Meditation At Your Fingertips: Relieving Distracting Anxiety

Meditation has your fingertips,

A leaving distracting anxiety.

After the alerted stage of anxiety comes the distracted stage.

The distracted stage is marked by a physical response that can tell you you're beginning to focus a little too much on an anxious thought that you have probably just been alerted to.

This distracted thought indicates emerging anxiety.

You will probably know that you're entering this distracted state by tightness in your jaw,

Chest,

Or neck,

Or a restriction or discomfort in your chest,

Or some shortness of breath.

In some ways it's like feeling annoyed but without the anger part of it.

Some tightness or restriction as you think about this or that detail of something that might be wrong.

Everyone is different.

Know thyself.

It is important that you recognize the early signs of this distracted physical response.

Notice where the tightness is in your face,

Jaw,

Check,

Or neck,

Chest,

Or neck,

Or notice the restriction in your breathing or perhaps if your breathing is stopped.

You will know this usually because it is accompanied by a quick dramatic rise in your upper chest as the air flows into your lungs and you try to compensate for not breathing a bit.

Determine which of these little body signals accompany your emerging anxiety.

Make note of them.

In fact,

See if you can make one or two of these signs of emerging anxiety appear at will.

Purposely recreate the signs of emerging anxiety that you most often experience.

But don't do it to the extent that you spark your anxiety.

Just enough to know,

Yep,

That's one.

If it does spark your anxiety,

You're going to run around the block or something to break the state and say,

Yep,

I waited a little too long.

Remember some of these signs because we will use two of them in a practice to cue a relaxed meditative state later.

After you find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed and there's no place to go or nothing to do for 15 or 20 minutes.

Okay.

Think of a couple of physical signs that you are entering a distracted state of anxiety.

That would be a jaw,

Chest or neck tightness,

Chest restriction or discomfort or shortness of breath.

We will use a couple of them to attach to a meditative state.

But first,

We need to create the relaxed meditative state we want.

To do this,

Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed and there is no place to go or nothing to do for 15 or 20 minutes.

Close your eyes and listen.

Do what I say or imagine what I describe.

I like to start like any good meditator by moving into the present,

Noticing what's going on in the environment around me,

What's going on on my person and what's going on within me.

Once that is done,

I like to grow that state that develops.

So let's begin with your eyes closed.

I wonder if you remember where the lights or the light is located around you or certain piece or pieces of furniture or plants are located.

Perhaps their color or the color of other things around you.

And with your eyes closed,

What sounds do you notice in your earbuds or your environment?

If you can hear your environment,

Perhaps the sound of the heater or air conditioner or traffic or birds singing,

The sound of people near or around you if you're not alone.

Consider the air around you,

The temperature,

The moisture,

The smells or fragrances and allow yourself to relax.

Now what is presently true of your person?

Can you remember the look on your face in the mirror earlier today or the color of the clothes you are or were wearing?

Can you hear yourself swallow or breathe or hear your heart beating in your ears?

Can you feel your chest or belly moving up and down as you breathe or the air going in and out of your nostrils?

Relax.

Quiet down.

Let yourself really relax and quiet way down.

Now what is presently going on in your inner world?

Behind your eyelids?

Is it pitch black,

Dark red or are there remnants of light there in your ears?

How do you find my voice?

Loud and grating or low and relaxing?

Just allow yourself to relax and quiet down.

Really relax and really quiet down.

Relax and quiet all the way down.

Now let's increase your relaxation.

Take a deep breath in and focus your attention on the area behind your third eye.

Relax your eyelids and relax them in a way that you would like your whole body to relax.

Limp,

Heavy and still perhaps.

So much that they would resist you if you tried to open them.

Now take a deep breath in concentrating on those relaxed feelings in your eyelids and then breathe out sending a wave of those relaxed feelings through your body from your third eye and eyelids down your face,

Shoulders and neck,

Chest and abdomen,

Hips and legs and out your feet feeling wonderful all the way down.

One more time.

Let's make this meditative state more profound.

Take a deep breath in focusing your attention on the area behind your third eye and double that relaxation in your eyelids the way you would want your body to relax even doubly more.

