There are days that we wake up feeling nervous,
Feeling anxious,
Feeling stressed.
It feels disappointing.
It feels frustrating.
Another day of anxiety greeting you as you awake.
You feel a tightness in your chest or a weight on your shoulders.
Your stomach turns or squeezes and your head feels like it's in a vice,
Pressured.
And your breathing becomes quick and short.
It's hard to open the chest.
Your throat feels tight and dry.
You worry that today will be another day of not feeling so great.
But today does not have to be like that.
Today we can choose a moment,
Even just one,
Where we break the chain of anxiety and nervousness.
Where we step out of our fear for a brief moment to allow ourselves to breathe.
Perhaps this is the moment.
This is the moment where you move your shoulders away from your ears,
Where you sit up a little bit taller.
Or if you are lying down,
You allow your back to stretch,
To lengthen.
Just the simple action of lengthening your spine allows your chest to open just that little bit more.
Allows your lungs just that bit more of space.
Allows you more space.
Enjoy that expansiveness for this moment.
Breathe deeply into your lungs.
Feel them expand.
Feel them pressing against your ribs and your diaphragm.
And release that breath with all of the stress and strain that comes with it.
Repeat that process.
Breathing in deeply,
Deeply,
Deeply,
Deeply,
Until you can feel that there's no more physical space and sighing it out.
And allowing all of the stress and anxiety and worry to go with the out-breath.
Repeat that a few more times.
Here,
In this moment where your breath expands in your chest,
You have allowed yourself to feel a moment of peace,
A moment where all that matters is your breath.
It is this breath that will carry you through the day.
Today is now another day of being enlivened by your breath.
Today is another day where you can choose to attend to your body,
Allow your shoulders to sink down,
Allow your chest to rise and open,
Allow your chin to lift,
Allow your neck to elongate,
Allow your back to straighten.
All of this gives you more space in your throat so it does not feel so tight.
It gives you space in your chest so your lungs can move and give you the energy that you need to move through the day.
Losing your spine allows your stomach the space to move and digest without cramping and twisting and clenching.
So remember this as you move through your day.
You have every single tool available to reduce the anxiety,
To reduce the stress from the inside out.
Today you are in control of your body.
Today you are in control of your breath.
Today you have all the tools to face the challenges and the tasks and the responsibilities that you must attend to today.
Open your spine,
Drop your shoulders from your ears,
Lift your chest proud and open,
Rise your chin.
You have got all you need to tackle the day.
You have got all you need to feel at peace within.
Namaste.
