale through your nose,
Filling your chest and lungs.
Note that you exhale very slowly out of your mouth.
As you continue to breathe with an inhale at your own pace and a slow exhale,
I invite you to cover your right eye and notice the sensation of anxiety in your body.
Notice without trying to change it.
Notice if there are edges to that sensation of anxiety or if it feels like it overwhelms your entire body.
I invite you now to switch and cover your left eye,
Again noticing if there's any change in that sensation of anxiety in your body.
If you've noticed that covering one eye offers even the slightest reduction in that sense of anxiety,
I invite you to keep that eye closed.
And with the same eye covered,
I invite you to turn your head all the way to the left,
Continuing to inhale through your nose at your own pace and exhale slowly through your mouth,
Noticing that sensation of anxiety.
When you're ready,
I invite you to turn your head and look all the way to your right,
Again noticing with curiosity that sensation of anxiety in your body.
Notice if it seems to lessen at all or increase as you shift your gaze from left to right,
Continuing to inhale through your nose at your own pace and exhale slowly through your mouth.
I invite you to shift your head to center,
Looking straight ahead,
Noticing the sensation of anxiety in your body.
And I invite you to ask yourself if there was any reduction,
Even the slightest notch lower,
Of that sensation of anxiety in your body when you look left,
Right,
Or center.
And I invite you to return your gaze to whichever spot offered you even the slightest reduction.
If you didn't notice any reduction at all,
That's fine.
I invite you to continue to look straight ahead.
And wherever you've landed your gaze,
I invite you now to slowly look up,
Noticing that sensation of anxiety in your body,
And then gradually move your gaze to center and then down.
And ask yourself,
Is there any change in my sensation of anxiety?
And I invite you to allow your gaze to rest wherever you noticed any reduction in that sensation of anxiety.
And I invite you now,
Wherever your gaze is resting,
To bring your finger up in front of your face about six-ish inches.
It doesn't have to be exact.
Allow your gaze to rest on the tip of your finger,
And then allow your gaze to look way beyond your finger on the same plane,
Off into the distance,
Inhaling through your nose,
Filling your chest and lungs,
And exhaling through your mouth slowly.
And I invite you to bring your gaze back to your finger,
Focusing on that tip of your finger as you continue to breathe with a slow exhale.
And then allow your gaze again to look well beyond your finger,
Focusing your gaze out into the horizon and back to your finger,
And now back to the horizon and back to your finger and back to the horizon.
And at your own pace,
I invite you to move back and forth with your gaze from your finger out to the horizon,
Out to the horizon,
Back and forth,
All the while inhaling,
Filling your chest and lungs,
And exhaling slowly.
And I invite you to notice that sensation of anxiety in your body.
Notice its edges.
Notice if there's any part of your body that feels more comfortable,
That feels less anxious.
And if so,
I invite you to rest your attention there as you continue to breathe,
Inhaling through your nose and slowly exhaling through your mouth.
And if you would like,
I invite you to lower the hand that's covering one eye,
And to lower the finger close to your face,
Allowing your gaze to rest wherever it feels most comfortable.
And at this point,
If you'd prefer to close your eyes,
You are welcome to do so.
Continuing to inhale through your nose,
Filling your chest and lungs,
And exhale slowly through your mouth.
And I invite you to continue to notice a part of your body that's feeling less anxious,
Less activated,
Even a notch calmer.
And I invite you to remain in this space as long as you would like,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling slowly through your mouth.
I thank you for joining me today,
And I wish you peaceful,
Comfortable moments ahead.
