03:57

Stepping Out Of Overwhelm

by Ashlie Woods

Rated
4.6
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
29.2k

A brief practice, asking you to pause, drop out of your head and into your body, to help you quickly move out of overwhelming thoughts and into the present moment. Often times anxious thoughts start slowly and before we know it they have gained momentum and we find ourselves knee-deep in overwhelm. Slowing that train of worrisome thoughts down is key to finding peace and experiencing relief.

OverwhelmPausePresent MomentAnxietyPeaceReliefGroundingBreathingMindfulnessDeep BreathingMindfulness Of Present MomentAffirmationsPositive AffirmationsSlowing Down

Transcript

Pause.

Wherever you are,

Whatever is happening around you,

Just stop.

Put your feet on the ground.

In fact,

Make a couple of hard,

Firm stomps into the ground.

Just find a little rhythm and stomp your feet.

One,

Two,

One,

Two,

One,

Two,

With the intention of taking your awareness and your energy out of your head and the thoughts that are starting to gain momentum and into your body and into this present moment.

Continue to stomp,

Stomp,

Stomp in that rhythm until you feel yourself more fully in this moment.

And then take a couple of full,

Deep breaths in through the nose.

Let your belly fill,

Your chest expand,

And exhale deeply out the mouth.

Again,

In through the nose,

Deep,

Full breath and exhale audibly out of the mouth.

And then take a deep breath out of the mouth one more time.

Like that breath could release some energy,

Exhaling completely.

Overwhelm and anxiety is nothing but fearful thoughts about potential futures that continue on repeat until they gain some momentum.

One powerful and effective way to slow that train is to come into your body and into this moment.

What problem do you actually have right now,

Right here?

Perhaps there's something that you need to handle or something that needs to be dealt with,

But is it really a problem?

It's just something to tend to.

Watch your mind.

Don't let it get away from you.

Stay in your body by connecting to your breath.

The sensations of the world around you.

Slow down,

Literally slow down.

You don't have to go in such a hurry.

Walk slower,

Move slower,

And keep breathing.

It's all working out perfectly.

Take another deep breath and connect with how you most want to feel in this moment.

If you could trade your overwhelm or your anxiety for anything,

What would you take?

And put your attention there.

And in this moment,

You can take a deep breath.

And put your attention there.

And invite it in,

In whatever way you know how,

Taking that breath into your heart.

Maybe just offering up a little prayer.

May I be at peace.

May I be returned to power.

May I experience joy.

Repeat as necessary.

And just keep breathing.

Meet your Teacher

Ashlie WoodsDallas, TX, USA

4.6 (2 928)

Recent Reviews

Lisa

August 7, 2025

Very helpful guidance about getting into our bodies and out of our heads, and beautiful ending about inviting something in to take the place of overwhelm and anxiety. Thank you!

Brooke

November 16, 2024

I loved the question - what problems do you actually have right now? So powerful. Thank you.

Sarah

September 19, 2024

Wow Thank you I’m going to practise this regularly

Cody

January 16, 2024

Very calming breathing exercises, and reminders. Thank you! 😌🤙🏽

Tonia

December 22, 2023

That was lovely and very helpful on a tough and tense morning! Thank you!

Lorraine

October 30, 2023

Very good. Authentic and real. I love that you didn’t edit your dog out at the end . Made it even more relatable ❤️🐶

Melissa

September 8, 2023

I truly appreciate how you said, "find a rhythm." A good rhythm guitarist, an excellent drum player can make or break an interesting song or a stellar group! It will stick with me for time unknown, but in the moment! Much Gratitude...

Lisa

August 18, 2023

Very good reset, wise choice of words! Exactly what I needed.

Cheers

May 11, 2023

Great meditation to come back to your body and out of overwhelm indeed 🙏

Janelle

March 21, 2023

Short but practical, easy to remember techniques 🙏

Nancy

January 30, 2023

Great short first aid. Love the stomping feet. I will bookmark for when I feel I'm sending an SOS to the universe. Thanks.

Alissa

January 6, 2023

Great, to the point, a really effective short moment. And I love the bonus teacher at the end (I’m not going to spoil it 😁)!!

Anaí

November 29, 2022

I really like the incorporation of movement, especially the encouragement to find a rhythm -- it feels grounding and self-soothing.

Clive

November 24, 2022

Thank you Ashlie for this reassuring meditation, I will listen to it again. 🙏🏾☀️

Deborah

November 12, 2022

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Perfect for getting out of your head and into your body when your thoughts are racing 🙏🏻

Patty

October 27, 2022

Fantastic! The foot exercise is genius. I will revisit this. Thank you

Janelle

August 27, 2022

I love this message and meditation. What a wonderful reminder to slow down and breathe. Thank you 🙏💙

Jamieson

July 30, 2022

That was lovely and just what I needed to hear. Thank you and Namaste 🙏

Emma

April 7, 2022

I've done this one twice now and it's going to be put in a regular rotation for me. Very good at helping you focus on what's important right now.

Liddy

March 31, 2022

Oh thank you so much for doing this - I wish I’d seen this earlier. I appreciate you. Just what I needed and loved the new fresh perspective.

More from Ashlie Woods

Related Meditations

Related Teachers

© 2026 Ashlie Woods. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

How can we help?

Sleep better
Reduce stress or anxiety
Meditation
Spirituality
Something else