Welcome to this guided meditation for anxiety.
This is a great meditation for when you are feeling anxious,
Overwhelmed,
Scared or stressed,
Because it brings us back into the present moment.
This meditation will give us the space to surrender to our thoughts,
Simply allowing them with no judgment.
We will begin with a simple box work,
Breath work,
Where we will inhale for a count of four,
Hold our breath for a count of four,
Exhale for a count of four,
And then hold for a count of four.
And we will do a few rounds of this and then slowly just drift into a breathing pattern that feels natural for you.
All right,
Let's begin.
Allow yourself to sit in a position that is comfortable.
And we'll begin by bringing our attention to our breath.
Noticing your natural rhythm.
Notice your inhale and your exhale.
By first beginning with our breath,
It will help to shift our nervous system.
Simply by controlling our breath,
We can activate our parasympathetic state,
Which works to calm the cascade of our stress response.
Let's begin with the box breathing.
Inhale for a count of four.
Hold for a count of four.
And exhale for a count of four.
And hold for a count of four.
Inhaling,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4.
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4.
Continuing this pattern and a rhythm that feels right for you.
Noting that as you match your breath with the timing and you follow this rhythm with your breathing and your counting,
It naturally brings your thoughts in to the present,
Focusing on what you're doing,
Which is one of the main reasons it becomes so effective.
It regulates your breathing on a physical level and it holds the attention of your thoughts.
Continuing the cycle,
Inhale for 4,
Hold for 4.
Exhale for 4,
Hold for 4.
And when your thoughts wander,
That's okay,
Just gently bringing them back to the cycle of your breath.
In this way,
You can use the cycle and the counting of your breath as an anchor to hold your attention so when you notice your thoughts have wandered,
You can gently drop the attachment and then bring your attention back to the counting of your breath.
Letting your body relax into this as you continue to repeat the 4 count cycle of breath.
Know that the very act of noticing when your thoughts have wandered and bringing your attention back is growing this mental strength in your mind of focusing your attention.
And this then becomes a tool you can use throughout your day when you notice your thoughts getting away from you,
When you're feeling anxious,
You can choose to change your thoughts,
Bringing your attention back to your breath,
Using your breath to calm your body.
This becomes a tool you can use at any moment,
A skill to help regulate yourself.
And when we practice this skill,
It becomes more accessible in our everyday life.
Inhale for a count of 4,
Hold for a count of 4,
Exhale for a count of 4,
Hold for a count of 4.
And when you notice your thoughts have wandered,
If you wish,
You can simply observe them,
Notice them with curiosity and then without judgement,
Releasing them and choosing to bring your attention back to your breath.
Inhale for a count of 4,
Hold for a count of 4,
Exhale for a count of 4,
Hold for a count of 4.
Using this breathwork to physically calm your body.
Now allowing your breath to flow into a rhythm that feels right for you.
Simply inhaling and exhaling,
Feeling the connectiveness to your breath,
Knowing your breath is always with you,
Most times unconscious of how we breathe.
But just like in this exercise,
At any moment we can choose to breathe consciously and we can choose to calm our bodies.
So when you feel any anxiety or fear or panic or overwhelm creeping up as it naturally does,
You can choose to accept it,
Acknowledge it,
Maybe even be curious as to how it got there.
And then simply release the judgement,
Releasing the attachment to it,
Letting it go and choosing to return to your breath.
This is the power of our breath and our thoughts and consciously choosing how we wish to breathe and what thoughts we hold in our mind.
And in this way we can ground into the present moment.
Breathing into our breath.
Just as we observe the cycle in our breath,
It reconnects us to the cycles in our life and the presence of change.
And just as you might be feeling these anxious thoughts or feelings of panic,
Fear,
Overwhelm,
Day two will pass,
The cycle of change will continue and you can choose to stay present with your breath and observe all these feelings.
This is the power of our breath and this is the power that is so natural and innate to us.
And once you understand it,
It becomes a tool that you can use in your day to day.
We'll gently bring this meditation to a close.
Take a moment to feel gratitude,
Grateful for taking this time for yourself to be present,
To be curious,
To observe and to learn.
Thank you for sharing this meditation with me.
