Pre-Date Nerves

In this meditation, we're going to focus on calming any pre-date nerves. So you can go into your date feeling grounded, calm and relaxed. First of all, it is very natural to feel nervous or even stressed about going on a date. You are potentially meeting someone for the first time, and it can feel really uncomfortable not knowing how it will go. And as a result, we tend to rush ahead into the future, sometimes creating a full-blown story of what could or might happen. Even though there might be lots of excited and happy thoughts, as well as anxious and negative thoughts, this creates a storyline in the mind, and it means that we are not actually in the present moment or connected with our body. When we do feel nervous or stressed, we tend to occupy a lot of time in the mind, the what ifs and if onlys. And in doing this, it just fuels more nerves and more stress. So this meditation is designed to reconnect with our body, to ground ourselves in the present moment and to let go of the storylines in our mind. And hopefully you will feel a greater sense of calm, ease and contentment. The technique we're going to do is called a body scan, where we intentionally focus our attention on our body. This is a really fantastic technique for when we do feel stressed or nervous, as it helps to break the cycle of thoughts by coming out of our mind and into our body. It might feel like a very simple and easy technique, but it is amazing how often we are not connected with our body. Take a moment to get comfortable wherever you're sitting. And when you're ready, just starting with two or three big, deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with your next out-breath, you can just close your eyes and allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm. And just feeling the weight of your body press down against the seat, noticing how your body feels right now, if there's a sense of stillness or restlessness in the body. So as you settle into the exercise, I would like you to place your attention at the top of your head, and take the next few minutes to gently scan down through your body, really placing your attention on your body, starting with the back of your head down into your neck, your shoulders. We often carry a lot of tension in our shoulders, so just notice if you can relax them with each breath. Moving down your back, not trying to change any of the sensations, just observing, watching as you move the mind, your breath down through the body, into your sit bones, back of your thighs, and down into your calfs. Allowing thoughts to come and go, the moment you realized you've been distracted, lost in thought, just letting go of that thinking...