Hi,
And welcome to this guided meditation for reducing anxiety through using the breath and body movement to bring the mind to stillness.
Find a comfortable seat wherever you'd like.
With the back upright,
Face relaxed,
The jaw relaxed,
Subtle and relaxed.
Feel the natural state of the body.
Notice the natural state of the breath,
Not judging the breath,
Allowing it to flow naturally and normally.
Feeling the breath coming in through the nostrils.
Feeling the breath going out through the nostrils.
Have the hands with the palms facing upward,
Resting on the lap,
And bring the thumb of each hand to the first finger.
On your next inhale,
Bring the thumb to the middle finger.
Exhale bring the thumb to the ring finger.
Inhale bring the thumb to the pinky finger.
Exhale bring the thumb back to the pointer finger.
Inhale the thumb to the middle finger.
Exhale thumb to ring finger.
Inhale thumb to pinky.
Again exhale thumb to pointer.
Inhale thumb to middle finger.
Exhale thumb to ring finger.
Inhale thumb to pinky.
During this meditation,
We'll continue alternating the breath with the tapping of each finger to the thumbs on both hands.
Continue exploring the breath with the tapping of the fingers,
Connecting the mind to the movement of the body.
On each inhale,
You'll tap a finger.
On each exhale,
You'll tap a finger.
Alternating the inhales and the exhales with the tap of the thumb to each finger on both hands.
If you won't force the breath,
We'll allow each breath to come naturally and normally.
Feeling the breath coming in through the nostrils and going out through the nostrils on the exhales,
Syncing the breath with the body movement.
If the mind wanders from this movement or you lose track of the fingers,
It's totally normal.
Begin with the pointer finger,
Alternating the breath,
Alternating the tapping motions.
Breathe.
If the breath is naturally long,
Let it be long.
If the breath is short,
Let it be short.
Allow the breaths to come naturally and normally with no force,
With little effort.
Continue to breathe,
Alternating tapping the fingers with the natural breath.
If the mind wanders,
It's okay to get lost in thought.
It's natural.
Bring the awareness back to the breath,
Back to the body movement.
Be aware of the body.
Feel the actions of the fingers and feel the breath.
Be fully present here and now.
Breathe with awareness.
And now,
After you have tapped the thumb to the pinky finger and finished your sequence,
Breathe normally.
Allow the hands to rest on the lap with the palms facing upward.
Feel the natural state of the body.
Notice any feelings or sensations in the body.
Be aware of the hands.
Feel any sensations there.
Notice any thoughts in the mind.
Allow the awareness to come to the body.
Usually our awareness is like a huge floodlight that focuses on the entire body at once.
We're going to imagine that our awareness is a spotlight,
A flashlight of awareness to only focus on one part of the body at a time.
Visualize this flashlight of awareness.
Visualize that light.
Once you visualize that flashlight of awareness,
Allow your flashlight to land on the left foot.
Just the left foot.
Notice all five toes on the left foot.
Now bring the awareness to the lower left leg.
Noticing any sensations.
Now up into the left knee,
Resisting nothing.
And up into the left upper leg,
The thigh,
And the hamstring.
Now allow this spotlight to expand to the whole left leg.
If the mind ever wanders at any point,
Bring this spotlight of awareness back onto the body.
Allow the spotlight to land on the right foot.
Just the right foot.
Be aware of all five toes on the right foot.
Noticing any sensations.
We won't resist.
Simply notice.
Notice the lower right leg,
The calf,
And the shin,
The right knee.
Notice the right upper leg,
The thigh,
The hamstring.
Simply be aware.
Now notice the right leg as a whole.
Allow your spotlight of awareness to come to the left hand.
All five fingers on the left hand.
Notice the left arm from the bottom of the arm,
The forearm,
Through to the elbow,
Through to the upper arm,
And then into the shoulder.
Notice this arm as a whole.
If the mind starts to wander,
Bring your spotlight of awareness back onto the body.
Now bring your spotlight of awareness over to the right hand.
Just the right hand.
Resisting nothing.
Be aware of the lower right arm,
Even the muscles and bones and tissues that make up these parts of the body.
The elbow,
The upper part of the right arm,
And then the right arm as a whole.
What do you feel?
Now allow the spotlight of awareness to land on the lower part of the spine.
The lower back.
With our mind's eye,
We'll slowly visualize that spotlight rising up the spine from the lower spine,
Behind the belly button,
Behind the heart space,
Behind the throat space up until we get to the base of the skull.
Visualize the spine.
Bring the spotlight into the front of the face.
Notice the skin of the face.
Notice the cheekbones,
The jawline,
The eyes,
And the ears.
And to the extent that it's possible,
Bring your spotlight of awareness now to the brain in the head.
Notice the brain,
Though we can't see the brain with your eyes closed.
In your mind's eye,
Bring your awareness to the brain inside of the head.
Take a moment here.
And now with the full body awareness,
We'll allow that spotlight of awareness to expand into the entire body from the head all the way down into the toes.
The full body awareness.
Notice this spotlight turning into a floodlight of awareness across the entire body.
Notice all of these individual parts of the body now coming together to create this vehicle through which we experience life.
The body is simply the vehicle through which we explore life.
This entire vehicle moving,
Breathing,
Experiencing all of life,
But yet is still present in this moment.
Take this moment to give thanks for the body in your mind.
Give thanks to this vehicle of life.
And now with your full body awareness,
Return to the breath,
Return to the natural state of the breath.
Start to bring gentle movement back into the body.
With the eyes closed,
Gently wiggle the fingers and then gently wiggle the toes.
Maybe nodding the head,
Yes,
Gently up and down.
And now in your own time,
Whenever you feel ready,
We'll slowly and mindfully take your time to flutter the eyes open.
Once you arrive with your eyes open,
Take a look around at your surroundings.
Give thanks for those surroundings.
Come back into your physical space.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Have a great rest of your day.
Namaste.