So much so that they would want to resist if you tried to open them.

And then breathe out again sending a wave of those relaxed feelings through your body from the top of your head,

Your third eye and eyelids,

Down to your face,

Jaw,

Shoulders and neck,

Chest and abdomen,

Hips and legs and out your feet feeling wonderful all the way down.

Good.

Now let's use your imagination to deepen your meditative state a little more.

This time imagine you're like a little leaf.

Remember the one in Forrest Gump gently floating down towards his box of chocolates floating down like that.

Down,

Back and forth and down,

Around and around and down,

Down some more,

Way down,

Way down,

Relaxing down to a very profoundly safe,

Comforting,

Reassuring and restful place of wisdom.

A special place where you feel profound safety and comfort,

Deep reassurance and rested wisdom.

Let yourself become very familiar with this feeling.

And then let's mark it.

Put your thumb and middle finger together like you're meditating.

Your thumb and middle finger can cue your body and mind to return to this profoundly safe,

Comforting,

Reassuring,

Restful and wise meditative state.

Anytime you start to notice emerging anxiety,

Muscle tightness in your face,

Neck or shoulders or restricted breathing,

Just put your thumb and finger together like this.

Hold your breath for 12 or 15 seconds.

And then say,

I know.

And it will be a signal for your mind and body to automatically quickly and easily bring you back here to your special meditative state of relaxation.

Feeling safe,

Comfortable,

Assured,

Reassured and wise.

Then the more you loosen your thumb and finger,

The more safe and reassured you feel.

Do that slowly.

Practice this often with this program and repeat this anytime you start to notice emerging anxiety,

Muscle tightness.

In fact,

In your neck or shoulder or restricted breathing.

Anytime you start to notice emerging anxiety,

Muscle tightness in your neck or shoulders or restricted breathing,

You just put your thumb and finger together like that.

Hold your breath for 12 or 15 seconds.

And say,

I know.

And it will be a signal for your mind and body to automatically,

Quickly,

Easily,

Faster and faster each time to bring you back here to your special meditative state where you feel safe,

Comfortable,

Reassured and wise.

Then slowly,

The more you loosen your thumb and finger,

The more safe and reassured you feel.

Now let's practice this a couple of times.

Allow yourself to come almost out of your meditative state.

Then imagine one of your common anxious thoughts.

Feel the muscle tighten somewhere in your face,

Neck or shoulders,

Eyes open or closed,

It doesn't matter.

Put your thumb and middle finger together.

Take a deep breath and hold it for 12 to 15 seconds.

Say or think,

I know.

And breathe out as your body and mind bring you like that forest gunk dropping leaf,

Dropping off a tree,

Down,

Back and forth and down,

Round and down,

Down,

Way down to your special meditative state,

Feeling safe,

Comfortable,

Reassured and wise.

Then slowly,

The more you loosen your thumb and finger,

The more safe and reassured you feel,

Ready to go on with the rest of your day.

Now let's practice one more time.

Allow yourself to almost come out of your meditative state.

Imagine one of your regular anxious thoughts.

Feel some tightness or restricted breathing,

Eyes open or closed.

Put your thumb and middle finger together.

Take a deep breath in.

Hold it for 12 to 15 seconds.

Say or think,

I know.

And breathe out slowly as your mind and body bring you like that forest gunk dropping leaf,

Dropping off a tree and down,

Back and forth and down,

Around and down,

Down,

Way down to your special meditative state,

Feeling safe,

Comfortable,

Reassured and wise.

And then ever so slowly,

The more you loosen your thumb and finger,

The more safe and reassured you feel,

Ready to go on with the rest of your day.

Now close your eyes if they are open or keep them closed and listen.

Practice this guided meditation regularly and you will find that you are more and more able to bring this meditative state with you into your everyday life.

Each time it will get easier and easier,

Faster and faster,

More and more natural.

When your body knows what to do and your mind knows what to do and knows how to do it in a way that's just right for you,

That when it agrees to do this for you,

You can use your own time and your own way to return to your worldly state.

You