Sitting With Fear

This practice is for ordinary anxieties, the worry before a result, the small dread of a difficult conversation, the racing heart at exam season. It is not for trauma or panic, which deserve different help. When such an everyday fear arises, instead of pushing it away or following the story of it, sit upright and place your attention right at the place in the body where the fear lives, often the chest or the belly. Breathe with it for a few minutes. The shape of the fear softens once it is met. What remains is awareness, awake and unafraid, holding even this.