Welcome to this Somatic Inquiry Guided Practice.
Meeting Anxiety.
Anxiety is something that just about every one of us has experienced at one point or another.
It is a kind of activation in our nervous system.
It might feel like a rapid heartbeat or shallow breathing.
It might feel like tightness or contraction or some kind of tingling or burning sensation.
We could say that anxiety is the body's way of preparing to respond to a perceived threat or uncertainty.
And it's possible that it was this mechanism that helped our ancestors survive danger.
Today,
Many of us experience anxiety when there is no imminent threat.
Our thinking alone can be enough to trigger this uncomfortable feeling in our body.
Whether it's thoughts about the future or the past,
Thoughts about a person,
Situation,
A thing.
Today I would like you to try to look at anxiety as an expression of energy that hasn't yet completed its natural movement through the body.
Maybe it's a contraction around unprocessed fear,
Grief,
Or unmet needs.
Maybe it represents a younger part,
An inner protector or child or a vigilant part that once decided the world wasn't a safe place and has been holding guard ever since.
If we can look at anxiety in this way,
Then maybe we can approach it with a little bit of curiosity,
A little bit of allowing.
If we can meet it this way rather than with resistance,
Maybe it can transform from agitation to aliveness,
From fear to feeling,
Or maybe even from contraction to connection.
We're going to begin today's practice with a little bit of orienting.
So just go ahead and have a seat if you're not already and just take a moment to notice what it's like to be here right now.
What's it like to remember that you have a body?
What's it like to feel your arms and legs,
Wiggle your toes,
Take a gentle breath and feel the air coming in to your lungs?
If you want to,
You can just let your eyes go where they want to go,
Noticing in the space around you the colors,
The shapes.
What is it like to be here right now?
You might whisper to yourself,
I'm alive.
I'm alive and I matter.
So from this place,
We're going to invite a little bit of anxiety.
Some of you might already be feeling some anxiety,
So that's good.
If not,
Go ahead and use your imagination and see if you can think of a situation,
A person,
A thing,
Something that will bring in a little activation.
It doesn't have to be a big thing.
In fact,
It's better if it's not.
Just want to invite a little bit of anxiety.
And once you've got something to work with,
Let's go ahead and let our attention go there.
Let your attention go to the thing that we're calling anxiety.
What is the actual sensation in your body?
What does it feel like?
What do you notice?
Is your heart beating faster or is your breathing a little more shallow?
Or do you feel some tightness maybe in your chest or in your neck or in your forehead?
We're just noticing what the actual sensation is.
And as you're noticing the sensation,
Ask yourself,
What does this mean?
Does this feeling that we're calling anxiety,
Does it mean anything?
In other words,
What meaning am I assigning to the anxiety?
Does it mean something bad is going to happen?
Does it mean there's something wrong with me?
Does it mean I'm not safe?
Whatever it is,
See if you can identify the meaning that's being assigned to the sensation.
And now,
What would this sensation be like without that meaning?
What would the anxiety be like if it didn't mean there was anything wrong with me?
What would the anxiety be like if it didn't mean something bad was going to happen?
Or what would the anxiety be like if it didn't mean I'm not going to get my needs met?
Just noticing what the actual experience of the thing,
The sensation,
What the actual experience is without any meaning.
Now,
I want you to ask if this anxiety,
This sensation,
This part of me,
If it could do or say anything,
What would it want to do or say?
And just see what comes up.
Maybe it wants to scream.
Maybe it wants to run.
Maybe it wants to curl up in a ball and cry.
Maybe it wants to tell you something.
Just noticing what this part of you,
This energy,
Wants to do.
Maybe it just wants to move in your body.
So,
For just a moment,
We can use our imagination to assist giving this sensation,
This anxiety,
Permission to do exactly what it needs to do,
To feel exactly the way it needs to feel.
And so,
You can imagine running through a field.
You can imagine going to a safe place.
You can imagine screaming in a forest.
You can imagine whatever you need to imagine to give this anxiety permission to complete.
And just noticing what that's like.
What is it like to allow the anxiety to exist?
To allow it to be exactly the way it is?
To maybe even include it?
Is there a part of you that wants to be included?
And as you stay with this,
Just notice how you're feeling.
Are you feeling more open or less open?
More connected or less connected?
And then just coming back to noticing what it's like to be here now.
Coming back to noticing your body.
Noticing your breath.
Allowing whatever remains of the anxiety to be part of this experience.
But not the whole experience.
Noticing that while this anxiety may be a part of you,
It's not all of you.
Hopefully you're feeling a little more grounded.
A little more present.
Maybe it feels like there's a little more space to hold it all.
And if so,
Just anchor in this feeling and just know that this is available.
Anxiety may or may not come.
If it does,
We know that we can meet it.
We know that we can allow it.
And we will continue to discover that even though there is some anxiety sometimes,
We're still okay.
Thank you for practicing today.
