Begin to settle into a comfortable position,
Either sitting upright in a chair or laying down.
Start to become aware of your straight and supported back.
Now bring your attention to your hands and arms.
Your hands can be resting gently on your lap,
Your stomach,
Or at your side.
I invite you to close your eyes or keep them open with a soft gaze looking down.
If your mind wanders throughout this exercise,
Know that that is normal and simply guide your awareness back to my voice without judging yourself.
I invite you to think about a time when you felt anxious or overwhelmed.
Take a moment to think about the situation and the details.
Maybe bring into your awareness what triggered your anxiety or who triggered your anxiety.
Take a moment to sit with the details of the experience.
Gently shift your awareness from the details of the situation to how your body is physically feeling right now.
Scan your body now and observe where you feel the emotion.
Are you feeling the anxiety in your head,
In your back,
Maybe your chest or your stomach?
Become familiar with the sensations in your body.
Try what those physical sensations are that you are experiencing.
Now let's rate the intensity of the emotion on a scale of 1 to 10.
10 being not intense or affected at all and 10 being extremely intense and all consuming.
Pick a number that feels right.
Now let's stay focused on that body part while you listen to my guidance.
Breathe in through your nose for a count of 1,
2,
3,
4.
Hold for 1,
2.
And slowly breathe out through your mouth for 1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Again breathe in through your nose for 2,
3,
4.
Hold for 1,
2.
Breathe out through your mouth for 2,
3,
4,
5.
Focusing one more time on our breath,
Breathe in for 1,
2,
3,
4.
Hold.
Breathe out slowly 1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Go ahead and return to normal breathing and refocus on that anxiety.
On a scale of 1 to 10,
What number would you give it now?
Usually that number is smaller than in the beginning.
Pick whatever number feels right.
Remember that it's okay if that emotion is not completely gone.
This is a practice on teaching your mind and body how to react when anxiety feels like it's all consuming.
This is a practice in relaxing your mind and your body.
It is important to first decrease the intensity of the emotion.
Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future but from wanting to control it.
Remember that you and I do not have control over the future.
We only have control over the present moment.
So notice your anxiety.
Breathe through your anxiety.
Know that you can handle your anxiety and you will begin to believe in yourself.
