by Pompe Strater-Vidal
Zen Sensei and founder of Relax Breathe Flow
Many people come to mindfulness and meditation seeking relief from anxiety. Long periods of sitting and staring at digital screens just make this problem worse. Technology takes you down a virtual rabbit hole. You get up hours later with a stiff neck, and a sore low back.
That’s the inspiration behind my favorite phrase, relax and breathe:)
Developing an internal voice that’s a neutral observer helps you create new habits and positive change. Like this:
You notice you’ve fallen back into an old behavior, sitting hunched over your iPhone for the last hour. You put the phone down, relax your shoulders, take a deep breath.
If your Inner Critic takes over this process, neutrality goes out the window. Like this: “You spent 60 minutes staring at your phone? Watching videos? On Instagram !?”
An internal observer functions best with kindness and love. Always.
Anxiety is a symptom of distress and worry. It’s a low level instinctual fear response from our primitive nervous system of fight or flight. Deeper still is the freeze response. An anxious mind is scanning for danger. It wants to be safe from potential threats.
Soothe your worried mind and calm your anxious body. Relax and breathe with awareness and love.
What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment or ask a question below. I’m listening 🙂
All the best,
