Calming Anxiety

In this peaceful meditation Lou will help ease your worry by tranforming the holding power anxious thoughts have in the mind. You will be gently grounded into your body and allowed the space to show appreciation for the positive intention that is behind all anxiety. Lou begins this practice with a 1-minute introduction explaining the inspiration behind this healing practice.

Transcript

So I'd like to start by just giving a brief description of my inspiration for this meditation.

I post a lot of meditations on Insight Timer.

I'm not sure if this is the first one you're hearing or if you've listened to some of my others,

But I was having a lot of anxiety about not having something prepared to record and to share with you all.

And I thought since most of my meditations are based on really things that I've been through,

Things that have worked for me,

That I would do a practice on this to share how I manage anxiety.

And I think that's really a way that I like to express myself is doing meditations that I've been through.

And I think sometimes there can be a misconception that meditation teachers don't feel all of the things that we teach,

But I promise you that we've all been through it and that's really the place that I like to teach from.

So with that,

Let's go ahead and begin our practice.

So finding our comfortable seat,

Whether that's on a cushion or in a chair.

And finding a comfortable but erect and clear posture.

Allowing the hands to rest where they find themselves,

Gently.

Let's lengthen through the sides of our body.

Let's soften through our jaw,

Soften through our belly.

Relax the shoulders.

Let's move right into the focus on our breathing body.

So noticing as the breath comes in through the nose.

And following the breath back out.

Seeing how the body rises,

Expands with each inhale.

And how the body falls and contracts with each exhale.

Giving yourself the permission to just take a few breaths here,

Even if that anxious thought or worry is really still on the forefront of your mind.

Putting it on pause just for a moment.

And using the simple tool of our breath to center it.

Nothing else to do.

One more good conscious inhale.

And exhale.

So a good part to start with any emotion or unwanted experience that we go through is to notice where that experience manifests in our bodies.

So if you can think about that anxious thought or maybe it's just a common chronic anxiety that we can all feel about the future,

Things coming up.

See if in the safe space of a meditation you can notice where in your body that you feel this anxiety.

Might be a tightness in your forehead.

Might be the sides of your head.

Maybe it's in your throat.

See if you can find a place in the body that represents this anxiety.

Even if you can't feel a physical sensation.

And noticing all of the energy of the anxiety wrapped up in this part of your body.

And all we're going to do is to not do.

We're going to see what it's like to feel and be with this part of our body without feeling like we need to change it.

Without feeling like it's a problem to be solved.

And seeing if we can use the rise and the fall of our breath to lean and relax into it.

Giving ourselves the permission that it's okay to not do.

It's okay to allow this experience to just take place in our lives.

So take a few more moments to just breathe and be in this part of your body.

Letting all of any anxious thoughts.

Letting them be.

Any tension.

Good job.

Take a breath in.

So often we forget the root of why we get anxious.

And the root of it is actually something that we can be really compassionate towards and really loving towards.

Because the root of our anxiety is what?

Is just to keep us safe.

Our anxious thoughts just want the best for us.

They want us to not feel shameful or embarrassed about missing some sort of project or whatever it might be that we get anxious about.

They just want us to be okay in the world.

And that's something that we can appreciate.

Almost like it's our parent figure that just wants to keep us safe but doesn't always know the best way to.

So let's see if you can bring the energy of your anxiety outside of yourself.

And you might see it as some sort of matter.

So maybe it's a dark cloud.

Maybe it's not that dark.

Maybe it's just a discolored figuration that just is in front of you.

Knowing that it's not actually a part of you.

Knowing that it's just thoughts that come up.

And let's just make peace with this one or multiple anxious thoughts.

Maybe it's a specific thing that you could bring outside of you.

As if it's floating there in the air.

And see if you can thank what it really wants to do.

That is to keep you safe.

To not see you hurt.

It really has good intentions.

So with each breath see if you can thank your anxiety or your thoughts for really what they're trying to do.

Maybe repeating thank you.

I appreciate you.

I know you just want me to be safe and happy.

And notice if just that appreciation starts to change the relationship that you have with the anxious thought.

Being with it and showering it with love and caring for it like it really wants to care for you.

It's always an answer to heal ourselves in many different ways.

Now I'd like us to move this intention to tell this anxious thought or this energy that we have in front of us.

Maybe it's in a discolored cloud form.

And now that we've thanked it and we've appreciated it we can allow it to dissipate.

Knowing that it's not part of us.

That it just wants us to be safe.

