20 Minute Meditation To Help Relieve Anxiety

20-minute meditation looking at what anxiety is, how you experience anxiety, and ways to relieve anxiety. At the end of the meditation, you will have gained skills for breathing, managing thoughts, releasing tension, and relaxing muscle tension.

Transcript

Welcome.

Today we'll be looking at anxiety and guide you through a process to help you understand anxiety and provide ways to manage anxiety.

Some of the key symptoms of anxiety include tight,

Tense muscles,

Shallow or rapid breathing,

Worried thoughts and shaking.

With this anxiety,

Meditation will be able to target each of these areas to reduce anxiety and induce a relaxation response.

So allowing yourself to get comfortable,

Either sitting or lying.

And you can close your eyes if that feels right for you or focus on a key point with your eyes just lowered.

So first focusing on the breath.

Calm breathing is the key to being calm and relaxed.

So allowing a deep breath in through your nose.

And now exhale through your mouth as if you're blowing out a candle,

Blowing out all of the air.

And maybe just doing that again,

Just breathing in through the nostrils and holding that breath for a short period.

And then exhaling through the mouth and making that outward breath slightly longer,

Like you're blowing all of the air out.

As you inhale,

Focus on slowing down your breathing into a calm rhythm.

Exhale fully releasing all of the air.

And just take a moment to notice where you notice the breath.

Is it at the nostrils,

The chest,

The diaphragm or the belly?

What do you notice in your body as your body breathes?

Just continuing to breathe slowly and calmly.

And now that you get in the oxygen you need,

Realise that your only job right now is to keep yourself as comfortable as possible while this feeling passes.

Fighting against the anxiety only makes it stronger.

So right now,

Accept that you are feeling anxious.

And let's focus on calming your thoughts to relieve anxiety.

Repeat the following phrases in your mind.

I am feeling anxious right now,

But I'm okay.

This feeling will pass and no harm will come to me.

I am safe even though I feel afraid.

I will soon be calm even though I am experiencing anxiety right now.

I will get through this process.

I am making myself as comfortable as possible while I wait for the anxiety to decrease.

I can help myself to become gradually more and more calm and relaxed until this feeling passes.

Continue to give yourself calming messages.

As you continue to breathe slowly in and exhale fully,

And as you continue to repeat calming thoughts,

Now you can address any shaking or trembling that you may be experiencing.

When you experience anxiety,

Your body goes into fight or flight mode.

The heart is pumping quickly so that the oxygen can be delivered to your muscles and allow the use of those muscles to escape from danger.

And it's important to know that right here,

Right now,

There is no danger.

So the adrenaline is flowing through your body but not being used.

Your muscles are so ready for action that they are trembling.

You can help this trembling to decrease by physically shaking out the energy.

Imagine that you are shaking water off your hands to dry them.

Shake your hands now.

Allow your hands and your wrists to be limp as you shake your hands and your forearms quickly back and forth.

Imagine drops of water flying off your fingertips and imagine your attention draining out of your fingertips and being shaken away.

Now stop and allow your hands to be still.

Perhaps you might notice how much more relaxed your hands feel or you may even notice a pleasant tingling sensation.

Continue with even breathing and calm thoughts.

As you inhale,

Think I am becoming more and more calm.

With the exhalation,

Thinking I am feeling more and more relaxed.

Inhale,

Calm.

Exhale,

Relaxed.

Inhale,

Calm.

Exhale,

Relaxed.

And the last area to focus on now to relieve anxiety is your tense muscles.

Muscles can become painful,

Tired and cramped as a result of stress or anxiety.

You can help your muscles relax now by first allowing your lower jaw to drop so your teeth are not touching.

Just opening and closing the jaw and let your jaw be relaxed and loose.

Now lower your shoulders.

Let the shoulders be relaxed and loose.

You may want to move your arms or your shoulders in some circles forward and back.

And now let your shoulders become limp as you increase the distance between your shoulders and your ears.

Softening,

Relaxing and letting go.

Raise your arms above your head and stretch.

Now release the muscles as you gently lower your arms to your side.

And just doing that again and this time bringing the breath in here as you raise your arms above your head,

Just breathing in.

Just holding that breath for a moment with your arms stretched up.

And as you release and lower your arms to your sides,

Just gently exhale allowing all the breath out of the lungs.

And now focusing on your head,

Just turning your head from left back to the centre,

To the right.

Looking down.

Looking straight ahead and looking up.

And just slowly repeating that and bringing the breath in here as you turn to the head to the left,

Just breathing in.

And letting the breath out and feel that stretch a little bit more down the side of the neck.

Bring the head back to centre.

A breath in and a breath out.

Moving your head to the right with a breath in and as you exhale you can feel that stretch along the side of the neck.

And a deep breath in and bringing your head down,

Bringing the chin to the chest.

Bringing your head straight up and looking up and exhaling,

Letting go.

Allowing that breath to return to its natural rhythm,

Its natural pace.

And bring your head to a relaxed and neutral position.

Straighten your back into a correct posture.

And keep your back upright but maintain the natural curves of your spine.

Even if you're lying down,

Just get a sense of moving your spine,

Just undulating like a snake,

Just getting a bit of that movement into the spine and feeling your body become longer.

Continue to move and stretch and relax and allow your muscles to become less and less tense.

Just breathing in,

Calmness.

I am becoming more and more calm.

And with the exhalation I am more and more relaxed.

And taking a moment to do a scan of the body,

Just tracking down from the top of your head,

Across the body,

Across the head,

The shoulders,

The arms,

The trunk of your body,

Your upper legs,

Your lower legs and right down to your feet and your toes.

And just scan for any tension points.

And if you notice any tension points,

Breathe in to that area.

Breathing in calm and relaxation.

And get a sense of that area softening and relaxing and letting go,

Just that little bit more.

And just taking a moment in silence to be with the breath.

Gently in,

Gently out.

I was focusing on the slightly longer exhalation.

Calming your thoughts.

Remind yourself that this too will pass.

Relaxing all of the muscles,

Especially in the jaw,

Your neck,

Your shoulders and your upper back.

Just taking some time in your silence just to be in this relaxed space.

Starting to bring your energy and focus back into the room now.

And just as a reminder,

These four steps for relaxation to relieve your anxiety.

Remember to breathe.

Breathe slowly and exhale fully with a slightly longer exhalation.

Calm your thoughts.

Speak to yourself as if you were a beloved child who was feeling anxious.

I am feeling anxious right now but I am okay.

This will pass and no harm will come to me.

Right here,

Right now I am safe.

I will get through this.

I can help myself to become gradually more calm and relaxed until this feeling passes.

Calm thoughts.

Inhaling calm,

Exhaling relaxation.

The other one is to physically shake out the tension in your body.

Shaking your arms,

Your hands or even if you are standing at any stage,

Shaking out your legs or your whole body.

Releasing that tension out of your body.

And then doing that scan through the body and relaxing your muscles.

And continue to do these things until you feel calm and the anxiety has eased.

Taking some time now to get some movement back into your body.

Maybe starting to move your hands and your feet.

Moving your head from side to side and having a stretch the way the cat stretches after a sleep.

In your own time if your eyes are closed you can gently open your eyes and get back to the activities of your day.

Radio emptied out.

You you

Reviews

A beautiful calming meditation. Thank you Tamika. Highly recommended ❤️🙏🏻❤️