My name is Steven and today we'll be doing a meditation to relieve tension and anxiety.
I think sometimes anxiety can be a life sucker for us who deal with it,
But the truth of the matter is that we don't have to let it plague us.
We don't have to let our thoughts define us.
Anxiety can propel us and our mind into the future,
But sometimes it just is a matter of coming back to the breath and allowing that to anchor us into the present.
And so with that,
From wherever you're sitting,
You can start by getting your spine erect,
And allow your shoulders and your arms to hang heavy,
Maybe allowing your lower extremities to just melt into the floor.
Can soften your heart,
Feel your throat open up.
Allow any tension within your facial muscles to just let go.
Unhinging the jaw,
Letting the tongue gently sit.
Take a moment to focus on the breath,
Its natural rhythm.
What does it feel like?
Is it deep?
Is it shallow?
Without placing any judgment on it.
Notice it with curiosity.
Maybe noticing,
Bringing your awareness to the top of the head and the bottoms of your feet.
Seeing all the way in between what your body's feeling in this very moment.
What sensation or feeling are you ready to let go of?
And from here,
I invite you to take a deep breath in and fully let go.
Taking another deep breath in and fully letting go.
Taking another deep breath in,
This time holding at the top.
Bringing your inner landscape to stillness and fully letting go.
Again,
Bringing in a deep inhale of new energy.
Bringing that internal landscape to stillness.
And again,
Letting go of any old tension in the body,
Any stuck energy.
And returning to that natural rhythm of the breath.
Seeing how you feel,
Whether you feel a little more relaxed or maybe envisioning what you would like to feel.
From here,
We'll be taking a few box breaths,
10 in total,
Each of five seconds.
When you're ready,
I invite you to inhale for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhale for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And holding for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Can inhale again for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Holding at the top for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Letting go for two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And holding again,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And from here,
I invite you to continue on your own for the next minute.
Realizing how you feel as you bring in new breath,
As you bring in your internal self to stillness.
As you allow for any old or stuck energy to just exit your body.
As you redirect your attention from your anxiety to your breath.
With each inhale,
Filling yourself with clarity and peace.
And with each exhale,
Letting out tension.
With each inhale,
Filling yourself with love.
And with each exhale,
Letting go of anything that doesn't serve you.
And with each hold,
Another opportunity to find stillness,
To return to peace,
And return to love.
And from wherever you are,
I invite you to pause your counting.
You can come back to the natural rhythm of the breath.
Maybe notice what the sensation is as you allow cool air to come into your lungs,
To fill your diaphragm,
Fill your chest.
The sensation as you exhale,
Allowing air to come out,
Warm air to come out,
Exiting through the lungs and the throat.
What does that feel like?
What does it feel like to be present?
Maybe taking a moment to notice any visuals you might have behind your eyes.
Maybe noticing any sensations of touch,
Could be the floor you're on,
Or the wind against your skin,
The clothes against your body.
You can bring your attention to any sounds in the room,
Any sounds outside of the room.
Or yet any sounds within your body,
Gently noticing any tastes in your mouth.
And from here just noticing the entire body.
And from where you're seated,
I invite you to imagine yourself standing up,
Finding yourself on a dirt path,
In front of a set of stairs leading up to a blue pearl bubble.
Feeling your feet take each step up the staircase,
Until you eventually reach the bubble,
And you enter it.
And in this bubble,
You feel completely safe,
You feel held,
You feel loved,
You feel certain,
You feel safe.
Wow this bubble to hold you.
Noticing that as you're being held in this bubble,
It is also spacious.
Time is holding space for you,
And all your thoughts,
All your emotions to come up.
What is one emotion that you are ready to let go of right now?
Name that emotion,
And send it down and out of your bubble.
Dropping out like a dark liquid,
Down into the earth.
What does it feel like to be protected?
To be safe?
And from where you're sitting,
Your bubble starts to rise,
Starts to float in the sky,
And you see yourself lying down,
Feeling completely relaxed in this bubble.
Feeling completely grateful to be alive,
To be a divine being,
To have breath.
What kinds of things are you passing while on your bubble?
And from here,
I invite you to picture your bubble coming back down to land,
Feeling yourself coming back to your body.
Noticing how you feel.
And from here,
I invite you to take a couple 4,
7,
8 breaths,
Starting with an inhale,
2,
3,
4,
And holding,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And releasing,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
And inhaling,
2,
3,
4,
And holding,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And releasing,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Coming back to the natural breath,
Remembering that we are not defined by our thoughts.
We're not defined by our challenges.
And that any moment we encounter ourselves with tension,
With anxiety,
We can recognize that for what it is,
A displacement from the present.
And we can lean into that,
See what is there so that we may anchor ourselves into this very moment,
The now.
Thank you.
Namaste.
Namaste.
Namaste.
