Welcome to session 2 of Meditation for Anxiety Relief.
Find yourself in a very comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down.
Make sure you will not be disturbed for the duration of this session.
When you turn off all distractions,
You know that you can focus on this meditation.
And you know you can let your anxiety fall away while learning more about yourself.
So let your eyes close to enhance your experience.
Begin by relaxing your body,
Focusing on the breath.
Take a nice full deep breath in and exhale out.
With every exhale,
Imagine that you sink down even further into your comfortable position.
Let your belly rise as you breathe in deeply.
And let it fall as you sink down.
And just let go of your breath now,
Allow it to return to its natural rhythm.
No need to do anything at all,
Just watch the breath as it comes in and out.
Very good.
Think of a place now where you feel safe.
It could be anywhere you like,
Such as a gorgeous beach or in your own bed.
Imagine clearly a place where you feel secure,
A place where you can be yourself.
Picture all the details of this place,
The temperature,
The atmosphere,
The nature around you,
Or lack thereof.
The more details you can add in,
The better.
Vividly see all the colors in your safe place.
Make them bright and shimmering.
Nice.
Take another deep breath in through your nose and imagine that you can sense the fragrances around you in your safe place.
Perhaps there's a sweetness in the air,
Your favorite smell.
Feel the sensations of safety in your body.
How does being secure feel for you?
Perhaps your body feels lighter in some places,
Or heavier in others.
Just notice all of the sensations in your body right now.
Taking note of how this state of safety feels.
Good.
Now we will begin to notice the different emotions that we have,
And feeling in our body where we have these emotions.
At times we may feel an uncomfortable emotion arise,
And if it does you can simply remember how your safe space feels,
And breathe some gentle breaths.
Let's start by imagining the feeling of pride.
Visualize yourself being proud.
You can remember back to a time when you accomplished something.
Just feel the sensation of pride,
And pay attention to where in your body you notice it.
Simply sense in to its specific location.
Sitting with the sensation of pride for a moment.
Now let's experience the feeling of excitement.
Remember vividly being excited about something.
An exciting time in your life.
Notice how this feels in your body.
Again sensing where excitement rises within the body,
And any physical changes you notice.
Now sit with this feeling of excitement for a moment.
Now bring into your awareness the feeling of amusement.
Can you remember when something was really interesting to you?
How it grabbed your attention?
Feel all of your sensations in the body,
And perhaps you don't feel much at all,
And that's perfectly fine.
Sitting with the sensation of being amused.
Now bring into your awareness the feeling of kindness.
Most humans I know strive to be kind to one another.
Kindness feels good for a reason.
Without kindness we wouldn't get along.
So feel any sensations that you can,
That come from kindness.
Sensing in your body where you feel any shifts as you imagine being kind.
Sit with this feeling for some time,
Kindness.
Now we are going to experience an emotion that you may be here to experience.
Anxiety.
So right now,
Just experience where you feel anxious in your body.
You are learning about yourself as you track in your body where anxiety rises.
You are taking an observer's view,
Just witnessing any changes in the body.
Allow for the anxiety to flow through you.
And you can see that the anxiety is harmless.
It comes and goes,
Just like those other sensations.
Breathe in deeply,
And as you exhale,
Relax.
Say to yourself,
I know anxiety is temporary.
I know anxiety is temporary.
I know anxiety is temporary.
You may notice that all these emotions,
They start out small.
They build up.
They have a peak,
And then they fall back down,
Just like a wave in the ocean.
We are emotional creatures,
And it's fine to have different experiences through our life.
We need to learn how to let things flow through us,
So that we don't get trapped within an emotion such as anxiety.
Remember now back to a new emotion.
Let's go for happiness or joy,
Even gratitude.
Where in your body do you feel these happy emotions?
Over a time when you felt really good,
Laughing with loved ones,
Accomplishing your dreams,
Or simply walking through nature with your favorite pet.
Happiness.
Love.
Peace.
Freedom.
Freedom.
Allow these beautiful emotions to swell up in your body like a big wave,
And sweep down your entire body from head to shoulders,
Down the arms,
Through the chest and the heart,
Into the abdomen and belly,
Spilling down your back.
Happiness and joy fills your hips and pelvis.
The sense of gratitude travels down your legs,
Over the knees,
Around the ankles,
Into the feet,
And out the toes.
You are filled with the beautiful emotions of happiness,
Love and joy.
You may rise from this meditation in your own time.
You may rise from this meditation in your own time.
You may rise from this meditation in your own time.
You may rise from this meditation in your own time.
You may rise from this meditation in your own time.
