This is a guided meditation to bring you relief from overthinking.
If you feel like you have been stuck in your own mind thinking about the same things over and over,
This mindfulness meditation will help you calm your mind and make you more aware of the present moment and the world around you.
At the conclusion of this meditation,
You will feel a sense of calmness and awareness that will make you feel a lot more comfortable.
This session will help you calm your mind and any internal mental chatter that might be causing you anxiety or worry.
By embarking on this practice,
You will find a new way to bring your mind,
Body and spirit new levels of peace.
Perhaps you even feel like your mind is playing back life events to you repeatedly and you just want to be able to take a break from that.
When this happens,
It can feel like you are trapped in a never-ending spiral of mental chatter that can have a damaging impact on your mental health and how you interact with other people and the world around you.
Just remember,
Having these kind of thoughts is perfectly normal and perhaps could be more common than you think.
They can,
However,
Be treated through mindfulness and meditation practice,
Which is what we are going to take you through today.
Over the next short period of time,
We will go through the very simple methods and techniques we can use to help train your conscious mind to move away from overthinking and repetitive thoughts and move towards a more productive and confident mindset.
Are you ready?
Ok,
Then we will begin.
Start by making sure you are in a comfortable position where you can listen and take in this meditation.
It could be sat on a chair,
Lay down on a couch or sat up in bed.
It is entirely up to you,
As long as your posture and your body feel comfortable.
Once you feel comfortable,
Start taking in deep breaths.
Take as long as you need to get comfortable in your sitting position or laying down.
Once you feel ready,
Gently allow your eyes to close.
Now that you have done this,
Bring your attention to your breath.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest with each in and out breath.
Also notice your lower stomach doing the same with each breath.
Become aware of how your ribs move with each breath.
Feel how they contract every time you exhale.
For now,
Just breathe normally.
There is no need to hold your breath or breathe deeply,
Just notice how it feels to breathe.
Feel each breath as the air comes in and then leaves your body.
Notice the temperature of your body.
Some parts of you might feel warm and others cold.
Feel the differences in the temperature around your body.
Feel the sensations of the temperature in your hands and fingers.
Register in your mind how they feel.
Now move down to your feet and toes and do the same.
Feel the temperature,
Notice how it feels and how that relates to the rest of your body.
Notice any sensations you may have through your arms or your legs.
Also,
Notice how the center of your body feels.
For now,
Just become aware of the sensations throughout your body.
Feel how the temperature in one part of your body might relate to the temperature in another part.
Register how this all feels in your mind.
Remember these are sensations that may change throughout the course of this meditation.
Also remember that any changes that may occur are perfectly normal for any resting body.
Now,
Start to notice any small or subtle movements your resting body might be making.
Notice any parts of your body that may feel more relaxed than others.
If you feel any tension or tightness somewhere in your body,
Focus on that for a moment.
We will not force these areas of your body to relax.
This is something that has to be done gradually.
With that in mind,
Note the areas of your body that feel tense and accept the way they feel.
Now,
Start to do the same around your entire body.
Notice the areas that are relaxed and tense and accept that that's the way they feel.
By doing this,
You will also notice that the tense areas of your body will start to relax as this meditation goes on.
Note how your body feels as each moment passes.
Time is still unfolding at its normal pace,
But you will,
For the first time,
Start to feel like everything is slowing down.
Accept this feeling.
There is no need to rush.
You have no place you need to be or anything you need to be doing in this moment.
Simply allow the feeling of time slowing down to gently wash over you.
This time is for you and you alone.
With each passing moment,
You are learning more about yourself and your reactions.
Think about how you feel during this moment of calmness.
Register that it is perfectly ok to be still and observant in this present moment.
Appreciate that you are becoming more fixed in the current moment.
You are firmly planted in the here and now as you focus on your breathing.
If any thoughts or mental chatter come to mind at this moment,
That's ok.
Take a moment to observe these thoughts and gently push them away.
When you do,
Bring your awareness back to your breathing.
