Guided Meditation for Anxiety with Heather Hayward

Welcome to this 40-minute guided meditation for anxiety.

To get the most out of this anxiety meditation, we suggest that you find a quiet place where you can sit or lie down undisturbed for the next 40 minutes.

For an optimal listening experience, we recommend using headphones.

During this experience, Heather Hayward will guide you through some simple meditation techniques for anxiety. All you need to do is be physically comfortable & able to listen to the sound of her voice.

If you are lying down, placing a blanket across your stomach area can provide some added comfort & relief while using this guided meditation to reduce anxiety.

We hope you find the relief you are looking for during this guided meditation & look forward to creating more meditation videos for anxiety soon.

How to meditate for anxiety...

Slow, focused breathing (not deep breathing) is what we need to figuratively “calm our nerves.”

The breath is the only conscious mechanism we have for controlling our ANS, because both our sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems have a hand in affecting our respiratory rate.
Specifically, inhalations activate – or can be activated by – the SNS, while exhalations activate – or can be activated by – the PSNS. This is why when someone jumps out & scares you, you gasp instead of sighing.
It’s also why when you feel relaxed, you sigh instead of gasping.

Therefore, the best meditation technique for anxiety is long, slow & easy exhalations that equate to increased activation of the parasympathetic nervous system & decreased activation of the SNS, not deep inhalations.

Does meditation help anxiety?

Mindfulness meditation reduces anxiety in two major ways: Firstly, singularly focusing our attention limits activity in the brain’s neural network (Default Mode Network) which we utilize to negatively ruminate about the past or worry about the future. Second, the act of breathing in a slow focused manner reduces activity in the fight or flight branch of our autonomic nervous system (sympathetic nervous system), stimulates the branch of our autonomic nervous system responsible for rest & digest functions (parasympathetic nervous system), increases heart rate variability (HRV) & signals safety to our survival brain (i.e. the amygdala, hippocampus & hypothalamus, etc.)

These systems reduce anxiety by balancing the brain and body’s hormones & neurotransmitters.

If you would like to read more in-depth about how mindfulness meditation reduces anxiety you can check it out here: https://guidedmeditationframework.com/blog/how-does-mindfulness-reduce-anxiety/

Wishing you always more comfort, humor & inspiration,
Heather Hayward

About Heather:
Heather Hayward is a renowned Results Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist & Immersive Meditation Leader with over 36 years of experience leading guided meditations professionally.

In 2017, Heather & her son, Hunter, created The Guided Meditation Framework, a professional training program for coaches, therapists & practitioners.

Connect with Heather:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/heatherjhayward
Instagram: https://instagram.com/heather.hayward
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/heatherhayward

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By the way, if you’d like to become an immersive meditation leader, check out our professional training program below:
https://guidedmeditationframework.com/program-tour