The Energy Medicine Solution Meditation: Awareness & Anxiety

This meditation is from The Energy Medicine Solution book. Chapter 25 describes Christine's journey to become a yoga therapist and provides a tool for working with anxiety. While she describes the tool in writing, you can listen it to here!

Transcript

Hello and welcome to OGB.

My name is Christine Badalamenti-Smith.

I am a yoga therapist and rewilding guide.

You are about to experience collecting awareness with calming breath.

This meditation is featured in chapter 25 of the Energy Medicine Solution Book titled Yoga Therapy,

Partner with Your Body to Manage Anxiety and More.

First I'll provide you with some instructions to set up your seat or the position you will be in for this meditation.

Find a comfortable seat.

Sit so your body is supported and will not be a distraction.

There's no need to force yourself into what you consider to be the proper seat for a meditation.

Feel free to sit on a chair,

Lay a blanket on your lap,

Whatever will make you feel comfortable.

And while it's important you're comfortable,

You still want to pay attention to your posture.

Notice if your most comfortable position is rounding the shoulders forward and tilting your head down.

That's not conducive to this practice.

You're making the area where you breathe small and compact.

So as comfortably as you can,

Find some length in your spine.

Roll your shoulders up and down onto your back and create space in the front of your body for your breath to grow.

You can change how you're sitting to make yourself more comfortable at any time.

Also if you need to fidget or squirm,

Let that happen.

There is no need to fight the body,

Just be with it as it is.

Once you're situated,

Supported and ready,

Close your eyes.

If closing your eyes isn't okay right now,

Just let your gaze soften either down toward the ground or out a window toward nature.

Softening the gaze is not focusing on any one thing in your view.

Letting the eyes be restful.

Now we'll begin calming breath.

To perform calming breath,

You'll inhale to a count of eight,

Hold the breath in for a count of two,

Exhale for a count of eight,

And hold the breath out for a count of two.

In for eight,

Hold for two,

Out for eight,

Hold for two.

Notice when you begin how quickly you're counting from one to eight.

Over time,

Try to slow down the pace of your counting.

Count in your mind and not out loud.

If it's difficult to count in the mind,

You can aid yourself by tapping out the numbers with your fingers on your body.

Why not try it right now?

Inhale for eight,

Hold for two,

Exhale for eight,

Hold for two.

You can let go of that breath and return to your uncontrolled breath.

It's normal to struggle with this breath at first,

Even in the best of circumstances,

And especially if you're experiencing anxiety and the breath is already short and shallow.

Give yourself plenty of time to ease into it.

Remember other people struggle with this breath too.

You can begin by counting to eight more quickly or by counting to six instead.

Just ensure your inhale and exhale are even and at least double the length of your held breath.

If the mind is busy,

Focus on counting.

Counting and breathing may be all you do when you first start practicing.

Once you're comfortable with the rhythm and no longer need to count to maintain it,

You can move on to the next phase of this tool.

Let's begin calming breath again.

Inhale for a count of eight,

Hold for two,

Exhale for a count of eight,

Hold for two.

You can pause right here if this is where you need to stay.

If you're ready,

We'll move on to collecting awareness.

Begin by noticing what's in your immediate environment.

What are the sounds?

Notice the loudest sounds in your environment.

Notice the quietest.

Notice the furthest.

And notice the closest.

You can focus on just one at a time or you can try to take in all the sounds at once.

Notice if there are any aromas in your environment and notice the texture of your environment.

Perhaps items that you are leaning on,

Resting against,

Or nestled under.

If you want,

You can even reach out beyond your immediate environment to what's beyond.

Notice how it feels to be in your body as you take in your environment.

Keep breathing.

In for eight,

Hold for two,

Out for eight,

Hold for two.

If this feels like a place you need to stay,

Then pause.

If you're ready to keep going,

We'll move on to the body.

What are you noticing in your physical body?

What are the sensations?

Where are they located?

What's your heart rate right now?

Do you notice activity in your intestinal tract?

What's your body temperature?

Is your neck tight?

Are your shoulders tense?

Are they raised toward the ears or forward toward the heart?

Start to take in all of this information.

Let it be just as it is.

You don't need to change or fix anything.

If you are a person for which visualization works,

You can imagine that each piece of information you gather is like a piece of fruit and you are simply plucking that fruit and putting it into a basket.

If that doesn't work for you,

Pick another visualization or totally disregard it.

Notice what works for you.

Keep breathing.

In for eight,

Hold for two.

Out for eight,

Hold for two.

If this feels like the right place to stay for a while,

You can pause and be here with your body for as long as you need.

If you feel ready to move on,

We're going to move on to our other ways of experiencing the world.

Notice what emotions are present right now.

Where do those emotions live in your body?

Can you simply name those emotions without attaching to them?

What do you notice about your energy?

Is it buzzing with anticipation?

Is it calming down as you breathe?

Is it reaching out or turning inward?

Notice the state of your energy.

Is it static or is it changing?

Notice what's happening in your mental state.

Is your mind busy or calm?

Are you hearing the same thought reel over and over or are you just counting your breath and collecting awareness?

Is your mind pointed toward the future,

The past,

Or right here,

Right now?

There is no need to judge what you are observing and collecting.

This is a neutral exercise.

If judgment starts to creep in,

Just notice that too.

Keep breathing.

In for eight,

Hold for two.

Out for eight,

Hold for two.

It's natural to have moments or breaths when you're fully present and you're going through the practice just as I've spoken it.

And then moments when the mind is racing and the heart is pounding and doubt starts to creep in around the edges of your experience.

Notice when you start to shift from one way of being to another.

Just watch the shift happen and report to yourself what you're observing without being attached to it.

You're just watching and noticing,

Plucking fruit to gently place into your basket.

You can stay here if this is a place you feel you need to be.

If you feel ready,

You can put the basket down.

It's up to you to know when you're ready.

Once you've collected all of these different awarenesses and placed them down,

Come back to your breath.

Just the breath.

In for eight,

Hold for two.

Out for eight,

Hold for two.

When you feel you're nearing the end of your meditation,

Bring your hands up to your body.

If it feels good,

Rest both hands,

One on top of the other over your heart.

Or maybe one hand on your belly or your forehead.

You can let the body tell you where it could use the presence of your hands.

Stay there for a few breaths.

If it feels possible,

Share a few kind words with yourself.

Anything that feels right in the moment.

It could be as simple as,

Thank you body,

Thank you breath.

It can be anything.

To close the practice,

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it fall out of your mouth in a sigh.

Repeat that once or twice if it feels right.

When you're done,

Take stock of your state of being.

Note if this was helpful or if this was tough to do today.

What changed and what stayed the same?

Why do you think that is?

Remind yourself you've tried something new that can be difficult for most people at first.

Try to be grateful you've given yourself the time and space to do it.

This is a great place and time to journal if anything showed up in your meditation.

The meditation is ended.

Thank you and be well.

Reviews

Excellent instruction given by such a kind voice. Gentle encouragement, too. I listened with my AirPods and I could hear light background noise from the recording — at first people talking, then possibly a machine humming and then music. I was surprised and chose to use the noises as part of the recommended observations about your surroundings, while at first judging them as a distraction.

Wonderful practice!
Where is the photo taken? I want to go there!
Thanks Christine