By doing this,
You are telling your mind that you want to stay in this present moment so you can fully focus on your body and your conscious mind.
If you like,
You can now start slowing down your breathing.
It's entirely up to you if you want to do this,
But you must make sure that you still remain comfortable with your breath.
Simply allow your inhalations and exhalations to become slightly longer.
Notice how this change in breathing affects your body.
Notice how it feels for your conscious mind to take control of your breathing.
As you do,
Notice how pleasant this can feel.
Become increasingly aware of how your body naturally responds to this simple change in thought process.
Understand that,
By doing this,
You are not wasting your thoughts,
You are not wasting energy or time,
You are simply thinking naturally and taking the opportunity to slow down.
You have the right to slow your mind and body down.
Notice how your breathing is slowing down effortlessly.
With each breath you take,
You are expanding your awareness to new levels.
Once again,
You might become aware of thoughts that arise.
Notice if you are making internal judgements on how this experience is going.
Your mind might be trying to fight back against this process.
Don't allow it to penetrate your conscious thought.
Simply observe and register the thoughts and allow them to float by.
If you start to feel bored or distracted,
Again simply observe those thoughts and emotions and allow them to slip by.
Thinking is a temporary thing.
With your conscious mind you can allow those thoughts to drift away.
When you do,
Bring your focus back to your breathing and how your body feels.
By doing this,
You are keeping yourself in the present moment.
You are allowing yourself to have this space outside the judging nature of the mind.
In this moment you are simply being.
You are simply breathing.
Your thoughts are creations of your mind and in the same way your calm and observant mind can help them naturally drift away.
Remember that you can't change your thoughts and how often they arise.
By simply acknowledging them,
You are giving your mind the space needed to allow them to drift and fade away.
By giving up that level of control over your thoughts,
You are actually giving your conscious mind more control over what is important and what is not.
If you experience a thought,
You find unpleasant or particularly intrusive,
Remember that thoughts are simply thoughts.
They do not define who you are as a person or how you are processing the current moment.
Simply observe the thought and allow it to pass.
Bring your focus to your breath and how your body feels.
Witness the thoughts come and go.
When you bring your awareness each time back to your body and your breath,
Notice that they haven't been able to affect your level of comfort.
You are still relaxed and still able to come back to the current moment.
With each return to the breath,
You will notice how it is becoming easier and easier to come back to mindfulness.
Notice how it feels when each thought becomes easier and easier to observe.
Notice how they can drift by smoothly within seconds.
Bring your awareness back to your breath as you breathe in and out.
Inhale and then exhale.
Notice how your body feels with each breath you make.
Expand your awareness and notice the smaller senses through your body with each breath you take.
Notice how cool the air feels as it passes through your nose on your in-breath.
Then feel how warm the air feels as it passes out of your airways in the exhalation.
By noticing this,
You are reaching a new level of mindfulness.
With each breath,
You are becoming more and more observant.
Observe how each breath feels.
Simply by doing this practice,
You have reached a new level of mindfulness.
By focusing on your breath,
You have learned how to observe your thoughts and not to allow them to control your mind.
You have reached a new level of calmness and relaxation simply by keeping yourself in the current moment.
This is a practice that you can do at any time throughout your day-to-day life.
Whenever you feel these thoughts coming in the future,
Simply observe them,
Allow them to pass and bring attention to your breathing and your body.
Remember that you are always more than your thoughts.
You are always more than your mental reactions to thoughts.
By using mindfulness,
You can give yourself the freedom from your thoughts you need and allow yourself to be present and to observe the world around you.
Now,
You can either stay in this mindful moment for longer or you can even allow yourself to fall asleep.
It's entirely your choice what you do next.
However,
If you like,
You can now start to bring yourself out of this meditation.
Simply,
Wiggle your toes and your fingers,
Stretch and then open your eyes.
As you do,
Notice how you take in your surroundings and appreciate how your mind has been given this respite from overthinking.
Remember,
You can always come back to this feeling simply by focusing on your breathing.
