Using meditation for anxiety relief
Anxious thoughts are the least pleasant types of thoughts- and as soon as they pop up, your main goal is to get them gone.
You can’t stop yourself from ever having them, but you can learn how to manage them. If you can keep them from going rouge, that’s where meditation comes into play.
Meditation can actually teach you how to recognize anxiety inducing thoughts, observe them, and then let them go. Basically, you’re learning to recognize and respond to your feelings rather than instantly reacting to them.
Still, it can be hard to know where to start- and what to do when you’re actually feeling anxious. Try one of these quick meditation tips for anxiety to help bring yourself back to reality.
1. Focus on the inhaling and exhaling of your breath. With your hand on your stomach, focus on your breath as you inhale, and exhale. Count your breaths. “One” on the rise, “two” on the fall- as you pay attention to the movement of your body, it might bring you back to the present moment. Do this for 10 seconds. Repeat if necessary.
2. Pay attention to how your feet feel on the floor. Or maybe how your hands feel on a keyboard. Or how your back feels against a chair. Anything that grounds you to where you are and what you are doing at that very moment. Allow thought to come and go as you normally would (they will- as meditation isn’t void of thought) but as soon as you realize you’re lost in thought, pivot your thinking back to the sensation you were focusing on.
3. Do a full body scan, starting at the top of your head. Close your eyes and focus on your forehead- then begin to scan down your entire body, stopping at specific parts (like your eyes, mouth, and your neck) to take note of each sensation- good or bad- that you feel. Don’t pass judgement or fixate on any specific feelings, just take note of it and move on; scanning your entire body two to three times, paying attention to how you feel before versus after the scan is complete.
4. Imagine bright, warm sunlight shining down above your head. You know that feeling when you’re sitting next to a window, or lying on a beach and a beam on sunlight hits your face just right? Imagine that feeling the next time you’re overwhelmed- but instead of just your face, imagine the light beam filling up each part of your body. From your toes to your head, allow warmth, light, and spaciousness to melt away any tension in the body.
5. Let your mind think about whatever it wants to think about. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but when you sit with your thoughts- without any expectations, sense of purpose, or focus for several minutes- you give your mind the extra space needed to help it unwind.
6. Picture someone you love, and breathe in their anxieties. This one may sound weird, but hear me out. Hold an image of someone you love in your mind and imagine yourself taking on their anxieties and insecurities with every inhale. On the exhale, think about all of their good qualities and the great times you’ve had together. Kind of like breathing in the bad and breathing out the good. The exercise of putting the happiness of others before your own is called “skillful compassion”. One of the strongest ways to let go of anxiety is to focus on another person.
7. Talk to yourself like you’d talk to a friend. Ask yourself, “What do you appreciate most in your life?” Once you’ve got something (Or hopefully things) in mind, dwell in that gratitude for 30 seconds. Asking yourself in the second person separates you from your mind and encourages a space of appreciation free from any overwhelming emotions.
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