Hello,
My name is Michelle Valdner and welcome.
I'm so happy to share these moments with you today.
I know you may be feeling anxious right now,
Stressed,
Or uneasy.
So please allow yourself to be in this moment.
Be as present as possible for you now with no judgment.
Listen to the sound of my voice and give yourself permission to be in your body and in your mind for the next few minutes.
Before we start,
I want you to get as comfortable as possible.
You can sit in a chair or lie down and take any necessary movements you need.
Relax the shoulders,
Release any tension in the face,
Relax your muscles,
And get out any last minute fidgets.
When you feel ready,
You can begin to let the eyelids become heavy,
Gently closing the eyes,
Taking a nice deep inhale in through the nose and releasing it out through the mouth.
One more breath just like that,
Inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling out through the mouth.
And then you can return to a natural state of breathing,
Whatever that feels like for you.
So what we know about anxiety is that it is an age-old system.
Anxiety is an emotion that our mind and body use to alert us,
To keep us on our toes.
It helps us to discern if there's danger in our environment,
Anxiety,
Fear,
Nervousness,
Worry.
These emotions are part of our fight or flight system that has been keeping us alive for centuries.
So please know that this anxiety,
This overwhelm,
This fear,
This stress,
Thinking,
It's part of being human,
Part of the mind and body doing its job to protect us.
So offer a sense of gratitude for this emotion.
I know it's not always easy to feel these feelings,
But we can thank our mind and our body for working,
For doing its job,
For doing what it needs to do to protect us and keep us alive.
What we know about our fight or flight response is that it's not always on point.
It's not always clear if we are truly in immediate danger or if we are perceiving it.
The mind is so powerful.
The body is so powerful that even if we are perceiving danger,
Fight or flight will activate.
Anxiety,
Worry,
Negative thinking.
These emotions will all turn on to protect us.
So I want you to be clear right in this moment.
Ask yourself,
Am I in immediate danger?
Does my fight or flight system need to be activated?
If the answer is no,
Acknowledge it.
Acknowledge that you are in control of making this decision,
Telling your body and your mind that there is no present danger and that fight or flight can stand down.
When we acknowledge it,
We own it and we can start to settle those emotions,
Settle those feelings and give ourselves space to connect with breath.
If fight or flight is our alert system,
Breath is our tool to turn it off.
So bringing your awareness and your attention to your breath,
I want you to begin to notice your inhales and your exhales.
Check in with your body.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest and your belly.
Notice if there's any physical tension you're experiencing.
If there is,
Breathe into that space.
Turn your inhales directly to that area and exhale the tension.
Now check in with the mind.
Notice if there's any thought you're experiencing,
Any thought that's bringing you discomfort or uneasiness.
Acknowledge it.
Send it loving energy.
Send it breath.
Now check in with your heart,
Your emotions.
Acknowledge the feelings you're feeling and any emotion that's present for you in this moment.
As you continue to allow yourself and acknowledge these thoughts,
Feelings and physical sensation in your body,
Give yourself permission.
Give yourself permission to feel,
To think,
Knowing that you are in a safe space right now and that you are creating even more space with each inhale and exhale.
Take your time in this moment.
Continue to breathe.
When you are ready,
You can begin to bring your awareness and attention to the space that you are in.
Begin to acknowledge any sounds in the room around you.
Maybe begin to make subtle movements with your fingers and your toes.
And if it feels okay,
You can slowly begin to blink open your eyes,
Taking in the room around you.
And before you move,
Give yourself an opportunity to revel in the space that you've created for yourself.
The space that you've created with your breath.
The permission that you gave yourself to think your thoughts and feel your feelings.
This permission,
This space,
This being present is so important.
It's so important for our mind and our body.
Please know that you can come back to breath at any time.
It will always be there for you.
And you can come back to this meditation at any time.
Thank you for being with me here today.
And then you all of my love.
