Hi,
I'm Jessica Graham and I'm going to take you through a guided meditation to help relieve morning anxiety.
Begin by choosing your posture.
You may want to stay in bed while you do this meditation or sit on the edge of the bed or sit in your normal meditation area,
Whatever you prefer.
First,
Take three slow,
Deep breaths,
Sighing on the exhale.
For some of us,
Mornings can be tough.
There might be a lot of thoughts and a sense of anxiety in the body.
This is a great time to practice mindfulness,
To begin to ease that anxiety and start your day right.
Let's begin by relaxing.
As I guide you through relaxing your body,
You might notice that some areas just don't want to relax,
And that's okay.
Just relax around those areas.
Start by relaxing your forehead.
Now relax your eyebrows and the space between your eyebrows.
Relax your eyes and all the little muscles around your eyes.
If you're not feeling too sleepy,
This would be a good time to close your eyes,
But you can also leave them open.
Relax down your cheeks and into your jaw,
Allowing the mouth to drop open a little bit as your jaw releases.
Now relax your neck and relax over your shoulders,
Allowing the shoulders to release.
Relax down your arms and into your hands.
Relax your chest,
The solar plexus area,
And the stomach.
You might want to put one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen,
Just to give yourself some extra support.
Feel the warmth of your hands as you relax more and more.
Relax the sides of the torso.
Relax your back.
If you're sitting up,
Just use the muscles you need for sitting and allow everything else to release.
If you're lying down,
Just let your back release into the bed.
Since it is morning and you might be feeling sleepy,
It's okay to open your eyes if you feel like you're starting to fall asleep again.
Meditation can be done with opened eyes or closed eyes.
Relax your hips,
Your seat,
And your pelvic area.
Relax down both of your legs and into your feet.
Good.
Now gently bring your attention to the area in your body where you feel the energy.
If you're sitting up or lying down,
It's okay to bring your attention to the area in your body where you feel the energy.
Your body where you feel the energy.
Let go of your thoughts.
Without trying to quiet the mind,
See if you can just let the thoughts come and go.
Just notice they arise and they pass.
Sometimes thoughts can feel so powerful that we get pulled in and our body reacts.
In uncomfortable ways.
But when you recognize that thoughts are just impermanent activity that come and go,
They become less powerful.
And the body can begin to calm down.
If you're still noticing sensations of anxiety,
Bring your attention back to that area.
And very gently,
Very lovingly,
Invite the area around that anxiety to soften.
Imagine that your body is offering the anxiety comfort,
Soothing,
And love.
Soften and relax.
If you get pulled back into anxious thoughts,
Again,
Just notice how they come and go.
How they're just wispy strands of experience.
They're not solid.
You are not your thoughts.
You are not your anxiety.
There's so much more to you than that.
Continue to offer any anxious sensations in the body,
Soothing,
Support,
And love.
You might put your hands right on the area where you feel the anxiety just to offer it extra support.
In offering the anxiety,
Acceptance,
And love,
It doesn't mean that you like being anxious or you want to be anxious.
You're just making friends with this part of yourself instead of resisting it.
When we resist anxiety,
We actually make it worse.
So in this way,
We're offering acceptance and love to the experience of anxiety.
And as we do so,
The body can calm down,
Can settle.
If your eyes are closed,
Now open your eyes and begin to take in the light of the room.
Take a moment to bring a smile to your face.
Even if it feels silly or fake,
Just do it anyway.
And now bring to mind a positive image,
Something that's unconditionally good for you,
Something that makes you feel good in your body.
If creating an image doesn't work for you,
You could also use words.
You can try these phrases,
Repeating after me in your mind.
I am relaxed.
I am resilient.
I am ready to start my day with ease and relaxation.
I deserve to have a great day.
Okay,
Great work.
I hope that you're feeling a little less anxious.
And you're ready to start your day.
You can always come back and do this meditation again throughout the day if you feel anxiety rising.
Thanks for joining me and have a wonderful day.
