Hello and thank you for joining me for today's anxiety-based meditation.
If you just want to find your comfortable position,
Whether you prefer to sit seated with your legs crossed,
Full latus,
Half latus,
Whether you prefer to kneel,
Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor and a nice long spine,
Or maybe you prefer to lay down.
Just take a moment now to find that comfortable position.
Maybe turning on some music in the background or simply listening to this silence and this practice.
Find that comfortable position and when you're ready,
Take that gaze down.
Closing off the eyes or finding a soft gaze to a focal point and to checking in with yourself here.
Asking yourself,
How do you feel emotionally?
How do you feel mentally?
How do you feel physically?
Making no changes,
No adjustments,
Just simply observing where we are right now.
How does the mind feel?
How does the body feel right now?
Reminding ourselves there are no frustrations,
There are no pressures here.
Breathing deeply,
Notice the breath coming in through the body.
Notice the breath leave the body.
Inhaling through the nose.
Exhaling through the nose.
Inhale,
Notice that natural breath coming in through the body.
Exhaling,
Notice the breath leaving the body.
Just observing that breath.
Where's the breath travelling to as you breathe in?
Can you feel it all the way down in the belly?
Or maybe you can feel it in your chest,
Just noticing where the breath feels.
Making no judgments,
There is no ego here.
Breathing deeply.
And then just beginning to control the breath.
When you're ready,
Taking an inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhaling,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven and eight.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhaling,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhaling for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
And just working with this four,
Seven and eight breath.
Where you inhale for four.
Hold for seven.
Exhale for eight.
And just working with that breath at your own pace,
Your own rhythm.
Breathing slow and naturally.
Holding for that seven,
Exhaling for that eight and inhaling for four.
And this breath is effective for reducing anxiety.
It balances the mind and the body.
It brings focus on the breath instead of other things.
It allows the mind to slow down.
It allows the awareness to be channelled on the breath.
And it allows the body to rest,
Ready for sleep.
So when you're ready,
Just taking one more round with me.
Breathing in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
And just allow the breath to become natural.
Slow,
Deep rhythm.
Breathing into that belly.
Feel your belly rise and as you exhale,
Feel the belly fall.
Breathing deeply.
And anxiety can take a lot out of us mentally,
Emotionally and physically.
So just remind yourself of the positives.
That could be taking a warm shower,
Going to the gym,
Being at work,
Seeing family or friends.
It may be the birds that sing in the morning,
Your roof over your head.
Just find those little moments in a day that you are thankful for and remind yourself of those.
Remind yourself of your strength,
Your inner power,
Your inner tapas.
Remind yourself that today you will not stress over things you cannot control.
Maybe saying that to yourself three times.
Today,
I will not stress over things I cannot control.
Today,
I will not stress over things I cannot control.
Today,
I will not stress over things I cannot control.
And just take a moment here,
Letting go of those things that you cannot control.
Reminding ourselves that we can't control what happens around us.
But we can control our reaction to it.
And your reaction right now is being here.
Turning up for yourself,
Allowing yourself this time to give back to your mind and your body to ease those anxieties.
To breathe deeply and connect back with yourself.
So when things get a little bit shaky,
Come back to this strength.
And if you're asking yourself if you can be strong,
If you are strong,
If you have strength,
The answer is yes.
Don't underestimate the silence of your strength that you don't even know you possess.
Take a moment to pause,
Allow the thoughts to come through.
Allow thoughts to rise,
But also allowing them to fall again.
As you inhale,
The thoughts may rise.
And as you exhale,
Allow the thoughts to fall.
Breathing deeply,
Connecting with yourself,
Allow these anxieties to ease.
Take a moment to pause,
To be still and remind yourself that life isn't a relay race.
We all across the finish line.
Have this moment now to slow down.
Be still.
And breathe in the goodness.
And breathe out anything that no longer serves you.
Inhaling deeply,
Exhaling,
Sighing out whatever no longer serves you.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale,
Sigh out.
Inhale.
Exhaling.
When you're ready,
Just take a moment to connect and feel grounded.
Feel safe and secure.
Begin to notice five things you can feel.
The clothes upon your skin,
Maybe a light breeze.
Notice things you can feel physically.
Bringing that awareness,
Wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Notice the things that you can hear.
The sound of my voice,
Maybe you have music or nature in the background.
Can you hear cars or anything like that?
Widening that awareness now.
What can you taste and smell?
And then just gently fluttering open the eyelids,
Bringing awareness gently back into the body.
What can you see?
Thank you for practising with me.
I hope you have helped this practice to ease those anxieties.
Namaste.
