Softening Anxiety In Times Of Uncertainty

Welcome.

Today's meditation will be a loving invitation to allow the body to release and to nurture the parts of you that feel scared.

So find a comfortable position.

It can be seated,

But for many of us it's often hard to find a seated position that's sustainable for us,

Where we don't worry so much about the shape of the body.

So if you like to lie down,

Maybe place a pillow underneath the knees to support the low back,

And take as much time as you need to get truly comfortable.

Take a little extra time so that you're in a position that allows you to be really present without thinking about any aches and pains.

Once you're there,

Notice where your hands are.

If you feel that you're really in need of some support right now,

And you're looking for an offering,

You can place the palms up in an act of receiving.

If you are really needing care and feeling really scared,

You can put one hand on the heart and one hand on the belly as a gesture of comfort for the body.

Once you're in your position,

Let the eyes close and take a few moments to acknowledge the muscles in the face,

Inviting the muscles around the eyes to relax,

Letting the jaw go,

Inviting the whole face to soften.

Let the head become really as heavy as it is.

Let it be fully supported by whatever is underneath it,

The ground,

A pillow.

And then move your awareness into the shoulders,

And just become lovingly aware of what you notice there.

A lot of us hold pain and tension,

Not knowing,

Frustration in the chest and the shoulders.

Again,

Send a loving invitation to allow these parts of you to relax.

The body may not initially accept the invitation,

But just bringing awareness to those spaces is the beginning of the way that we start to heal them.

If you notice tension there,

Just be kind to it.

Know that our stress is always going to find its way into the body,

Our body trying to protect or brace itself from impending danger,

And it's doing the best that it can.

Breathe deeply into the space behind the ribs.

Breathe slowly as you draw fresh air into your lungs.

As the breath leaves the body,

Let it take its time.

Marvel at the miracle of the breath.

How each breath is an opportunity to come back to the moment,

To come back to the sensations of the body,

To have the gift of awareness around what's happening inside of us and that we can lovingly attend to it.

Let your awareness travel down into the stomach and just take a moment to notice what's there.

There might be butterflies,

Anticipation,

A tightness.

Nothing is good or bad,

It just is.

Bring some compassion to whatever you find there.

That truly we are animals just responding in the way we've been programmed over so many years to react to pain,

To worry,

Anxiety.

We are all doing the best we can.

Forgive whatever you encounter in the body that may seem frustrating.

It's just doing what it knows how to do to protect you.

Bring your focus now down into the legs and the feet.

Let the legs be heavy.

Begin to notice the space in between the toes.

If you'd like to,

You can gather up the toes and squeeze them tight on the inhale.

And then as you exhale,

Release every little bit of control,

Allowing them to just spread out and be open.

You can do the same with the arms and the hands,

Breathing in,

Making clenched fists.

Exhale,

Release and let it go.

Let this be a reminder that we have the opportunity to choose how we react to whatever worry we're experiencing in every moment.

Even when so much is uncertain,

When there is so much fear circulating around,

We can still unfold our body.

We can still choose to have a moment,

10 minutes,

An hour,

Several hours,

Days of peace.

Lastly,

We're going to travel to the heart space.

And just notice how your heart is handling everything today.

Oftentimes when we feel scared or frustrated or uncertain,

Powerless,

We want to run away because those feelings are so painful.

So we distract or we move on to something else or we fill ourselves with information or ways of doing.

But imagine whatever you're experiencing,

Pain,

Worry,

Fear.

Imagine it like a small child crying in the corner.

I know that if you saw this child,

You would immediately,

Without even thinking about it,

Sweep it up in your arms and soothe it,

Ask it what's going on and try to do whatever you can to make it feel better.

So come and sit next to your heart.

If your heart is in pain,

If your heart is uncertain,

If your heart is suffering,

Hold it with as much tenderness as you can muster.

Take slow breaths.

Know that you are not alone in whatever you are feeling,

That when we touch this part of us,

It is the most human,

The most honest part of us.

We can sit in this and recognize the suffering and bring some compassion to that space.

There is so much we just can't know.

There is so much we can't do.

But let us find some surrender there.

What we can do today is be nurturing,

To move slowly,

To step outside and take a few breaths of fresh air,

To marvel at a flower blooming from the ground,

The way the light creeps in in between the clouds.

There is so much that is awake and alive today.

And we can spend as much time here as we need.

Pretender with your heart during this time.

Begin to become aware of the breath again.

Take a full inhale,

Breathe it all the way up to the top of the head.

And then open the mouth,

Exhale out slowly.

Stay here as long as you like.

When you are ready,

You can open your eyes.