Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today I'm going to talk a little bit about anxiety,
And this meditation is based on a live session I did recently.
Anxiety is something that basically every person knows intimately.
It's that tightening in your chest,
Or racing thoughts,
Or the sense that suddenly life is just moving faster than we can keep up with.
And people often imagine that working through anxiety means eliminating it,
Or conquering it,
Or proving something to themselves.
But anxiety isn't a malfunction,
It's a signal.
It's the nervous system saying,
Hey,
Something feels uncertain,
Overwhelming,
Or too fast.
And when people try to bulldoze through it,
They usually end up tightening the knot.
But when you approach it with curiosity and humanity,
Something shifts.
Anxiety becomes workable instead of shameful.
Anxiety isn't a sign that something is wrong with you,
It's a sign that something matters.
Anxiety is the nervous system's way of saying,
I'm overwhelmed,
I'm uncertain,
I'm trying to protect you.
Most of us were taught to fight it,
Or hide it,
Or push through it.
But working through anxiety isn't about conquering anything,
It's about changing our relationship with it.
Naming the experience,
When we say I'm anxious,
We're not failing,
We're turning on the light in a dark room.
Slowing down.
Anxiety speeds everything up.
Our breath,
Our thoughts,
Our expectations.
Working through anxiety often means doing the opposite.
Slowing the breath,
Slowing the pace,
Slowing the demands we place on ourselves.
It's not avoidance,
It's wisdom.
It's the nervous system saying,
Let me catch up.
We calm down in the presence of calm people.
Sometimes the most healing thing is simply being with someone who isn't afraid of your anxiety.
Someone who doesn't try to fix you,
But stays steady beside you.
That's part of what we do here,
We co-regulate,
We breathe together.
We remember we're not alone.
And you know,
Anxiety usually points to something true.
Underneath anxiety there's usually something important,
A boundary we've ignored,
A truth we haven't spoken,
A pace we can't sustain,
A grief we haven't acknowledged.
Anxiety is rarely the enemy,
It's often the messenger.
Close your eyes now and let's get in touch with our breath.
And it doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing,
Lying down,
Or kicked back in your favorite recliner.
The only thing that truly matters when you meditate is that you're comfortable and alert.
So let's start to focus on our breath.
We're just breathing in and breathing out,
One breath at a time,
And then the next,
And then the next.
That is the present moment that everyone talks about.
There's nothing you need to do,
There's nowhere you have to be,
We're just sitting here,
Breathing and relaxing.
Let's scan our body,
Relax your face,
Unfurl your brow,
And unclench your jaw.
Relax your neck,
And relax your shoulders.
These are common places of tension in today's world,
Especially when we're hunched over phones and tablets and laptops.
Relax your arms and your hands,
Look for any tension in your chest or belly.
Relax your legs and your feet,
And as you begin to relax,
Let's focus even more on our breath.
Our breath is our anchor,
It's there for us in all moments,
When we're happy,
When we're sad,
And when we're anxious.
Don't just breathe,
Notice your breath,
Notice where you feel it,
Maybe a cool sensation in your nose as the breath flows in,
Or the movement of your chest and belly as the breath flows in and flows out.
Just start by noticing that you've arrived,
There's nowhere else you need to be right now,
This moment is enough.
Let your breath be natural,
We're not trying to control anything,
We're just noticing.
Anxiety is something every human being experiences,
It's not a flaw,
It's not a failure,
It's simply the mind trying to protect us,
And sometimes a little too intensely.
If anxiety is present for you right now,
You don't need to push it away,
You don't need to fix it,
Just acknowledge it.
You might silently say to yourself,
Anxiety is here,
Or this is what worry feels like.
Notice how it feels in your body,
Not to analyze it,
Just to witness it.
Wherever it is,
If you feel it in your chest or your stomach or your throat,
Imagine shining a soft light of awareness on that place,
Not to make it disappear,
Simply to see it clearly.
Imagine each inhale creating a little more space inside your body,
A widening,
A softening.
And imagine each exhale releasing just a bit of tension,
Not all of it,
Just enough to feel a small shift.
Inhale creating space,
Exhale releasing.
Let the breath be your anchor,
A steady rhythm beneath everything else,
And if your mind wanders,
And it will,
Gently guide it back.
No frustration,
No judgment,
Just a return.
Now here I'm going to pause for just a minute so you can breathe and think,
And then I'll be back.
Now,
Just notice the temperature of the air on your skin.
Notice the sounds that are around you.
Notice the rise and fall of your breath.
And let yourself continue to settle into the simple truth that you are here,
You are safe in this moment,
And you are allowed to rest.
If you have worries,
Or plans,
Or memories,
Imagine placing them on a leaf and letting them float down a gentle stream.
You don't need to chase them,
You don't need to solve them,
Just let them drift.
Now if you're willing,
I'd like you to repeat the following positive affirmations,
Either out loud or to yourself,
And I'll say each one twice.
I can handle this moment.
I can handle this moment.
I don't have to figure everything out today.
I don't have to figure everything out today.
And last one.
My breath is my anchor.
My breath is my anchor.
Let these words settle into your body.
Let them become a rhythm,
A quiet rhythm beneath your thoughts.
Now begin to deepen your breath just a little,
And feel the air filling your lungs.
Anxiety is something we all experience.
It's a part of being human.
You know how I like quotes,
So I've got a couple for you here today.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said,
You gain strength,
Courage,
And confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
You are able to say to yourself,
I have lived through this horror.
I can take the next thing that comes along.
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Very wise words,
And that's true for all of us.
We have to do the things that we think we cannot do.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session for each and every one of you.
And I'm so thankful that you've invested some of your precious time here with me.
Till next time.
