9. Transformational Meditation: Listen to this if you’re having a Panic Attack or Feeling Anxious

I want you to know three things. You are going to be okay. Your anxiety cannot hurt you. These feelings are temporary. Your nervous system is a little amped. Right now. You are feeling anxiety. You are not in true danger. You are safe. This will pass, even though sometimes anxiety may tell you otherwise. You are not alone. All I want you to do is listen to my voice and be here. Now, I want to just ask you to lean in and trust that whatever is going on here is just a communication or a signal from your body about some things that you may have been too busy to deal with or that you shoved down or did not have the time or space to deal with. Sometimes our bodies respond to stress by releasing all sorts of hormones and messengers that make us feel like we are in danger. But panic attacks are not harmful. And the good news is you can get better. We are going to do the Anxiety Freedom ritual together. Let's start with the breath. Breathing through your left nostril will bring down your anxiety. If you have an oil that you can place before your nose, like lavender or citrus, find that now. If you can breathe through your nose, take your fingers and close your right nostril. If your nose is congested, press your lips as one might when they blow through a straw. And if you have a short straw, place that to your lips. Let's four count breath together. Together. Inhale for four, then hold at the top for four. And then exhale for four and then hold at the bottom for four. Continue to breathe in this pattern as you listen to my voice. You are not your anxiety. Panic comes from part of you that is expressing a need. Holding that space for the feelings to release is the most powerful thing you can do right now. Imagine anxiety as a wave. Notice how the sensations rise, change and move. The fact that your anxiety changes means that it is changeable. I want you to answer the following questions out loud. What was the last meal that you liked? When you tip the corners of your mouth up into a half smile, what do you feel in the muscles of your face? What is your favorite color? Name an object that is that color. How does your big right toe feel right now? Name three things you can hear right now. Next, let's invite the power of temperature. As water evolves from solid to liquid to vapor, so can you transform anxiety into freedom. Use an instant cold. Pack ice from your freezer or a bag of frozen vegetables. Close your eyes and apply the cold item to your face, emphasizing contact with the area around your eyes. Hold the ice in place for 30 seconds. Continue to breathe as you breathe, elongate the exhale. Just a little longer. You can do it. You're going to be okay. Your body is designed to create the feelings that we call panic. It is doing this to try to protect you, but it has taken its job a bit too seriously. Listening to the anxiety, sitting with the feet and being here now will help this part heal. As you hold the ice, we are going to do the transformation. Breath. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes. I want you to inhale. And as you do so, imagine pulling in light and love. Direct the breath into your body, down into your chest, and with the breath direct in the light and love towards your heart. As you exhale, imagine breathing out all of the darkness, all of the stress, all of the fear and tension. If you have a pack of bubbles, open them now and slowly exhale. And blow the dark, the scary fearful feelings in through the bubble ring. And watch the bubble carry those feelings away. If you do not have bubbles, imagine as you exhale, the emotions coming out with the breath and turning into bubbles as they contact the air around you. Imagine as they are caught by the breeze and float away. Inhale, pull in the light. Bring it to your thoughts. Fill your thoughts with light, truth and hope. As you exhale, transform the darkness into bubbles and watch them float away into the distance. Know that with every breath the anxiety will drift out of your body moment by moment, wave by wave. The anxious body needs to be reminded of truth. To replace panic with freedom, we will use the act tap technique. You are going to need both hands. As you continue to breathe, find the tips of your ears. Trace your fingertips up to the top of your head and imagine a small box drawing drawn around that center point. Select each of the four corners and tap quickly and moderately in each of the four corners. Breathe while you do this. As you inhale, say it's. And as you exhale, say, okay. It's okay. It's okay. Okay. And then after a few moments, we're going to move our fingertips to the hard cartilage of each ear. And I want you to squeeze and massage the cartilage. This is the Shen Men point for anxiety. And as you massage this point, breathe. It's okay. It's okay. And then move to the center of your breastbone and tap along the breastbone until you feel a place that's right. This is the Ren meridian. As you tap and breathe. And as you inhale, say it's. And as you exhale, say, it's okay. It's okay. Okay. It's okay. Then move to your wrists. Follow your pinky finger down to the palm side of your wrist and tap on these spots in the heart meridian as you inhale and exhale. It's okay. It's okay. Pause and breathe and notice how the fear has changed since we began together. Remember what changes is changeable. You are safe. I know the fear is so strong and so loud and so overwhelming. But your truth is stronger and your capacity to heal is boundless. What you resist will persist. And simply by being here now, holding the space and being in this moment, you are breaking the pattern of anxiety. You are turning the page. You are worthy of freedom. You are worthy of joy. You are worthy peace. I want you to say your freedom ritual mantra out loud. I am safe. Fear cannot hurt me. I am protected by that which is greater than myself. Fear is temporary. I am holding space for my nervous system to speak. I am okay. I am strong enough. I have the ability to change my story. I am worthy of freedom. I can love and accept myself. Tell your fear. You have shared your lines with great enthusiasm and I have listened. I want you to know that I see you. I am strong. I am in charge. I have a lot of experiences and resources to draw upon to help me in this stressful experience. I want you to loosen your grip on the need to control. I want you to stop trying to help me by controlling the situation. I want you to put put down your sense of control and strong emotion that is attempting to dominate my current feelings. Allow me, who is here right now to protect you. Relax. While I slowly but surely move ahead and deal with this stressful and difficult experience. I will allow you to feel safe, protected and harbored by me. I've got this. You can trust me. Now it's time to place everything into a protective trunk. Close your eyes and notice your body. Notice how it feels different than it did at the beginning of our session today. And I want you to acknowledge your hard work and acknowledge that you are worthy of freedom. Imagine at your feet, there is a protective trunk. It can be made of any material that you wish and any size. Whatever it is, it is just right. We're going to place the things we worked on today inside of this protective trunk so that you can walk away from this work with clear, calm thoughts and a greater sense of rest. Notice in your body any thoughts, images, feelings or areas of discomfort and draw the breath into these parts. And as you exhale, imagine exhaling them into your protective trunk. Bring your mindful awareness to your thoughts. Inhale and then exhale the thoughts into your protective trunk and finally bring your awareness to your heart. Take a nice deep breath in and exhale any tension or stress into your protective trunk. Take another moment to notice any other areas of your body that need attention. And as you identify them, draw the breath into that part of your body and exhale everything into your protective trunk. When you feel complete, imagine yourself closing the lid and place the trunk somewhere for safe keeping. And when you feel complete, open your eyes. Now it is time to redirect. You have listened, you have honored, you have declared your truth. And now it's time to redirect. I want you to change the scene. If you are inside, go outside. If you are in a dark room, turn on the lights. Take a drink of ice cold water. If you have a mint or a piece of candy, put that in your mouth. Change the stimuli going into your body. Change to a different scented oil. My favorite redirection oil is sandalwood. Now I want you to move your body, get up and let's go for a walk. Feel the vibration of each step as you take each step. If it would be helpful for you, go back and listen to this recording again. Otherwise, know that you are infinite, you are loved, you are worthy, and I honor you. Sa.