Welcome.
This is a five-minute visual focus beginner meditation designed for people struggling with anxiety problems.
I will assume that you are relatively new to meditation and may be having a hard time understanding how it's done and how to use it as a tool in your anxiety recovery plan.
I will give you a bit of instruction,
Then we will do five minutes of sitting quietly,
Relaxing,
And bringing our focus to something you can see in your environment.
For people that struggle with breath-centric anxiety or hyper-focus on breath,
This is useful as an alternate focus point.
If you're feeling very anxious or even near panic now,
Sitting quietly for five minutes may be very difficult.
That is okay.
Sit for as long as you can.
If you end early,
That's not a problem.
That is not failure.
You can return to this meditation as often as you need to in order to practice.
Try increasing your time by a few seconds each session until you have completed the entire five minutes.
Instructions.
Find a comfortable place to sit where you will be supported without having to exert much effort.
Pick a good chair,
Sofa,
Or a good spot on the floor.
You do not have to sit cross-legged.
Be comfortable.
Adopt an upright posture with your shoulders back and your chin level or slightly tilted up.
If you're hunching in defensive posture,
Note this and do your best to correct it before you start.
Since this is a visual focus meditation,
You'll keep your eyes open.
Once you're sitting,
Take 30 seconds to fully release the tension in your body.
This is the first scary thing that I'm asking you to do.
Let go of the tension.
Go as limp as you can.
This may feel dangerous or wrong to you,
But do your best to fully relax.
It's okay if you have to release this tension over and over during the exercise.
During the meditation,
Breathe naturally.
If you have anxiety focused on your breath,
You may struggle with being hyper-focused on breathing.
You can use this meditation to practice bringing your focus to a visual point,
Letting go of the need to control your breathing and allow your body to breathe like it is capable of doing.
It knows what to do if we let it handle what it is designed to handle.
All we are required to do for the next five minutes is to relax our bodies and train our focus.
Your body and brain may work overtime to get your attention.
This is okay.
You can allow that,
And you can bring your attention to a visual point you select rather than giving your attention to the sensations and thoughts.
This is the heart of our meditation practice and anxiety recovery.
Okay,
Get into a comfortable position and let's get started.
To help you gauge the time left in our meditation,
I will sound a gentle bell every minute.
This may also help you bring your attention back to your visual focus point if you find your mind wandering.
Get neutral.
Relax your body.
All the way.
Let go.
It's okay.
Repeat that when you need to.
Pick an object or a point in space to focus on with your eyes.
It can be anything.
There does not need to be any special meaning to the object or focus point you select.
Train your focus on that object and relax.
You are not required to closely examine the object at all.
Use a soft focus.
This is just a place to gently rest your gaze for five minutes.
Blink when you need to blink.
That's okay.
Let it come naturally.
If you find that you are focusing too intently on your object,
Blink a few times and return with a softer focus.
It may take you a few times to get the hang of this.
That is just fine.
You're doing great.
Stay relaxed.
Release the tension in your body.
You may find that you're tensing up in various points.
Just notice it and let it go.
It may feel scary to let that go,
But you can do it.
Let go all the way.
Make like a rag doll.
Maintain your focus visually on the object or point you've selected.
Allow yourself to blink when you need to blink.
It's perfectly fine,
Perfectly normal.
And when you find your brain throwing thoughts and ideas at you,
Whatever they may be,
Just acknowledge them and bring your focus back to that visual point.
Remember to breathe and breathe naturally.
You don't have to control your breathing.
However way you're breathing,
It's perfectly okay.
And relax.
Let go of the tension.
Bring your focus back to your visual focus point,
The object or point you've selected.
Your brain and body may be throwing sensations,
Thoughts,
Ideas,
Random memories at you.
That's okay.
We are thinking machines.
This is what we do.
When you have those thoughts or when you recognize sensations in your body,
Disturbing or scary though they may be,
Just acknowledge them gently and bring your focus back to your visual focus point.
Breathe naturally and relax your body.
Very good.
This may be difficult for you.
It's difficult for many people with anxiety.
It will take practice and you're doing great.
Blink when you need to blink.
Reset your focus.
Nice soft gaze when you need to.
There's almost no wrong way to do this.
Keep releasing the tension in your body.
You may have to do this again and again.
That's okay.
If you lose focus on your object or your point,
Just reset.
That's not failure.
There's no wrong way to do this.
Let your thoughts and let the sensations come and go.
Remember,
We're not trying to get rid of them.
We're trying to allow them to be there without engaging with them.
The tool we're using is to bring your focus back to the object or the point in space that you have selected with a nice,
Soft,
Gentle,
Relaxed gaze.
When your body is sending you red alert signals,
We will send it green lights.
All good.
We'll do it just like this by moving your focus somewhere else to this visual point you've selected and relaxing the tension in your body.
Let it go.
Just let it go.
It's okay.
You're doing so well.
This may be uncomfortable,
But that's okay.
You'll get used to it the more you do it.
Just relax your body.
Let that tension out of your body.
Notice where you're tight.
Notice where you're stiff.
Let it go and just gently return your focus visually back to the object you selected.
Relax,
Focus softly and breathe naturally.
Excellent.
This is difficult.
This is a skill you must practice and learn,
But you're doing great and you're taking your first steps right now.
Just relax.
Return your focus back to the object as often as you need to.
Excellent.
Excellent work.
Just let that tension go and relax.
You did it.
You did the five minutes.
This may be the first time you've ever done that,
And if it is,
Congratulations.
If you've been doing things like this for a little while and it's still a little bit difficult for you,
That's okay.
Now,
When you're ready,
Close your eyes for a few seconds to reset your focus.
Blink a few times.
Look around the room.
Slowly and deliberately stretch your arms or legs.
Like really stretch.
Enjoy that stretch like a dog or a cat does.
You've earned it.
You did great.
Now,
Bring your attention to the tasks and subjects that matter to you now.
What lies ahead of you today?
What can you accomplish?
What would you like to do?
What small steps forward can you take?
You just did five full minutes where you worked on not giving anxiety or full attention.
That's a big deal.
Bring that with you for the rest of the day.
Focus on the task at hand rather than on your anxiety.
This takes practice,
So don't be discouraged if you fall into old habits.
Just correct and move on.
Feel free to use this little five-minute meditation break several times throughout your day if you can.
Learning this skill and working on applying it to your anxiety recovery is a great investment in yourself and in your future,
And you are worth it.
So thank you for listening,
And I'll see you in the next meditation.
