When you're feeling anxious,
May this visualization bring you some relief.
.
.
.
First,
Apply gentle pressure to the tops of your legs,
Squeezing them with your hands just to bring yourself in connection with your body.
When we're feeling anxiety,
It tends to remove us from the present moment,
And we start to fill in the blanks of what if with things that aren't necessarily happening right now.
So just gently put that pressure on your thighs,
Release any stories or judgment about said thighs,
And just allow yourself to feel that body connection.
Take some deep breaths,
As deep as you're able to pull in,
Bringing oxygen,
Healing oxygen into your system,
Helping soothe your nerve endings,
Helping send clarity to your mind,
Helping to calm your heart down if you notice your pulse is elevated.
It can help greatly to do some box breathing,
And what box breathing is,
Is breathing in on a count of four,
Pausing for a count of four,
Breathing out for a count of four,
And pausing for a count of four.
So let's try that together.
Breathe in,
Pause,
Breathe out,
Pause,
And keep going in that cycle.
Breathe in,
Pause,
Breathe out,
Pause,
Breathe in,
Pause,
Breathe out,
Pause,
Pause,
Breathe in,
Pause,
Breathe out,
Pause,
Breathe in,
Pause,
Breathe out,
Pause.
You can do that for as long as it feels like it's helpful to bring some calmness into your system and some peace into your thoughts.
And now I want you to think about wherever your mind is looping,
The stories it's constructing,
The worries that it's imagining,
And I want you to picture putting these worries on a leash.
You get to be the one who is walking your mind rather than letting your mind walk you.
So put your worries on a leash.
You can even imagine the worries being embodied by an animal and clicking a leash onto a collar of some kind,
And then pulling that leash tight.
And your worry beast might struggle against it.
It might pull,
It might want to run,
It might want to jump all over you,
But you're in charge.
And so you get to say no,
Down,
Heel.
And I want you to practice reining in your worries.
Pull that leash tight.
Practice reining in your worries,
Pulling on the leash,
Keeping them very close to you.
You don't have to expect yourself to be worry free or never feel anxiety.
That's probably not realistic,
But you do want to have tools.
And this leash is a great tool.
So tug on that leash.
Tell your worries who is boss.
And you can begin to walk,
And I want you to picture walking down a road toward something that you want to have happen.
What is the vision you want to be walking toward?
Let's put that wild imagination of yours to work in a helpful and useful direction.
And with your worries on a leash beside you,
You can begin walking down this road.
You can begin walking down this road,
The road of where you want to be going.
Activate all your senses as you imagine walking down this road.
Look down.
What shoes are you wearing?
How does the ground feel under your feet?
What temperature is the air?
Do you smell anything on the wind?
And up ahead of you,
You see a messenger.
A messenger who is here to help you both with your anxiety in the present and your vision for what's to come.
Allow that messenger to come into focus,
Whether it's an animal or a plant,
A spirit being an angel or another guide.
And listen for a message of some kind or watch.
Open up your perception.
Let that filter in.
And when the message is complete,
It might be simple,
Might be more than that.
Say thank you to your messenger.
Now you can turn around on your road with your worries on the leash right next to you.
Yank them closer if they try to get away.
Begin walking back toward yourself now in the present moment.
Imagining that this road leads right straight into your heart.
And as you walk closer and closer back to yourself,
You merge back into the you right now,
Right here,
Right in this moment.
Take a couple of deep breaths.
You can keep your worries on their leash.
This is a mental image you can pick up any time they start to get spirally and loopy and spinny.
And just when you think it's not in your control to to get them to behave themselves,
You can remember that it is in your control.
It is your mind and you get to say,
Even if you have to remind yourself every five seconds right now,
I'm okay.
Right now,
I'm okay.
Right now,
I'm okay.
This is the way you bring yourself back from the edge.
Right now,
I'm okay.
Right now,
I'm okay.
This doesn't mean you're okay at every single level,
But it means that you're here,
You're present,
That those worries are not coming to fruition in this moment,
In this moment,
And in this moment,
And in this moment.
And if you keep revisiting this work,
Those moments where you are walking,
Your anxiety will get longer and longer.
Thank you for listening,
For opening yourself up to a way of being with this,
For empowering yourself to return to what's useful and helpful within your own mind space.
And know that you always have a place here in the wild playground to reach out and touch base and just presence what is happening for you.
You're not alone and you're going to be okay.
You already are.
With so much love,
May you know peace.
