The mind automatically creates stories about the people and events in our lives. These stories are almost entirely works of fiction based on our habits of thinking, our fears, and our childhood imprints. These stories reflect our subconscious programming, which very often is in control of our lives.
The following exercise uses a thinking routine to challenge the storyteller.
Just because a meditation practice is easy, does not necessarily mean it is the best one for your brain. Anything worthwhile takes effort. If you are looking to engage in meditation to rebalance the brain, the practice may be difficult. You are asking your brain to do something new, to change its old patterns. This is not likely to be easy. Meditation is work.
Read MoreOne of the physical manifestations of depression is a caved chest. This appears to be a way that the mind-body naturally attempts to protect the heart. Unfortunately, this pattern can often become habitual, leading to defensiveness and an inability to feel positive feelings.
Read MoreFor those who have difficulty experiencing positive feelings, opening the heart can be very uncomfortable.
If you struggle to find something to feel grateful for, thinking of a memory to serve as a positive emotional anchor can be useful.
Shifting the body can help the brain shift, too. Researchers exploring the relationship between mood and the body have found that walking in an erect posture and skipping tends to increase subjective feelings of energy and positive emotional states. In contrast, a slouched posture may decrease feelings of energy and increase negative emotions (Peper & Lin, 2012; Nair et al, 2015).
Read MoreWe think that somehow attempting to predict problems will alleviate stress. At the very least, we won’t be disappointed if things don’t work out the way we wanted. The reality is that the majority of those thoughts are fear-based stories that create an internal environment priming our brain to be stressed and anxious.
This is where mindfulness comes in. Can you become aware of the stories you are telling yourself in any given moment? Can you recognize that your thoughts are not facts? When you are unaware, you act out of habit, and old programming runs the show. When you are aware, you have a choice.
Meditation can be thought of as a form of mental training. It is a skill (or set of skills) that allow us to intentionally direct our attention in ways that challenge the automatic and habitual ways that the mind tends to engage. Just like any skill, getting good at meditation requires practice. Unfortunately, practice is hard. Unless you were lucky enough to be born with a rock-solid will it is tempting to put aside this practice when we feel stressed, pressed for time, or simply bored with doing the same thing day after day. Here are 5 tips to help you stay consistent with your practice:
Read MoreThe speed of life continues to increase, and we are inundated with information and expectations that we should always be available by phone, text, or social media.
Many people use a frantic lifestyle as a distraction so they do not have to experience underlying feelings of sadness, grief, remorse, or fear. One of the most powerful practices to begin to shift out of the fast-paced stress mode is to slow down.
Do you ever feel anxious when doing relaxing activities like yoga, meditation, or getting a massage?
If you answered yes, you are one of the 15%-20% of people who experience anxiety during formal relaxation training.
When we breathe in, our heart rate increases. When we breathe out, our heart rate decreases. When we breathe at our resonant frequency, the heart and lungs synchronize. For most people, this synchronicity happens around 6 breaths per minute.
Breathing this way for 10-15 minutes causes a decrease in stress hormones (cortisol) and an increase in restoration hormones (DHEA). The brain regions involved in stress responses also begin to quiet down. Our entire system begins to change. Simply put, our breathing changes our state of consciousness
Find Relief from Ruminating Thoughts Using Focus Meditation.
If you or a client are experiencing ruminating thoughts as part of depression, relief may be found in a Focus meditation that shifts attention away from the ruminations.
Postponing unwanted thoughts gives them a time and place, helping keep them at an appropriate scale. When you find your mind ruminating on unwanted thoughts, find a 30-minute block in your calendar. Schedule a time to sit with these thoughts.
Read MoreLabeling the thoughts that arise during a Mindfulness meditation can be a helpful practice. For example, if you notice yourself thinking about what you will be doing later that day, you can label the thought “planning” and then let it go.
Read MoreThis exercise helps quiet the mind. It’s a good practice for those times when the day feels so busy, you’re uncertain how you will get everything done. There is, indeed, more time for us, if we can find it. This practice helps you find the pause, the moment in which things feel more possible.
Read MoreThe actual object of attention in a Focus meditation practice is less important than maintaining attention on that object. In this post, we share some general guidelines that you may find helpful in selecting a focus.
Read MoreOpen Heart meditations involve activating positive feelings and focusing those feelings towards others. These types of meditative practices are distinct from Focus meditations in that they involve the intentional generation of caring, love, and compassion. Examples include lovingkindness and other compassion-based meditation practices.
Read MoreMindfulness involves paying attention to what is happening in the present moment. Most often when we consider mindfulness, we think about our own thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and behaviors in the moment. It is also important for us to notice what is happening in our environment, as our environment has the ability to impact both our thoughts and our emotional states.
Read MoreFeeling depressed, agitated, or anxious? It's no wonder! The brain is designed to focus on the threatening parts of life, leaving us feeling exhausted, discouraged, and depleted. The way to counteract this tendency is to intentionally focus on the positive. This practice is about savoring the good.
Read MoreSometimes moving away from negative stimuli is just as important as moving toward positive stimuli.
Most television programs, including the news, are written to stir powerful, uncomfortable feelings. This tactic keeps your attention, and it works! Unfortunately, the brain responds to these images and messages by initiating a stress repose. Even if the images and stories are untrue, the brain responds as if they were.
How can we stay connected to the world around us while moving away from negative stimuli and allowing our brains to rest? To answer this question for yourself, try the thinking routine below.
Read MoreThe word “meditation” conjures images of one sitting peacefully in nature, cross legged with hands in their lap. While that is certainly one way to meditate, this type of meditation can feel inaccessible to those who find sitting still for long periods of time a challenge in and of itself. Some types of meditation can include movement to help alleviate this obstacle. Even for experienced meditators, adding movement to meditation can help keep one’s practice fresh and novel.
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