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Journalism of Courage
No one is born with confidence; it’s something that’s nurtured as we experience different phases of adulting. Even for actors, stage fright and anxiety are constant, and as dancer-turned-actor Raghav Juyal explained in an interview with WeTheYuva, there are multiple ways artistes learn to cope with their emotions.
“Humare ek exercise hoti hai acting mei, apne aap se hum puchte hein, ‘How are you feeling?’ I am feeling the sound jo bahar se aari hein, I am feeling the pink. Achanak se pink dikhne lagne lag jaata hai…How are you feeling…I am feeling nervous because everyone is looking at me…,” he said.
“Koi bhi agar scene se pehle, ya koi bhi cheez se pehle aap, ya aapke seminar se pehle agar aap nervous hein, dare hue hein just call it out… how are you feeling. I am anxious. Kuch naya niklega useee. It’s like an open-eye meditation.
Emphasising the need to address our emotions, Juyal likened the technique to open-eye meditation, which involves keeping the eyes open with a calm mind without letting the distractions block focus.
But, is it effective?
It’s important to “call out your emotions,” perception architect Vivek Vashist told indianexpress.com. “When you say I’m feeling nervous, you’re actually moving the emotion from the limbic system (the brain’s reactive centre) to the prefrontal cortex (the reasoning part). That small act called affect labelling creates distance between you and the feeling. It’s no longer I am nervous, but I’m feeling nervous.”
Vashist explained, “It shifts the charge from being inside the emotion to observing, and it restores agency. You go from being acted upon to noticing what’s happening. The anxiety decreases because the brain interprets awareness as a sign of safety. What was chaos becomes data.
According to Vashist, “Open-eye meditation is like watching a movie sans the popcorn and the breaks. For many people, open-eye meditation can be even more powerful, because it trains calm within activity instead of away from it.”
While closed-eye meditation turns attention inward, it reduces sensory input and quiets the mind by cutting out the world. Open-eye meditation does the opposite, as it invites you to stay present in motion. You learn to hold stillness while life continues to move.
So when a person is practising open-eye meditation, they are deeply engaged in what’s happening. Their body stays relaxed, even when the scene gets intense. This practice builds a kind of detached engagement, alert yet grounded, aware yet unshaken.
“You might softly rest your gaze on a tree, a candle flame, or even the flow of people passing by. You’re not trying to blank the mind; you’re letting reality move through your awareness without pulling you off-centre,” added Vashist.
The goal isn’t to suppress adrenaline; it’s to anchor attention, explained Vashist. “A high-pressure situation is almost like reading a book by just flipping the pages fast. One can not understand anything,” he stressed.
Here are three grounding techniques to beat anxiety:
3-2-1 Reset: Name 3 things you see, 2 things you can touch, 1 thing you can hear. This recruits your senses and interrupts runaway thoughts.
Micro-breath anchoring: Before speaking or entering a room, take a slow, deep exhale and feel your feet. Exhaling activates the parasympathetic system, the body’s brake pedal.
Single Point focus: Choose one cue, such as a person’s eyes, your breath, or the sound of your voice. Keep returning to that cue whenever your mind jumps ahead. It gives the body a home base in the present moment.
