Meditation Resources
Grounding Into the Safety of the Here and Now
Worrying , feeling restless, agitated, or having a sense of gloom and hopelessness about the future? You are most likely in ‘fight or flight’, or sympathetic nervous system. This autonomic nervous system state is our danger detection system. It re-routes internal resources and thought patterns to increase your chances of survival. For instance, an increased heart rate and muscle contractions can help you run fast or fight with strength.
It can be hard to disengage from fight or flight (sympathetic nervous system). We can’t just think the words “calm down”. Your internal wiring that triggered this state did so from external or internal messages; not thoughts. Thus, the way to disengage sympathetic nervous system is through external messages of safety. For instance, structured inhales and long exhales can send message of safety to your nervous system. When your body receives messages of safety it can disengage from sympathetic nervous system. If you are resilient your body can then shift into parasympathetic nervous system, where there is safety and the ability to thrive.
The 6+ minute meditation below will guide you through connecting with all five of your senses so you can ground yourself in the safety of right here, right now.
5 Minute Guided Meditation
According to www.mindful.org:
“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”
Got it? Since we have the ability to be fully present we can just do it, right? But it is not easy.
Mindfulness is not that easy in our modern world. Modern society has become fast paced, complex and removed from nature . To counter these modern challenges we need to mindfulness practices. These exercises, such as meditation, can re-connect us to our natural human ability to be fully present without judgment or overreactions.
Try spending 5 minutes a day to sit with your breath, your body, and your thoughts. Allow the thoughts to come and go. Over time the thoughts will appear less often. Your breath will start to deepen. And your autonomic nervous system will shift into parasympathetic, a state of calm and ease.
Belly Breathing Meditation
Background: Research has shown that deep belly breathing and engagement of the diaphragm can assist in disengaging from fight or flight. Belly breathing encourages engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system. It can help to release tension or stress commonly held in the abdominal area. This breath can also be practiced during a panic attack.
Practice:
Sit quietly in a chair with both feet on the ground and your hands in your lap. Allow yourself to feel centered in the chair.
Bring all of your attention to the physical act of breathing.
Place one hand just above your belly button. Place the other on your chest, over your breastbone. You can use your hands as a simple biofeedback device. Your hands will tell you where your breath is.
Start the breath by exhaling through your mouth while also pressing your belly against. your spine. This helps the diaphragm to get engaged. The exhale should feel like a sight.
Then gently inhale through your nose and repeat pressing your belly towards the spine while exhaling. Do this a few more times using the hand below the belt line to guide you. When you feel ready, contract your belly muscles to press against your spine while exhaling without the use of the hand.
Continue to breathe by expanding the belly with each inhale and contracting the belly with each exhale. Stay connected to your breath.
If you heartbeat still seems elevated OR your upper body is not relaxed at this point, try longer exhales for many breath cycles.
Awareness:
You will start to notice that each time you breathe in, your diaphragm or stomach will expand. And each time you breathe out your diaphragm or stomach will relax. Again, don’t try to do anything. Just be aware of the physical sensations of breathing in and breathing out.
Be open to feeling your shoulders relax or to spontaneous yawning. If either (or both) of these occur, that is good ! These are signs you are engage with parasympathetic nervous system.
It is totally normal to be distracted by thoughts while doing any type of meditation. When you are aware your attention has moved away from your breath and to your thoughts, gently acknowledge the thoughts and then return to awareness of your breath.
Mindful Eating Exercise – Chocolate
Background: Meditation can be done in various ways. Practicing ‘Mindful Eating’ can be an easy meditation since eating is an activity we do several times a day. The key to meditation is to attend to something. Attending to your what you are eating, it’s smell or taste, with curiosity, can cultivate mindfulness.
Practice:
Allow yourself at least 3 minutes for this exercise
Sit comfortably, place the chocolate within reach, and bring all of your attention
to your body and breath by scanning your body from your feet all the way up to
the top of your head and following your breath.
Notice if you are having thoughts or sensations in your mouth about the
chocolate that is nearby. Gently acknowledge the thoughts and sensations then return your awareness to your breath and the intention of curiosity about the chocolate.
Bring the chocolate into your hand and use your fingers to explore the feel, texture, and weight of the chocolate. Ask some questions to yourself such as ‘does this feel warm? smooth? dense? Then use your eyes to thoroughly inspect the chocolate, noticing its shape, color and any responses your body and mind might have.
Now smell the chocolate bringing it slowly to your nose and noticing how your body is reacting the closer you come to the chocolate. Appreciate and linger with the aroma and notice (and suppress) if there is an urge to put it in your mouth and eat it. Take a moment to pause and wonder if you smell anything else other than chocolate.
It’s time to taste the chocolate – – Hold it in your mouth for as long as possible and notice if you have salivated before or after the chocolate is in your mouth, notice if you are swallowing or having urge to quickly consume it. Please try to take time to allow the chocolate to melt in your mouth and allow your tongue to explore its textures and tastes. When the chocolate has been comprehensively explored, chew (if necessary), swallow and do your best to attend to the way it feels on your teeth and traveling down further into your body.
After the chocolate has been successfully delivered into your tummy, attend to your sense of smell and taste – – has anything changed?
Return to attending to your body and breath. Scan yourself from feet to the top of the head to see if you notice any shift in the way the body feels or any change in rhythm or quality of your breath.
Allow yourself to singularly focus on your breath, following the inhale and exhale a few rounds.
Awareness:
Has your fondness or appreciation of chocolate changed with this exercise?
Was it challenging to suppress thoughts and urges to eat the chocolate?