So the other night I was looking into meditation and basically mind clearing activities. I tend to be very twitchy and tense with my anxiety problems, and I was hoping that learning these skills might help me relax and possibly help control a panic attack. Does anyone here meditate or do those types of relaxation activities? If so, do they actually work and do you have any tips for beginners?
Basics of basics. Sit down, relax, breath in, breath out, visualise the air moving from your nose to your lungs, and then from your lungs to your nose... Once you start feeling good, imagine yourself being just part of the world around. As if your body was just part of the decor, imagine it doesn't exist. It's great to begin with, and you'll feel so "Damn" afterwards that you'll want to do it again.
Preach!!! What I do to meditate.. a trick I picked up from a coven on you is the apple meditation. Where you only imagine an apple of anything else comes into your mind at that time push it out and go back to the apple or your favorite fruit. My favorite way to relax or even when I try and astral travel. I think of my bathtub. I only take baths ( I'm a little kid I know ) so I just imagine warm water covering my body and the sound of water.
It helps to do it daily for however long you think is necessary. I stopped meditating to be honest and I'm taking time to dig deeper with myself and what I really want before I start want meditating and connecting with my guides... although they probs already know what I want. I made some typos A youtuber that I follow and get most of my advice from and understandings is teal swan. She's so pretty and her laugh is so Adorbs XD..check her out or check out infinite waters on YouTube
Meditation is great. Sometimes, music/sounds help for some people. This site is good, I think. calm.com I use it for my anxiety quite a bit. It also has a meditation program that you can tailor to your needs. About 10-20 min, about once a day, should help you a lot with anxiety. As others have said above - sit down, breathe slowly, but not too slow or else you'll run out of oxygen. Think peaceful, calm thoughts, not racing or worrysome thoughts. Another breathing exercise is this one: Imagine a square. (Beginning at the bottom left corner and going up). Inhale for two seconds. Hold for two seconds. Exhale for two seconds. Hold for two seconds. Repeat. Depending on your lung capacity and stuff you may want to increase the amount of time three or four per side. All the best. <3
I do 15 minutes of meditation every morning when I wake up. I chant mantras while doing it, but that is something I incorporated. The basic thing you can do is, sit on the ground. Meditation is done best there. Close your eyes. Keep your arms firm on your kneecaps or in your lap. Try not to move them at all. Concentrate on one thing. I like to imagine a red dot in the middle of a black space. I concentrate on the dot only. Before finishing I like to do pranayama. It's where you close one nostril, inhale with a deep breath and then exhale through the other nostril with force. It's important you to take a big, deep breath. I do this three times before I finish. Then rub your hands together, like you want to get warm and place them over your eyes. Don't rub your eyes, let the heat on your hands warm your eyes. Then open your eyes slow and get up. I sit on the ground facing east, because I do suryanamaskars (Praying to the Sun) after meditation, but you can sit wherever and however you like. I do it for religious reasons, so I have some rules I follow. You don't have to follow anything you don't want to.
I'm not very good at it, but I've managed to meditate sometimes. I usually try to imagine another world, usually a forest or someplace underwater. From there, I let my imagination do whatever it wants. I'll visualize all sorts of things, but I won't think too hard about it. For me, it works best if it's completely quiet, I'm in good health, and I've gotten a good night's sleep.
If you can do it everyday, your life will most likely change. Yet, if you can't because of anxiety and all, try to do it as often as possible. I know that BuzzFeed can be pretty lame, but this one video is great. (Following people who meditated everyday for 60 days.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HykQj9zLA7g
I made my first real attempt at meditation today and it was great! Thanks for the advice, everyone! I felt so calm and peaceful afterwards. This is definetely something I plan to do daily.
I've tried meditating a few times, and it's always felt forced and ineffectual. Based on some things I've read, it seems ideal to do it in a clean and quiet space. Music can also be used so long as it is calm/healing. I've gotten into semi-trances by listening to certain types of music. Shpongle's 'Divine Moments of Truth', Ozric Tentacle's 'Saucers', The Blessed Blend's album 'Whispers of the Trees' (Native American and Celtic fusion). Binaural beats, music made from a didgeridoo or other ethnic instruments, Orthodox/Gregorian chants, Zen Shakuhachi, etc. These above examples have all managed to send me into semi-trances, some trances being quite powerful. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to a point where the trances last for prolonged periods.
wonder if I should try this when I go to bed , as that's the most time I'm anxious about things... and usually when the house is quiet
Love it! Nothing makes me feel as peaceful or calm. Just wish I could do more of it though!! I like to imagine a dark pond with a fishing rod in it that is still. Thoughts are like fishes that grab on to the hook of your fishing rod, but you willingly unhook them and they sink away leaving just a still pond and the fishing rod. That is the mind clearing technique I use haha! Nice to read through other peoples on here
Is transcendental the one where you make noises...not sure my neighbours would appreciate that! Meditation is something I've tried at several points. I can never get comfy though, and when I do I end up falling asleep and then waking up groggy! For me the only guaranteed relaxation is a bath, although this is expensive and not very ecological! I have managed to do self-hypnosis on two occasions which was absolutely amazing (like the body had just turned off and your mind was in some other place), but I think those were flukes. I'd love to be able to just reach that state easily.
Some people recommend the doing meditation, clearing your head before going to bed is quite beneficial as it relaxes your body and mind allowing you to have better sleep. There are no defined rules for meditation. So I'd encourage you to try it if you want to do so before going to bed at night.
I used to meditate .. until one day I could've sworn while doing so I saw this "indigo" light flashing on and off .. and every time it'd reveal itself it grew bigger and bigger .. and then I felt this pressure on my eyeballs and one of my friends said I may be an "indigo child" whatever that is, so I never did it again b/c it freaked me out. But when I did do it, I did it with the most relaxing music and nature sounds. Thunderstorms, rain, birds chirping, crashing waves, waterfalls, and dolphin noises. This always relaxes me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgGYp41bGx8
If you are a beginner - then "guided meditation" is good. You basically follow someone's voice/ instructions. It helps stop your mind wandering off and teaches you techniques. I bet YouTube has many if you search "guided meditation"
I have an app on my mobile called Breathe and I use it to calm my nerves or when I'm overthinking and get anxious about a lot of things. It helps me get back on track and focus on what I need to do rather than panic and stress over it. The app requires you to input how you're feeling so that it can suggest the best guided meditation session for you. Here's the webpage: Stop, Breathe, & Think