Six ways to relieve corona-crisis anxiety, by a meditation expert

Feeling the effects of Coronanxiety? We asked meditation expert Jody Shield about how to chill out in trying times

How are your anxiety levels right now? Do you regularly wake up at 4am worrying about the latest Corona stats, sweat over when you can safely see your elderly parents or fret about how the financial fall-out will impact your job or getting on the housing ladder?

Even if you're an anxious person, the Coronavirus pandemic might feel like enough to overwhelm you. This makes sense. According to meditation expert Jody Shield, anxiety is naturally rooted in fear.

"Fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear that can’t be rationalised or understood can be overwhelming," she says."Fear and anxiety gain more power over us when they’re hidden and unspoken, which is often where they stay. Once in a state of anxiety, the mind locks on to worrying thoughts, replays them again and again, and it’s very hard to break free. To heal takes courage to change our habits, real persistence and dedication."

So how is it done?

First, you have to be open to the possibility that you can. Interestingly this is half the battle because your mind will be convinced that it isn’t possible, based on the evidence of past experiences of your anxiety episodes.

Second, you have to create a daily practice to become a new habit, which changes your mindset and emotional state from the moment you wake up with your anxious thoughts.

Third, always be aware of your own resistance to change. Believe it or not, there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to change, which doesn’t want to heal your anxiety. When we change we move into unknown territory, and as the mind’s primary focus is to keep us safe and protected, anything unknown can’t be assessed as being a threat or not. Resistance is the opposing force to transformation, and is what keeps us stuck.

Here are Jody's simple tools and techniques to form your daily anxiety prevention practice:

1. Breathe into it

Anxiety creates nervous energy which gets stuck in your body and mind. Breathing moves it around the body, and gets it unstuck. Try framing your anxiety as excitement without breath, imagine the anxiety like anticipation towards new things. Give it breath, and breathe deeply into it. Nothing shifts unless something moves, don’t let it keep you frozen and powerless, get it moving!

2. Clear your mind

Buy a notebook for your new positive practice. Use it every morning, and write down everything on your mind. Get everything out onto the page, no matter how crazy you sound. Remember it’s nervous energy, and you can give it word form and release it. Once you’ve written it down, close your eyes and breathe in a couple of times. You don’t need to re-read it unless you want to, it’s now past.

3. Let go

Amazing things happen when you LET THEM GO. Try saying to yourself on repeat: I let go, I surrender, I let go, I surrender, and witness what happens. It’s a practice (like everything in this toolbox) and so needs to be repeated over-and-over until it goes in. To go a step further, lie down and close your eyes, and say the phrases over and over again until you feel your whole body letting go.

4. Tap for anxiety relief

Take your hand into a fist, left or right. Begin to tap your fist onto your collarbone, and breathe in at the same time. This technique addresses the resistance around your breathe caused by anxiety, and allows your airways to open so that oxygen can get into your body faster.

5. Say 'I'm back' as your mantra

Saying this as a mantra (and repeating it) is a positive move into the present. The words bring you right into the present moment, a place we spend most of our time avoiding! Being present enables your thoughts to be observed more easily, and subside which allows us to recover from our anxiety.

6. Wind down

After your day, take time to move into a state of relaxation. Run a warm bath, light some candles around you, get in and soak. Use the phrase suggested earlier “I surrender” on repeat to ease you into a full body relaxation. If you don’t have a bath, how else can you relax? A hot shower with your favourite wash? A hot water bottle on your tummy lying on your bed? Adapt to suit your situation.

Follow Jody Sheild on Instagram for daily wisdom and inspiration or visit her website for details of ANXIETY SOS: Your first response for healing your anxiety and staying sane.