In a Moment - Issue 3

My practice of cultivating calm is deeply rooted in my personal experience with anxiety. I’ve been closely acquainted with anxiety for over two decades. I thought for a long time I needed to eliminate my anxiety, eradicate it from my psyche.

In the last few years, I’ve learned it’s helpful for me to develop a relationship with my anxiety, recognizing it’s not something that will disappear. By approaching anxiety in this way I’m able to ease some of the resistance I feel in my mind and instead find acceptance.

I’ve found one helpful way to approach this relationship is through sensing. A body scan is a simple tool to tap into how you feel in a moment. You begin to notice the interior of your physical body and places where anxiety tends to creep up or take residence. By sensing or feeling these places of anxiety, you have the ability to recognize the presence or bubbling up of anxiety before it erupts. This gives you the chance to take a moment to respond and reset vs. letting anxiety take the wheel.

The body scan doesn’t have to be an elaborate practice — just take a couple minutes. Close your eyes, if you’re comfortable, or just soften your focus. Begin to turn the volume down on the sounds and stimulus around you and see if you can turn the volume up on the feelings within you.

Starting at the top of the head or maybe the bottoms of the feet — scan throughout the body and just notice if there are parts that pull your attention. Areas that feel tight, congested, achy, sore, hot, or cold. Also notice the areas that might feel a bit more spacious, open, fluid, comfortable.

Once you have completed the scan, you can begin to bring awareness outside of your body and the space around you. Take a deep breath in and a full breath out.

Practice this scan several times throughout the day and begin to notice what patterns emerge.