Welcome to this breathe away anxious thoughts guided meditation and breath work practice.
During this practice we'll work on relieving depression and anxious thoughts.
Make sure you are in a comfortable position and that you will not be disturbed for the duration of this session.
Find a comfortable seat or lie down.
Make sure your spine is long and that you are relaxed yet alert.
Bring your focus to your breath and pay attention to how your lungs expand and contract when you inhale and you exhale.
Let your breath flow however it wants to right now.
Notice your jaw and if you feel any tension here just notice it.
Don't try to change anything.
Breathe into the sensations in your jaw and as you exhale allow it to release a little.
When you exhale feel yourself let go of any worries.
Soften through your forehead,
Your cheekbones,
Your jaw.
Notice if your shoulders are holding any tension.
Let them soften.
Release any effort through your fingertips,
Your toes,
Legs.
Let your body soften.
Notice how relaxed you are becoming.
Bright future.
And as you let it go notice how your depression eases and fades.
Relaxation sweeps over you as you breathe in.
Go naturally.
Let yourself feel calm and peaceful.
You deserve this wonderful feeling of serenity.
Now to receive new thoughts even more with each breath you take to new and fresh energy.
Notice how new ideas begin to present themselves to you.
You have so much that your cup pours over for others to enjoy the abundance you have created.
Imagine that you are energized and have a zeal for life.
Even if this is not true of your present self,
Imagine it vividly and with as much detail as you can.
See yourself as full of energy and optimism.
Imagine it as if you are watching a movie of yourself.
See the colors brightly.
Watch yourself full of ambition,
Taking steps towards your goals and towards achievement of the life that you desire,
That you are worthy of.
Stay with your breath and allow your intentions to remain positive.
Even if you don't feel positive in this moment,
Can you imagine what being joyful is like?
Breathe into this joy you are creating and notice how you are consciously shifting any depressed or anxious thoughts right now into peaceful feelings instead by following your breath.
Breathe deeply and let your exhale completely relax you.
Any thoughts that previously held you back become smaller and smaller.
Let them gently fade away,
Gliding off of your shoulders with every exhale.
Watch your negative thoughts diminish little by little as if you're riding away in a car and these negative thoughts are sitting alone on the roadside,
Shrinking into the distance as you ride with ease.
As you see them go,
You are freed from their grip.
If more negative thoughts rise,
Drop them off on the side of the road.
Wish them well and ride away.
Watch them grow smaller until they're consumed by the horizon.
And then allow yourself a few moments to simply be.
Notice and feel changes from this moment right now and notice the difference between how you felt before you began this meditation to now.
Let your new thoughts find a new home within your inner being.
Return your focus to the breath for a few moments,
Staying with your inhale and your exhale.
In your own time,
When you're ready,
Start to bring awareness to the sensations in your fingertips and your toes.
Maybe giving them a little wiggle as you drop one ear down to the side and then the other.
And maybe gently blink open your eyes when you're ready.
Give yourself a big hug for making these steps towards a better life.
Accept this wonderful change.
Take as much time as you'd like to just be in gratitude for yourself,
For this practice,
And for taking time with yourself today.
My name is Sasha Andrew-Nova and I thank you.
Have a beautiful rest of your day.