But we can tell them that we don't need them at this very moment.

And it's okay to tell them this.

So with maybe one more thank you say that your place is no longer needed.

Whether it's a specific thought that you're working on or just a general anxiety that you have.

And with each breath in,

Breathe in a healing and peaceful light.

And with each breath out see if you can send that healing towards this energy in front of you.

And that just allow it to start dissipating and falling towards the ground.

Not needing to be a part of you right now.

Using your breath to release all of that energy down.

And if you can still feel a little anxiety in your body.

Just imagine that like beads of sweat.

That it was coming out and down and through.

And releasing off of your body with each breath.

And if more anxious thoughts seem to pop in because we have endless amounts of things that are trying to keep us safe to be anxious about.

Use this practice either right now to send them out from saying thank you.

I don't need you.

Or it might be a way to note later on in the day when the thought wants to come back.

Maybe take a breath.

Say thank you I know why you're here.

And allow it to just be.

And see if you can work through it.

That it can move out of you and dissipate.

And after you feel you've worked through some of these.

After you feel complete with releasing any blocked energy,

Any anxious thoughts.

Seeing if you can now come back into your body.

Come back into your seat.

And you when you feel ready,

Starting to slowly come back to your room by opening your eyes.

And taking another deep breath.

Thank you for allowing me to guide you in this inspired practice.

I hope to be able to do this again.

And if this is one of your first meditations you've heard from me.

Maybe check out some of the other ones that I have on here as well.

With much love.

Namaste.

Reviews

Moved me to tears. After a sleepless night of anxiety, helped me shift the tension out of my body and reframe my thoughts in such a helpful and compassionate way. Huge gratitude, Lou.

Really enjoyed this meditation. It brought me much relief. Thank you.

Imagining my anxiety as a grey cloud outside of myself really helped to expel the discomfort I had in my body. Thank you

Really helped me calm down after a stressful with my baby. Might have to do this each naptime

You have really helped me with this medication. Exactly what I needed this morning. Thank you.

Such a wonderful, beautiful and powerful meditation! I’ve discovered you lately and your talks and teachings have helped me so much in this journey of being a human. Thank you, thank you for being such a great enlightened soul and sharing that wonderful light within you with all of us!

Very helpful for calming my anxiety at a time when I really needed it. It's good to know that your anxiety is trying to keep you safe and that you can picture it outside you.. I'll come back to this one again, I'm sure. Thanks, Lou 🙏

It’s been my experience that anxiety is apart it most peoples lives especially because of the way we live in North America.
When I practise what you teach I am able to find out what my anxiety is trying to protect me from and then plan accordingly.

Anyway thank you for your work.

So soothing and relaxing that I dozed off a few times! Very calming.

I am a huge fan of Lou’s. This meditation was exactly what I needed today, as medicine for anxiety that has been building over the last month or so. I highly recommend this meditation. I’ll be using it regularly for sure. 🦋

Love this meditation. His voice and presence is calming and soothing.

I do not know when you offered this meditation, but it was just perfect for me, today! March 6th, 2021, with lots of dreams weighting for this pandemic to pass... NAMASTE!

Thank you so much Lou. Much appreciated.

Thank you for sharing at the beginning. Your soothing voice and the words were so calming and inspiring.

This will be a great practice to do over and over - any time that heaviness hits. The idea of anxiety being something separate from me, not part of me, has never occurred to me before. That’s a pretty empowering thought! Lou, when you first said about the anxiety wanting the best for us, I did react a little, but then I looked closely at a particular theme that runs through my anxiety experiences and could see it the way you said. I will try to return to this practice as I need it. Thank you. Namaste

I loved that. Your voice and manner are so soothing. Thank you!!

This meditation has quite literally saved me. I had severe anxiety and panic attacks earlier this year and this meditation (on repeat) changed my relationship with anxiety. I now just have low level manageable anxiety. I still listen to the meditation about once a week. I can’t thank the mediation leader enough for creating it. It’s changed my life.

Mind blowing perspective !
Thank with love and kindly dismiss the anxiety trigger
Beautiful & effective
Deep bow to you teacher
🙏🏼

Just perfect 😁👍

Thank you Lou for walking me through my anxiety and helping me to transform it into a positive emotional experience. I enjoyed thanking it for keeping me safe and then telling it that I no longer needed it. It was huge for me to realize that my anxious thoughts are not me. They are just thoughts. Thanks for making such a deep human connection with this meditation. I will come back to it time and again!