Simple Meditation

Simple Meditation: 3-5 minutes is all you need to decrease anxiety, and increase relaxation.

• Arrive – seated and comfortable, notice your present moment experience.  Notice your breath, your physical body, and the space that you are sitting.  Take a moment to see if you can relax and release any tension you may be holding in your physical body.  Relax all the muscles in your face and shoulders.  Deepen your breath.  Notice all that you hear – close by sounds and distant sounds.

• Establish an Anchor – choose a home-base, a place where you can re-focus your attention once you notice that you’ve drifted into thought.  This can be your breath, sounds that you hear, the movement of your belly, or your heart-space.  Each time you notice yourself thinking, bring your attention back to your chosen anchor.

• Open to your experience:  Practice, be gentle, and just notice what you feel.  Be particularly mindful of intense emotion such as annoyance, excitement, anger, and resistance.  When you notice an emotion, breathe deep into the feeling and allow yourself to relax.

Start with 3 minutes.  As you become more comfortable, increase one minute at a time.

Remember:  our minds think, that is their job.  When you find yourself caught up in thought – be gentle with yourself.  Just calmly guide your attention back to your anchor. Try it today and tomorrow too.