Month, and it has me thinking a lot about how the
two are related. As a meditation teacher based in New York City, I meet a lot
of people who struggle with mental health in some capacity and who are looking
for something to help them find peace and balance in their lives. In fact, many
of my students first come to meditation because their stress and anxiety are
getting in the way of their lives. And, while there are many tools available
for achieving better mental health, my favorite is meditation.
Health and happiness are an inside-out job; you have
to first create the foundations of wellness in your own head before they show
up in your life. Because the bottom line is, it is impossible to live a rom-com
of a life when you have a horror flick playing inside your mind. This is where
the meditation comes in. Meditation is the fastest tool I know for creating a
more peaceful mind. And peaceful does not necessarily mean quiet: The technique
we use at Ziva, my studio in Manhattan, has nothing to do with “quieting the mind."
(So if you have ever tried meditation and felt like a failure because you
couldn't empty your head, then you may dig the style we teach.) If you can’t
make it to a Ziva Intro Talk in New York or Los Angeles, you can learn to
meditate online with zivaMIND. Here are a few tips for meditating if you’re
struggling with anxiety, spinning thoughts, or a stressed-filled head space.
1. Thoughts are not the enemy of meditation. Effort
is.
Telling your mind to stop thinking is like telling
your heart to stop beating. You will have thoughts while you meditate, and that
is OK. What you don’t want to do is try to effortfully push the thoughts away.
Instead, let the thoughts float by like clouds, neither cursing them for
existing nor trying to grab ahold of them. Simply acknowledge them and then go
back to doing your own thing.
2. Gently guide yourself back to the present moment.
Some people end up trying to problem-solve while
they’re meditating. Others get caught up thinking about their to-do list.
Others still find their heads spinning and fall down a cognitive rabbit hole.
If you have anxiety or stressful thoughts, this can be very frustrating. The
key here is, when you find yourself off on a trail of thinking, gently guiding
yourself back. Don’t flagellate yourself; just acknowledge, “Oh, that’s right,
I’m meditating. I’m gonna get back to that.” Once you get in the habit of doing
this, the thoughts don’t seem nearly as powerful or intrusive to your
meditation.
3. There is no such thing as a good or bad meditation.
Don’t judge yourself if you feel like you’re “doing
it wrong.” We don’t meditate to get good at meditating; we meditate to get good
at life. So, you’re having a thought-filled meditation? Yep, that’ll happen
sometimes. You think you’re falling asleep while you’re meditating? Cool, let
yourself be a sleepy, sloppy meditator. There’s no need for perfectionism in
meditation (and in fact, there’s no such thing as perfect anyway).
4. Keep with it!
Your brain is a muscle, and when you meditate you’re
taking the brain to the gym. But like any muscle, your brain needs consistent
exercise to get stronger. So don’t give up if you don’t see results right away
or if you get frustrated at the number of thoughts that you’re having while
you’re meditating. It takes practice to build a new habit, and meditation is no
exception. But if you stick with it, you’ll end up with a much happier brain.
When you give your body the rest it needs, it knows
how to heal itself. Your body functions start to work better, and you find more
space in your head. I had a student who likened it to never realizing you need
reading glasses. Once you put them on, life comes into sharp focus. So keep
taking your brain to the gym, and know that you’re making a valuable investment
in your mental health.
This post was originally published here: Too Anxious To Meditate?
Remember These 4 Tips
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