Beginner Breath Focus For Anxiety Recovery (With Instruction)

Welcome.

This is a five-minute beginner meditation designed for people struggling with anxiety problems.

I will assume that you are relatively new to meditation and may be having a hard time understanding how it's done and how to use it as a tool in your anxiety recovery plan.

I will give you approximately 90 seconds of instruction.

Then we will do five minutes of sitting quietly,

Relaxing,

And bringing our focus to the breath entering and leaving your body.

If you're feeling very anxious or even near panic right now,

Sitting quietly for five minutes may be very difficult.

That is okay.

Sit for as long as you can.

If you end early,

That's not a problem.

That's not failure.

You can return to this meditation as often as you need to in order to practice.

Try increasing your time by a few seconds each session until you have completed the entire five minutes.

I know how hard this may be for you.

You will be sitting quietly in order to pass through all the scary sensations and thoughts that you are experiencing.

We are not trying to calm you down or stop those sensations or thoughts.

We are trying to teach you how to pass through them without tensing or fighting.

When you get better at this,

Then the thoughts and sensations will begin to subside.

Expectations are important,

So keep this in mind and remember there is no failing at meditation.

Instructions Find a comfortable place to sit where you will be supported without having to exert much effort.

We want you to be able to fully relax your body,

So pick a good chair,

Sofa,

Or a good spot on the floor.

You do not have to sit cross-legged.

Sit however way is comfortable to you,

But be sure that you adopt an upright posture with your shoulders back and your chin level or slightly tilted up.

If you are hunching or in a defensive posture,

Note this and do your best to correct it before you start.

Close your eyes or lower your gaze.

Either one is just fine.

Once you are sitting,

Take 30 seconds to fully release the tension in your body.

This is the first scary thing that I am asking you to do.

Let go of the tension.

Go as limp as you can.

This may feel dangerous or wrong to you,

But do your best to fully relax.

It is okay if you have to release tension over and over during the exercise.

This takes time to practice and master,

And it may be all new to you.

Remember,

This is about learning,

Not winning or losing at meditation.

I am going to ask you to breathe into your stomach on your inhale,

Doing your best to keep your chest and shoulders still.

Only your stomach should move when breathing.

Again,

This may be new to you.

If you struggle to do it,

That is okay.

Practice will help over time.

You cannot fail or do this wrong.

You can only learn and get better.

You may feel the urge to expand your chest and fill your lungs completely with air.

This is not required.

You are getting enough air,

Even if it feels like you are not.

Breathe into your belly.

Your body knows how to breathe,

So we will do our best to relax,

Let go of that need to control every breath so strongly,

And get back to allowing your body to do what it knows how to do.

This may be scary for you.

That is okay.

We will exhale for a bit longer than we inhale on each breath.

Resist the urge to do heavy sighs.

Slowing down the exhale is a good way to get into a more natural breathing rhythm,

And to ensure that you do not add any feelings of lightheadedness or disorientation that you may be feeling.

All we are required to do for the next five minutes is to relax our bodies and breathe.

Your body and brain may work overtime to get your attention.

This is okay.

You can allow that,

And you can bring your attention to your breath rather than giving your attention to the sensations and thoughts.

This is the heart of our meditation practice and anxiety recovery.

Okay,

Get into a comfortable position,

And let's get started.

To help you gauge the time left in our meditation,

I will sound a gentle bell every minute.

This may also help you bring your attention back to your breath if you find your mind wandering.

Get neutral.

Relax your body.

All the way.

Let go.

It's okay.

Repeat this when you need to.

Now breathe.

Put your attention on the sensation of your breath entering your body through your nose or over your lips and tongue.

Inhale into your belly.

Shoulders and chest are not moving.

Hold for a second,

Then exhale slowly.

Make your exhale last a bit longer than your inhale.

Relax your body.

Let all the tension go.

Pretend you are a rag doll.

There's no tension.

Breathe in.

Hold.

And breathe out.

Bring your attention to the sensations of your breath.

This may be very difficult and scary for you.

Your mind will wander.

You will want to engage with the very unpleasant sensations that may be happening in your body.

You will want to respond to and argue with those scary thoughts that you may be having.

It's okay for the sensations and thoughts to be there.

Let them be there.

You're learning to move through those feelings and through that fear.

You're learning that you don't have to fear what you feel and think.

Relax your body.

No tension.

Let it go.

If it's scary,

That's okay.

Let it go.

Breathe in.

Into the belly.

Keeping your chest and shoulders still.

Expanding your stomach.

Hold.

Gentle,

Longer exhale.

A little bit longer than your inhale.

You don't have to force your breath.

Just find your natural rhythm.

Your body knows how to breathe.

Let's let it do that.

And relax.

Release the tension.

And breathe.

If you find your mind wandering,

If you find yourself focusing on how you feel or on the thoughts,

Just bring your attention gently back to your breath.

Into the belly.

Relaxing your body.

Expanding your stomach.

Hold.

And exhale.

A little bit longer than the inhale.

Everything's going great.

You're doing fine.

Just keep letting the tension go.

Just keep breathing.

And just keep bringing your attention right back to the sensation of your breath.

In through the nose or over the lips and tongue.

Into the belly.

Holding.

And releasing.

Nice and slow.

Feel the breath enter your body and leave your body.

That's a convenient place to focus.

Just keep relaxing your body.

And releasing the tension.

It's okay if you find yourself tensing.

Just keep repeating.

Release.

Release as you breathe.

This is hard.

This is new stuff.

You're doing great.

Relax.

Breathe.

Focus on your breath.

Ride whatever wave of thoughts and sensations your body wants to produce.

It's okay.

If you're afraid,

That's okay too.

We're learning a new way to relate to that.

Relax your body.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Exhale.

A little longer than the inhale.

Very good.

Keep releasing that tension.

Over and over.

Keep bringing your attention back to the sensation of your breath.

You're doing great.

This may not be easy,

But you're doing great.

Just maintain that relaxed posture.

Upright.

Shoulders back.

Chest out.

Breathing.

Natural rhythm.

Inhale into the belly.

Inhale into the chest.

Inhale into the chest.

Inhale into the belly.

Exhale.

Relax.

Very good.

Bring your focus back to your breath when you find it wandering.

It's okay to be afraid.

You're doing great.

And we're almost done.

A few more breaths.

In.

Hold.

And out.

And release the tension.

Very good.

You did it.

You did five minutes.

You did five minutes sitting still with those sensations and those thoughts.

And you practiced the thing that's good for you.

When you're ready,

Open your eyes or move your eyes around the room gently.

Now slowly and deliberately stretch your arms and legs.

Really stretch.

Enjoy that stretch like a dog or a cat does.

You've earned the stretch.

You did great.

Bring your attention now to the tasks and subjects that matter to you.

What lies ahead of you today?

What can you accomplish today?

What small steps forward can you take?

You just did five full minutes where you worked on not giving your anxiety your full attention.

Bring that with you for the rest of the day.

Focus on the tasks at hand rather than on your anxiety.

This takes practice,

So don't be discouraged if you fall into old habits.

Just correct and move on.

Feel free to use this little five minute meditation break several times throughout your day if you can.

Learning this skill and working on applying it to your anxiety recovery is a great investment in yourself and in your future.

You're worth it.

Thank you for listening.

I'll see you in the next meditation.