When anxiety creeps up on you, you just want it gone. You can’t necessarily stop yourself from ever having anxious thoughts, but you can teach yourself how to manage them. This is where meditation comes in handy. Meditation can help you become aware of anxious thoughts, observe them, and then release them. In other words, you’ll learn to recognize and respond to your feelings rather than immediately reacting to them, says Andy Puddicombe, meditation and mindfulness expert and co-founder of the meditation app Headspace.
So, where do you start? Try out one of these meditation tips for anxiety whenever you need to bring yourself to calm.
- Focus on the rising and falling of your breath
Hands on your stomach, focus on breath as you inhale and exhale. Notice your belly rising and falling. Count your breaths – “one” on the rise, “two” on the fall – to bring you back to the present moment, suggests Puddicombe. Do this for 10 seconds, he says, repeating if necessary.
2. Do a full-body scan
Close your eyes and focus on your forehead. Begin scanning your entire body, pausing at specific parts (like your mouth, hands, elbows, etc.) to appreciate all the sensations that you feel, says Puddicombe.
3. Imagine bright, warm sunlight shining down on you
You know that amazing feeling when warm sunlight shines down on you and makes you feel good? Imagine that feeling the next time you feel anxious and overwhelmed. Picture the sunshine filling each part of your body, from your toes to your head, suggests Puddicombe. “Allow the warmth, light, and spaciousness to melt away any tension in the body,” he says.
4. Talk to yourself like you’d talk to a friend
Ask yourself, “what do you appreciate most in your life?” Once you have something (or things) in mind, live in that gratitude for a minute. Questioning in the second person separates you from your mind and encourages a sense of appreciation, free from any overwhelming emotions, Puddicombe explains.
5. Let your mind think about whatever it wants to think about
That even means feeling anxious, Puddicombe says. It sounds counterintuitive, but when you sit with your thoughts – without any expectations, sense of purpose, or focus for several minutes – you allow your mind the extra space it needs to help it unwind.
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