Soothing Anxiety With Awareness – Guided Script
With your eyes opened or closed, become aware of your breath
Often, the act of simply noticing changes the breath
But see if you can allow yourself to be present with the breath as it currently is
Without judgement, what do you notice about the quality of your breathing?
Notice if you’re breathing through the mouth, or through the nose
Notice the breath is short, or long, shallow, or deep
Is there a difference between the length of the breath in, and the length of the breath out?
Allow breath to be just as it is
As you take a moment to list to yourself what it is that you find
At first, silently saying words to yourself like, short, shallow, gasping
Or rough, uneven, hurried
Over time, as you practice this meditation,
You might drop the words and just feel
(pause for 3 cycles of breath)
And then intentionally, purposefully, breathe in and out through your nose if you’re not already
And take 3 full, relaxing, exhale breaths
One long breath in to prepare,
And then a long, full breath out
Two more
Easy and patient breath in,
Full and relaxed breath out
Last one
Deep, slow breath in,
Breathe all the way out
Continue to breathe through your nostrils,
Steadily, and patiently
And now turn your attention to the body itself
Notice what’s present in the body
Tightness? Any pain? Discomfort?
Are there areas of softness? Spaciousness? Joy?
Stay curious and open to sensation, free from self-criticism
Allow whatever sensation you notice in the body to be here with you
And if a particular sensation, or area of the body is speaking to you
Let’s go to it
Go to it with your attention and awareness
Ask what it’s trying to say
Move towards this area with curiosity, with openness
Open to whatever it has to tell you
Be fully accepting of this sensation in this moment
And then silently describe to yourself what you’re feeling
Perhaps this sensation has a temperature, a warmth or a coldness
Perhaps there’s a color, a shape or a size
And if you feel nothing, notice that to
Take note
Whether you feel something or not,
Remain open to the possibility
That whatever you’re feeling may change
You may even feel it changing right here, and right now
As you try to describe this sensation,
As you observe it and attempt to give it form
Whether it’s changing or not
Whether we notice sensation in the body or not
We have noticed something
And we’ve learned a little more about ourselves
(pause 3 breaths)
So again, intentionally, purposefully, we’ll take 3 full, relaxing, exhale breaths
One long breath in to prepare,
And then a long, full breath out
Two more
Easy and patient breath in,
Full and relaxed breath out
Last one
Deep, slow breath in,
Breathe all the way out
Having checked in with body and breath, notice now your state of mind
What thoughts and emotions are present?
And do you relate these thoughts and emotions to either the quality of your breath,
or to the physical sensations in your body?
You may or may not.
Notice, without judgment, if there are certain thought patterns at play in the mind?
Continue to stay open and curious
Allow for whatever is present
Welcome it in, and ask what it’s trying to teach you
This exercise here is not about self-criticism or self-blame
The exercise here is to simply notice
To acknowledge anxiety, or anything else that’s present
To allow it to be present
And to give it space
To give it the space to move and change
Often, our breath, our body, our minds
Know far more than we do about what will bring calm
In their own way, they are each trying to teach us
Always, about how to find freedom and joy
So ask what the breath, the body and mind are trying to tell you
And then listen
Listen with an open curiosity,
Listen without expectation
Listen with love in your heart
For the breath, body and mind are not the enemy
But the tools through which we’re given the clues that will guide us home
