Welcome.
This meditation is designed to help alleviate and work with anxiety.
I invite you to begin by cultivating a sense of curiosity towards your anxiety.
If it feels accessible for you,
You may gauge the level of your anxiety right now.
Perhaps this is a mental or visual note like imagining a meter or a thermometer.
Or maybe you assign a number out of ten.
Or you may find that it feels difficult to gauge at the moment.
Wherever you're at,
It is okay.
Meet yourself where you are in this moment and notice how you are without any judgment,
Just allowing yourself to be.
Now using this sense of curiosity,
Bring your attention out into the space you're in.
Letting your eyes wander.
Maybe your head and neck follow.
Allowing your eyes to gently receive your environment.
Noticing what's in front of you,
Around you,
Up above you.
Perhaps there are doors,
Windows.
Noticing what's close by and what is the furthest distance from you.
Taking the space into your awareness with fresh eyes.
Notice what draws your attention in a way that feels pleasant or soothing.
Take some time to continue to look around.
Perhaps it is a colour or texture,
A certain object.
Maybe there is a pet or plant nearby.
Or even something outside like a tree gently moving in the wind.
Or sunlight streaming through the window.
You may use all five senses to explore what this might be for you.
When you have found this resource,
If it feels right for you,
You may settle your awareness here.
You can consider this an anchor to help your nervous system move towards settling.
Perhaps something shifts for you now as you connect your awareness with your anchor.
Possibly a subtle shift in the breath or some releasing in the muscles.
Maybe the speed,
Pacing of your body or thoughts.
If it's accessible for you,
See if you can keep some attention with your anchor and also start to bring some awareness to the body,
Creating a dual awareness.
Noticing something in the external environment or exteroception and noticing something in the internal environment of your body,
Interoception.
If it feels like too much for your nervous system to move awareness to your body,
You may keep your awareness with your anchor and slowly work towards building your capacity to bring awareness to the body.
This may look like briefly bringing awareness to the body and then bringing it back out into your environment and alternating at your own pace until you're able to spend more time with your body without a sense of overwhelm.
You may also choose to use this tool of dual awareness,
Keeping your awareness in two places at once,
Your anchor and your body.
Wherever you are at right now is okay.
Give yourself permission to meet yourself exactly as you are.
Bringing your lens of curiosity,
Just noticing if you're in your body right now and to what degree are you in your body.
Maybe you feel like you're somewhere else.
Keeping a connection with your awareness to your anchor if this is feeling helpful for you.
See if you can bring some awareness into your body in a place that feels neutral or even pleasant.
Even the smallest drop of awareness,
Perhaps it's in a toe or your foot,
The center of your back,
Your thumb.
See if you can find a place in your body that you can bring some curiosity and attention to.
If you notice any thoughts popping up,
It's okay to notice these and just gently redirect your attention back to your body and your anchor at your own pace.
If it feels okay for you,
See if you can find the location of your anxiety in your body.
Perhaps this is your chest or your stomach.
Get curious about how your anxiety is showing up right now in your body.
Just noticing how it is and where it is without trying to change anything.
Simply observing.
Noticing the size of the anxiety,
The sensations,
The shape,
Perhaps a color.
Remember that you may choose to move your attention back to your anchor or divide your attention between your anchor and your anxiety at any point.
If it feels helpful,
You may put one or both hands over this part of your body.
Noticing any shifts that happen.
Like a wave,
The feelings and sensations may rise,
Peak,
Then fall.
See if you can surf the waves of anxiety.
Gently keeping your awareness with your anxiety.
Noticing the waves.
Noticing how the size,
Intensity,
Sensations may change and shift from one wave to the next.
Cultivating your sense of curiosity again.
I invite you to ask your anxiety.
If it could say something to you,
What would it say?
What would your anxiety say?
Keep your awareness open.
Give yourself some space.
Perhaps you receive an image,
A word,
Or even a message.
Perhaps there are other emotions underlying the anxiety that want to be addressed like anger or sadness.
Or maybe there's an underlying need not being met.
Trust whatever arises,
However subtle,
And do your best to meet it with openness and compassion.
If it feels right for you,
You may say something back to your anxiety.
Let this message come from an open-hearted,
Compassionate place,
Like a wise or higher part of yourself.
You may want to offer gratitude for the role your anxiety is playing in trying to protect you.
Let it know that you are safe,
You're capable,
You are resilient,
Or anything else that comes to your heart.
I will allow some brief,
Unguided time here,
And as always,
You have the power of choice in connecting and dialoguing with your anxiety or moving your awareness back to your anchor.
Whenever you feel ready,
You may invite your awareness back to your anchor if you're not already there.
Notice how it feels to connect with your anchor in your body.
Are you occupying your body in a different capacity now?
Now see if you can slowly expand your awareness back out into your environment,
Letting yourself look around and taking in the entire space around you.
Perhaps you notice things a little differently or are drawn to new areas of your environment.
Allow yourself to connect with whatever you're drawn to,
Noticing what you see,
Any sounds around you.
I now invite you to connect back with your gauge from the beginning of this meditation.
You may use the same gauge,
Whether that was a visual of a thermometer,
A scale of 1 to 10,
Or whatever you chose.
And without judgment,
Just checking in with yourself to see if your anxiety has shifted at all,
Noticing if it's changed or perhaps lessened.
And if so,
What is there instead?
Does the body or mind feel more settled?
Your thoughts might be moving at a slower pace.
Wherever you find yourself,
Meet yourself where you're at and know that it is okay.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
May you be well.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.
