Reducing Stress with Mindfulness Meditation
Meditation can help us embrace our worries, our fear, our anger; and that is very healing. We let our own natural capacity of healing do the work.
–Thich Nhat Hanh
For a few moments, tune in to your breath.
Perhaps you notice your belly filling and deflating with air or the cool sensation coming in and out of your nose.
There is no need to change your breath. Notice it just as it is. Is it jagged or fluid? Shallow or full? Does it catch right before you exhale?
Your thoughts will naturally begin to drift. Once you notice this drift, gently guide your attention back to your breath.
Simple, right?
Not so much. Our minds are very busy machines!
That’s why it’s helpful to have a facilitator as a beginner. You can learn the practice during therapy sessions, meditation classes, or with the help of a meditation app.
As just illustrated, mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice of shifting your thinking back to a neutral focal point – like your breath.
Start small and build from there. Research has shown that people benefit from just five minutes a day. Setting a timer can help track the beginning and end of your set.
Here are some other focal points for mindfulness meditation…
Movement…
In addition to noticing the movement of your breath, meditative walking is one of the easiest ways to learn the practice. Notice the sensations of your feet in your shoes as they crunch the pebbles with each step.
Did you know yoga and Qi Gong are forms of mindfulness meditation, too? When doing these movements, the focus is on the body in space and the movement of each breath.
Mindful movement can also be fluid and without form. Try letting your body lead, letting go of ideas of what movements might feel good or particular stretches. Stay curious and amuse yourself as interesting and unexpected movements reveal themselves organically.
Sounds around you…
Next time you take a walk, slow down the pace just a bit. Notice each sound around you as a musical note of a song.
Car, birds, crickets, car…
Watch as your nervous system downshifts a notch or two as you experience a deeper connectedness with the world around you.
Thoughts as they come and go…
Mindfully notice thoughts as each arises. Patterns of thinking become clearer as you practice. “Planning,” “judging,” and “worry” are common themes. Add kindness and curiosity, state the theme, and notice the next thought in line.
The quality of your thoughts doesn’t matter – busy or quiet. Keep practicing with curiosity and kindness.
You might note a critical voice telling you how you’re not meditating well enough or the right way. This is common and expected, so look for it with curiosity and add a little smile when it arises.
Over time, looping and critical thoughts will shift on their own more readily as awareness builds.
The waves of emotions …
You can choose to be mindful of emotions, too. Label each the best you can as they arise.
Sadness. Fear. Worry. Peace. Disappointment. Anger.
Notice each emotion as it presents itself, one at a time. Allow the wave to build and die down.
Flowing and ebbing. Ebbing and flowing and ebbing again.
Sensations in your body…
Anchor with sensations in the body as each becomes more prominent and fades into the next. Seeing the nuanced changes as they appear and subside allows the brain to broaden its ability to tolerate distress.
Tingling in right toe… pain in shoulders… tight jaw… settled stomach…
For a mini-mindfulness exercise focused on sensation, notice the feeling of the water on your skin while doing dishes or taking a shower. As your mind drifts, tune back to the silky water washing over your hands or body.
Name your anchor and begin again and again and again…
It doesn’t matter what focal point you choose. It’s a matter of preference and whatever seems most accessible to you in any given moment.
No form of mindfulness meditation is better than another.
Just pick your anchor and name it clearly to yourself.
Then… begin. Once you catch it, you become distracted. Begin again. That’s the practice in a nutshell.
Every time your mind strays, return your focus. Begin again.
Building a practice with various focal points allows mindfulness to filter into all aspects of your day naturally.
An ability to redirect thoughts and tolerate big emotions and sensations develops over time.
It’s simple… and building self-compassion and nonjudgment is a big part of the practice.
Here’s the payoff for your mental and physical health…
More positive emotions and reduced stress…
Regularly practicing mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduce symptoms of stress and is helpful for anxiety, PTSD, depression, and pain.
Better sleep…
Mindfulness meditation helps you fall asleep more easily and improves sleep quality.
Lowered heart rate…
Research participants who were part of an experimental mindfulness group significantly lowered their heart rates and performed better on a cardiovascular test than control-group subjects.
Improved immunity…
Mindfulness practices led to greater immune function after an eight-week mindfulness course.
Brain changes…
Regular mindfulness meditation increases the density of your brain’s gray matter in areas linked to learning, memory, emotional regulation, and empathy. Sustained attention, focus, and time management also improve over time.
Mindfulness increases activation of the medial prefrontal cortex and decreases activation of structures like the amygdala that trigger our emotional responses. This increases our control over the emotional brain.
–Bessel van der Kolk
Ease and wellness anytime, anywhere…
Mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool that anyone can learn. It’s accessible wherever you are and can be incorporated in many ways to suit your lifestyle.
The benefits are numerous and notable.
If you’re interested in incorporating mindfulness meditation within therapy sessions or want to expand your current practice, let’s set up a time to talk.
Send me a quick note on my contact form to set up a 15-minute phone consultation.