I would urge you to give meditation a go.
The stigma associated with it is often a blocker for some people to try it out and realise the game-changing benefits that science shows can help with issues like stress, anxiety and poor sleep.
In my health coaching practice it’s become a tool for all manner of health and wellbeing complaints, not least general anxiety – seemingly one of the most common mental health issues that people suffer from these days.
On my own health and wellbeing journey it became a game changer that I now use every day (literally).
“Breath work”, “breathing exercises”, “meditation” – call it what you want – it should no longer be something that the Buddhist monastic community or the Hindu Sadhus have a monopoly on. It is worth trying it out. Maybe, like me, you will go on to have it in your toolbox as something that you can immediately call upon to help with any of the aforementioned issues (and beyond).
The best description of meditation that I’ve heard recently is from Jeff Warren – a really down-to-earth author and meditation teacher on ‘Calm’ – one of the popular mediation apps:
“Mediation is the art of getting out of your own way”
This sums it up perfectly!
If you’d like to give it a go for free (and with no strings attached – I promise!), then you may be interested in my own meditations that I’ve put together for clients.
Meditation 1 – https://youtu.be/gPh6ihKCbrA
This video provides a good starting point for meditation. It’s a 10-minute mindfulness / breathing exercise guide. This guidance is good for people who are new to meditation or who would like basic guidance for their 10 minute daily meditation.
Meditation 2 – https://youtu.be/1dI8hbh6kW8
This mindfulness meditation video focusses on awareness of thoughts, the associated emotions, and the resulting feelings in the body. Awareness of these feelings is an important part of properly letting go of thoughts of the past and/or future and experience the natural calm of being present in the here-and-now. Over time, you will find that this equips you for better dealing with day-to-day stresses, anxiety and even depression.
Once you’re familiar with the technique, you’ll be able to apply it ad-hoc during your day when you experience moments of stress or anxiety.
Try these out and start getting out of your own way!
