Hi,
Kimberly Johnson here.
I am so honored you will be sitting with me today.
I have been meditating since 2007.
I am currently under the mentorship of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.
My hope is leading you through meditations that give you access on the cushion and off the cushion to true peace,
To true joy,
To true presence.
If you want to find out more about my online offerings or my podcast,
You can go to KimberlyCoaching.
Com.
Okay,
Let's sit.
This meditation is to aid you when you're having feelings of anxiety or stress.
Let's take a moment to get into posture.
So go ahead and find a seat however you're comfortable.
Take some micro movements just to get the antsiness out of your body and out of your bones.
Maybe even tilting the hips forward and back finding that place where you feel stable and alert.
And elongating the spine just a little bit closer to the ceiling or the sky,
Bringing awakefulness into the body.
And then letting the muscles around the bones gently release in relaxation,
Starting with the face,
Letting the forehead relax,
The cheeks relax,
The jawline relax,
Letting the neck relax,
The shoulders relax,
The belly relax,
The hips and the hands relax,
The legs and the feet,
Let them relax.
And inside of this posture,
Bringing the attention right to the tip of the nostrils and slowing down the breath for a few breaths,
Allowing the mind to calm and concentrate,
Beginning to pay attention to the breath right here.
Maybe when you inhale,
You say gently in your mind,
Inhale.
And when you exhale,
You say gently in your mind,
Exhale.
Following each breath,
Almost like an ocean wave,
Following the rhythm of the breathing,
Letting it calm you and soothe you.
Now if your mind wanders,
You can know that this is completely normal.
Simply note that it's wandered,
Not making a big deal.
And then really gently just bringing the attention right back to the tip of the nostrils,
Finding the next inhale and next exhale.
As the body and mind settle,
Go ahead and bring to mind any anxiety or stress you might be experiencing.
Maybe you'll notice if the anxiety or stress causes you to act a certain way,
Bringing those actions into the mind.
Maybe they have you think certain thoughts,
Bringing those to the mind.
Just allowing the stress and anxiety to enter and join us into the space.
Meeting it with deep reverence and kindness.
Not judging yourself,
Not needing to fix it.
Just letting it join us and sit with us.
Okay.
As the anxiety enters,
Maybe begin to note more consciously what thoughts come with the anxiety.
Meeting each thought kindly,
Lovingly,
Like you would meet a friend.
Now notice when anxiety or stress is here.
Are there any other emotions that are here?
Just noticing kindly.
Now let's go into the body.
Where do you feel the stress or anxiety most in the physical sensations of the body?
Dropping out of the thinking mind into the physical body,
Noticing where do I feel the sensations most?
And beginning to note the sensations.
Tight chest,
Clenched jaw,
Swirling tummy.
Noting the sensations kindly as you bring awareness to them.
Now,
I want you to scan the body for a place where there are neutral or pleasant sensations.
A few common areas are the feet,
The elbows,
The ears.
Bring the attention to an area of the body where the feelings or the sensations are neutral or pleasant and begin to note the sensations in that area.
Pulsing,
Tingling,
Warm,
Whatever they are,
Noting the sensations.
Okay.
Now gently bring the attention back to the challenging body sensations and begin noting the challenging body sensations once again.
Tight,
Pulsing,
Churning,
Whatever they are.
Now,
Bring to mind a nurturing or comforting thought,
Person,
Place and begin imagining yourself in that place or with that person.
Maybe being held by someone you love,
Maybe being out in the woods,
Having your puppy in your lap.
Whatever it is,
Imagine yourself in a nourishing,
Nurturing,
Calming environment,
An environment that you love with a person you love,
In a situation you love.
Allow yourself to put yourself in that situation in your mind,
Seeing it,
Feeling it,
Breathing into it.
Draws attention.
Now take some slow,
Slow breaths.
Using stillness and silence.
And check in to feel how you feel right now.
Maybe seeing if it's different from when we started.
Maybe seeing if it's different from when you were experiencing the stressful or anxious feelings.
Just make note of the self in this moment.
If it feels good as we contemplate completion,
You might place your hand over your heart or your belly as an act of nurturance,
Of care.
And you might repeat some metta phrases to yourself.
Metta means loving kindness.
Maybe you repeat,
May you know peace and freedom.
May you know joy and well-being.
May you know happiness.
May you know strength.
Whatever phrase feels best to you with the hand over the heart or belly,
Repeating the phrase to yourself with emotion and like you mean it.
Letting the three rings of the bell gently bring you out of meditation.
The three rings of the bell gently bring you out of meditation.
Exiting meditation just as mindfully as we entered in.
Beginning to maybe move the body slightly.
Noticing how movement now feels.
Blinking the eyes open when you're ready.
Entering your environment,
Looking around at the colors,
The textures,
The lighting.
Remembering that any time you feel stressed or anxious that you can return to this meditation.
You can do it on your own or with the recording.
Bringing your awareness to a neutral or pleasant place in the body or imagining yourself in a nurturing,
Loving place to help you not get so stuck in the stressful or anxious feelings that will come from time to time in this life and will also go away.
And they might come back,
But they will go away again.
Until next time.
