Meditation Tips for the Racing Mind
If you are like me and a lot of people I have met, the first thought that occurs is, “I’ve tried it before and I just have too much going on in my head.” Or “My mind is too busy to meditate.” “I think too much.” “I’ve tried it before, and it didn’t work.” “I know its good for me, but I can’t get my brain to stop.” I was there. I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering, or would focus on my leg going numb, or the noise I would hear in the other room would get my attention, I was all over the place. A friend suggested I try yoga as a moving meditation, so I did. It didn’t feel like I expected meditation to be, but the release of tension from stretching my muscles reduced the tension enough so that I could sit still for 15 minutes and breathe. Then every time I did it, I got better at it. Then started learning all I could about meditation and different techniques, and then teaching my clients in the hospital. These people were under tremendous amounts of stress, and the tips and tools that I offered them helped to relax enough so that they could focus on their breath. My two biggest takeaways: 1. Everyone can meditate. Its just matter of shifting focus. 2. It will be different every time; sometimes more difficult than others…and that’s ok, it’s a practice.
Meditation is like anything else, you get better when you do it consistently. Consistently showing up for 5-15 minutes every day, no matter what. I feel my best when I do it early in the morning before I start my day, or immediately after my workout, but find a time where you can sit alone, uninterrupted for that period of time.
Tip 1: Move your body before your try to sit and meditate. Stretch throughout your body, or go for a run, do some jumping jacks or workout, or just bounce for a few minutes to get your blood flowing and loosen up your muscles. This will help you to relieve some of the tension stuck in the body and make it easier to relax. When we relax the body, the mind follows.
Tip 2: Breathe deeply and fully into the lungs. Our lungs are like large balloons designed to bring in oxygen to the body and distribute it where it is needed (everywhere). Most of us only utilize the top and front portion of our lunges when we breathe. There are a number of exercises that can help you to breathe deeply into the lower , side and back of the lunges, if you’d like those I have a free master mind class on stress relief that has a module on using your lunges at full capacity) But for now, one quick trick you can practice is putting one palm on you belly. As you inhale feel the air travel through your nose, into the lunges, and into the back of your hand. Use the air to inflate and expand the belly, hold the breathe for a count of 4, then slowly and controlled exhale through the nose.
Tip 3: Set a timer. When you are starting out it is extremely helpful to know how much time you will be sitting still, at least it was for me. For your first time, I recommend setting the timer for 5 minutes, and commit to yourself that for 5 minutes no matter what thoughts run through your mind, that you will sit there and breathe deeply, and fully. As you get more comfortable, increase the time. I find that I get what I need from meditation in 15-20 minutes. You have to find what works for you. But one thought that helps me when I don’t want to sit anymore is, “I’ve done things for other people that took way longer than 15 minutes, I can do this for me.” Sometimes we just need a reminder and pep talk.
Tip 4: Close your eyes. If you are someone who has trouble focusing with your eyes closed, try this. When you close your eyes, focus on looking at the back of your eyelids, don’t let your eyes roll back. If it helps, you can think of focusing on the space between your eyebrows. This will A. Give you something to focus on, and B. Help you to keep your focus forward instead of the random thoughts and to do lists and that time you embarrassed yourself in 2nd grade running through your head (or maybe that last one is just me haha). If closing your eyes is too much for you, take your gaze toward the floor in front of you, or pick something to stare at on the wall directly in front of you. Be sure to keep your spine upright and head onto of the spine, don’t drop your head forward.
Tip 5: Put it on the Shelf. Meditation takes a willingness of the person to sit with whatever come ups, and not attach to it. I know that can sound almost impossible to sit in stillness and “not do anything”, but that only happens when we attach to the thought that comes in. Thoughts will come in from time to time, sometimes more frequently depending on your day, but notice them, acknowledge them, and then imagine yourself putting it on the shelf to deal with when you’re done.
Tip 6: If you’ve tried all these and it isn’t helping you, grab your phone and earbuds and search guided meditation on Youtube. There are so many free resources out there, but you may have to try a few out before you find the one you like.
Tip 7: If you can’t seem to find the right voice or type of meditation, try meditation music, or New Age music. Anything that has no words that can influence your thoughts, just simple music that you can have in the background as you breathe.
Give it a try! It’s only 5 minutes! You have 5 minutes for yourself, even if you have to make time, its totally worth it. Leave a comment below and tell me about your experience!
