Hello,
And welcome to this session that you can return to whenever you have low levels of stress.
We all get stressed daily,
But sometimes we aren't even aware that we are stressed.
Stress doesn't have to be a thought or even a reaction.
It could be sitting somewhere in your body,
Lingering as long as you are unaware of it.
Think about a time when you were worried.
Did this worry also make you feel drained or tired?
That's because every time we are worried,
We have a low level of stress present,
And what causes stress is not worry,
But our reaction to it.
To deal with worry,
You need to observe your feelings and thoughts of it,
Taking a step back to bring space between you as the observer and the unconscious,
Your mind and body.
This is also known as becoming a witness of your thoughts.
Let's step away now from our thoughts and worries by just becoming aware of our body.
Feel how the air around you hugs to the shape of your body.
Notice how you can willingly activate all of your senses.
Hear all of the sounds around you.
Hear your own breath.
Can you breathe a little bit deeper,
Can you smell anything?
You can even imagine you smell something and your mind can create the thought of it for you.
Imagine the smell of vanilla.
Can you remember how it smells?
Now notice your fingertips and feel what you are touching and feeling right now.
And become aware of your feet.
Notice the feeling of the soles on your feet on the floor beneath you.
And just become aware of your entire body right now.
Feeling different areas.
Becoming aware of your body through focusing takes you out of your thoughts.
So use this technique when worry or light stress rises in your mind.
We react to worry because we believe that the worry is real.
Did you know that 95% or more of our worries don't even end up happening?
We think of worry as negative,
But actually worries are a very important part of our lives.
Without worry,
We could make poor decisions.
Without worry,
We could put ourselves in harm's way without taking precautions.
Our brain creates worry to keep us on guard and alert.
But some of us let worries carry us away,
Allowing them to take over,
Putting stress in full control of our mind and body.
Instead of letting concerns control and drain us,
We can learn to use worry to our advantage.
Uneasiness can either become our biggest strength or our greatest weakness.
So let's gain control over our fears that cause stress.
Instead of reacting to it,
We will learn and become stronger each time it arises.
To do this,
We need to identify where this emotion is located and then bring awareness to it whenever it arises,
Intentionally creating space between it.
Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position.
Your legs can be crossed or uncrossed,
But make sure your spine is straight.
You can keep your eyes closed or open.
If you keep your eyes open,
Just gaze ahead of you,
Not looking at anything in particular.
Take a few deep breaths to relax even more.
Now bring into your mind a positive emotion,
Like excitement.
Everything in your body where you feel change is happening,
Kind of like mapping it.
Remember a time when you were really excited about something.
It could be anything,
No matter how small or significant.
Just vividly remember how it felt,
Where you felt it in your body and how you reacted.
What changes do you notice?
Observe where exactly this feeling of excitement is located.
Is it in your stomach or in your chest?
Maybe it moves around and doesn't stay in one place.
Get familiar with this feeling.
You can change the chemistry of your body at any time by remembering an experience of excitement or joy.
Your body creates the feeling as if it's happening right now.
Use this knowledge of how excitement makes your body feel and how easy it is to bring it back when you choose.
Now we're going to create a worrisome feeling consciously.
No need to be afraid or to avoid this feeling.
It's a natural human emotion that just happens.
Avoiding it is what creates discomfort and additional stress.
So remember a time when you felt worried.
A moment in life when stress took full control of you and locate this emotion.
Where do you feel it?
Just sit with it for a moment.
Right now you are in complete control.
Being aware of this feeling right now is what creates the space that you need.
Just see this emotion as it is,
A simple sensation in your body that has no power in itself.
It lingers sometimes in one place or moves around.
Now with this feeling of stress,
Bring back that feeling of excitement.
Notice how well we can manipulate our own body and chemistry as vividly as possible.
Bring that feeling of excitement into your body.
Remember when you were absolutely full of joy that nothing else mattered.
Recall how it made you so excited that you couldn't stay still and this strong energy was flowing all through your body.
Now notice all the different sensations in your body.
Notice any changes you're experiencing.
Put your awareness within you to see exactly what's happening.
You probably forgot about stress and feel no trace of that worry sensation.
Or maybe you can still feel it,
But you notice that it's just there.
It might even feel a little pleasant or strange,
But it's not in control of you.
See it for what it is,
An emotion that's here to protect and care for you.
You can see that there is no need to escape it.
No need to get stressed about it.
This is the space of peace.
Keep practicing the space during your day,
Especially when you are really worried.
Just remember a time of happiness or passion or any other positive emotion and let it rise in your body.
Stress can leave as easily as it comes.
It could stay for a short time or it could stay for a long time.
It is up to you and how you react to it.
Now we're going to slowly bring ourselves back to the present moment.
Bring yourself back to the space around you.
Your feet resting on the floor,
Your arms and hands resting on your legs,
And start to take in the sounds around you.
Take a deep breath in,
Taking in all that you learned here today.
And as you exhale,
If your eyes are closed,
Gently flutter them open.
Use this session or technique whenever you have low levels of stress to remind yourself that you are in complete control of the sensations in your body and can create the space and response that you need.
