Somatic Tracking For Anxiety

Anxiety can be a common and understandable emotion experienced by people living with pain. Being constantly in a high state of alert however can impact on our pain levels. So, in this practice we attend to the physical sensations of anxiety with a light curiosity through a lens of safety - this way, we can remind our primitive brains that we are safe, there are no tigers ready to pounce. Just noticing, observing, attending to ourselves - without judgment or any hidden agenda - just along for the ride.

Transcript

Hi,

It's Mandy here.

Today's practice guides us to calmly take note of the physical experience of anxiety in our bodies,

As this can be a really common emotion that bubbles up when we're living with pain.

The latest pain neuroscience tells us that getting caught up in anxious thoughts,

Just like getting caught up in fear and catastrophizing,

Can end up contributing to your pain experience.

If we're continually falling into this spiral of anxiety whenever we feel pain,

Or because we don't like feeling this way,

We might try to ignore the emotion,

Just keep it all bottled up inside.

And over time,

Our brains start to see those emotions as threats,

Triggering what we might call a fight or flight response.

And this keeps us stuck in the fear and anxiety,

Pulling us into more pain,

And making sure that our stress response is on high alert.

So our practice today guides us through a way to calm this response down.

Emotions are a normal part of being human,

But by exploring them with curiosity and kindness,

We can learn to manage them without feeling overwhelmed,

And without going into that threat response.

And in turn,

This can help our pain system see that emotions aren't threatening,

And to dial down our pain.

So how about we just give it a try?

So taking your time to settle into a posture that's going to be comfortable for your body today,

You can do this practice sitting,

Standing,

Or lying down,

It's up to you.

You can have your eyes open or closed.

So just once you've made yourself comfortable,

Just allowing your body to settle into that position,

Giving the weight of your body up to gravity,

And maybe beginning by taking a couple of deep breaths,

Allowing the body to soften with each exhale.

And as you explore these sensations of breathing in the body,

Just knowing that at any time throughout the rest of this practice,

You can just return here to these sensations of breathing in the body,

As a place to anchor your attention,

Somewhere where you can feel safe in the body if you're feeling lost or overwhelmed.

So we're going to begin this practice by getting a little bit curious about how we experience anxiety.

Are you feeling anxious right now?

It's okay if you're not,

We can just imagine a time recently when your anxious mind was working hard to protect you,

Or you can just listen along for now.

For this practice,

I'm going to invite you to pay attention to your anxiety,

Rather than trying to get rid of it,

Or ignore it,

Or getting carried away by it,

Getting caught up in the what-ifs.

So I invite you to just watch whatever the dominant feelings or sensations are associated with anxiety,

In a relaxed and detached way,

No fear,

No judgment,

We're just exploring,

Just noticing.

Where do you feel these sensations in your body?

How do you notice feeling anxious?

Seeing if you can bring a sense of lightness to this exploration.

There's no right or wrong,

And you're always welcome to breathe into these sensations.

Seeing if it's possible to describe them.

Is there a feeling of tightness,

Fluttering or pulsing?

Do the sensations feel pleasant or unpleasant?

Are they widespread or somewhere quite specific?

Are they in one area of the body,

Or do you feel the sensations in a few different spots of the body?

It might be in your belly,

Around your heart,

Perhaps a tightness in your throat,

Pressure behind the eyes,

Stiffness in the jaw,

Perhaps somewhere else.

The important thing to remember here is that these sensations are not dangerous.

Your breath is always here as a safe place in your body if you're feeling overwhelmed,

And you need to return there and just take a couple of deep breaths.

You don't have to do anything,

We're just feeling into these sensations,

Not trying to get rid of them or change them in any way.

Seeing if you can describe the sensations,

Maybe even as a color or a shape,

Just being playful and curious as best you can.

And continuing to pay attention to these sensations of anxiety in the body.

We're not coming at this practice with any kind of ulterior motive,

We're not trying to get rid of the sensations,

Just staying with them.

And yeah,

They might be unpleasant,

All I'm asking you to do is pay attention if you can.

Just attending to yourself and the sensations of anxiety,

Taking care of yourself.

For many of you this might be a difficult concept,

You want to distract yourself from it,

Often we get caught up taking care of everyone else's needs,

But in this practice we're just taking the time to pay attention,

Turn inward,

We're not trying to win any competitions or get it right,

There doesn't need to be intensity,

You don't need to give this much effort,

Just a light curious attention.

No breathing,

Nothing else to do.

So what's happening to these sensations as you pay attention to them?

Are they changing at all?

Are they getting more intense?

Are they subsiding?

Is it changing in shape or location?

No matter what's happening,

It's okay,

These sensations are safe,

This emotion of anxiety is not dangerous.

Sure it can feel like maybe there's something threatening going on,

If your heart's racing and you're starting to sweat or whatever the situation might be,

But what you're feeling is not dangerous,

It's just maybe that your brain is interpreting that it is.

We're just observing the sensations,

Showing that primitive part of the brain that you're okay right now,

There's nothing to be done,

There's nothing to be undone,

We're just noticing sensations in the body and you're safe.

Sometimes our brain can react like on high alert all the time and get really,

Really overprotective.

I'm not sure if you've ever seen it,

But if you've ever seen a video of a cat reacting to a cucumber,

Our brain can kind of like be that cat,

It's like it's reacting with way more fear than is actually necessary.

So by observing these sensations,

Bringing a sense of curiosity,

You're essentially telling your brain it's okay,

You can stand down,

No action is required,

You don't need to freak out like that cat.

So just keep noticing these sensations if you can,

Attending to them,

The interest,

Curiosity.

It's like you're a passenger just watching,

You're sitting in the car going for a nice country drive,

Watching all the scenes pass by,

The sky,

The mountains,

The trees,

There's cows munching away in fields,

All you're doing is observing as things pass by.

Seeing if it's possible to just let the emotion,

Let the sensations be here just as they are.

Just letting these sensations,

Emotions,

Thoughts,

Just letting them exist.

There's no need to get rid of them,

Control them,

Fix them,

Ignore them.

Just sitting back along for the ride,

Leaning in to this moment of attending to yourself,

Letting your body know that you're here,

Just taking one breath at a time,

Offering yourself this gift of simply paying attention,

Listening to what is here in the body,

Heart and mind.

You are able to give yourself this attention,

This loving,

Curious,

Kind attention.

And when we do sit in this way,

With this awareness,

You're letting your primitive brain know that you're safe,

You don't need to be anxious,

Your brain doesn't need to perceive danger when there is none,

Because you are safe.

So just breathing with those feelings of safety here in this moment.

And also offering yourself a little bit of congratulations,

You have just been doing some excellent neuroplastic work,

Communicating to that primitive part of your brain,

Authentic messages of safety.

It's time to take care of your emotions,

And resting here in this way,

Paying attention,

You've been doing that,

You're safe,

It's okay,

It's okay to feel emotions.

Great work.

So when you're ready,

You can return your attention to your breath,

Perhaps taking a few fuller breaths,

Opening your eyes when you're ready,

Taking in the room and the space you're in,

Having a little wriggle if that's what your body needs.

Thanks,

See you next time.

Reviews

What a wonderful, reassuring and confident presentation. Deeply appreciate your style and content