Welcome to this meditation for stress and anxiety.
Please take a moment to close your eyes and place both palms of your hands at your heart center in the middle of your chest.
Begin to feel your heartbeat,
Which may be racing at this moment,
Against your chest and palms,
And simply allow it to beat as it is,
Without any judgment or wanting things to change in this moment,
And offer your heart some kindness in this moment.
You may say the phrase in your mind,
I am here for you,
And give yourself unconditional love and the acceptance of this moment just as it is.
As you continue to feel your heart beat in and out,
Zoom your attention out to notice the wider aspects of your awareness,
Can you hear the subtle sounds of the room all around you,
Or feel your feet against the floor beneath you,
Notice how wide your awareness is compared to the anxiety or stress located in your body,
And as you begin to expand your awareness out further,
Attempting to hear further sounds,
Or to feel lower in your body even more,
The small beating of your heart begins to appear smaller and smaller in the very wide screen of your awareness.
Now explore a three-part breath to promote feelings of relaxation,
Begin to take a deep breath in to the abdomen,
And watch your abdomen rise,
And then feel the sides of your ribs expand out,
And lastly,
At the top of your inhale,
Notice the chest rise up,
And press against your palms,
Hold your breath briefly,
And on your next exhale,
Watch the chest drop down,
And then your ribs come in,
And lastly,
The abdomen fall in as well,
And take a quick pause at the end of your exhale,
Next inhale,
Watch the abdomen rise up,
And notice the ribs push out to the sides,
And watch the chest rise,
Press against your palms,
And at the top of your inhale,
Hold your breath,
And exhale,
Watch the chest drop,
Watch the sides of the ribs come in,
And the abdomen come in,
And hold your exhale at the very end.
Continue this pattern of breathing on your own,
Once again,
Taking a deep breath in,
Noticing the abdomen rise first,
Then the sides of the ribs expand,
And then lastly,
The chest rise.
At the top of your inhale,
Hold your breath,
And then on your exhale,
Your chest will come down,
Your ribs will come in,
And the abdomen will all in as well.
Continue this pattern of breathing for the next few minutes,
And try to keep your exhalations longer than your inhalations,
To promote a feeling of relaxation in the body.
Your mind wanders,
Gently guide your attention back to the breath,
Once again,
Noticing the abdomen rise first,
Then your ribs expand to the sides,
And the chest rise on your inhale,
And on your exhale,
Watch the chest fall first,
Then the ribs come in,
And the abdomen last.
Take a final round of three-part breath,
And after your exhale,
Gently notice your breath,
Just as it is.
Now,
Bring your attention back to the heart area,
And observe what has changed since the beginning of your practice.
Also,
Begin to observe what areas in your awareness,
And in the body,
Feel slightly more relaxed and spacious,
Compared to the beginning of this practice.
And as you notice these changes,
Really thank yourself for taking the time to honor yourself,
And thank yourself for practicing today.
As you open your eyes,
Just know that you can come back to this practice,
At any point throughout your day,
To reconnect with your body,
In a deeper awareness,
To rest in this feeling of peace.
