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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.
Today we're going to talk about how we
can use a practice called attend and
befriend in times of fear or stress?
Now, lately, around the world,
most of us have been living with
a lot of uncertainty, and a pretty
big chunk of difficulty, too.
And for many of us, all that
uncertainty and kind of difficulty
translates to feelings of
anxiety, stress, and overwhelm.
Really what we're talking about here
is a lot of fear because stress and
anxiety are really code words for fear.
And fear is a powerful, psychological
and physiological response.
Our brains primary response
to fear is what we often
call fight or flight response.
And here's the thing, when that fight
or flight response is activated in our
brain, fear can actually take over.
It can hijack other areas of
the brain, making it really
difficult for us to be at our best.
When fear takes over, we become
emotionally reactive rather than rational.
We find it difficult to think clearly.
We often lose sight of the big
picture and problem solving for
the future becomes difficult.
So how can we self-regulate
in situations like this?
One way to bring those smart parts of
the brain back online and to soothe our
nervous system and regulate our emotions
is through this practice of attending to
and befriending our difficult emotions.
So let's give this a try together.
Now, just take a moment and think about
how fear, you might call it, stress or
anxiety have shown up in your life lately.
Just bringing that to mind.
And now just notice
where your mind has gone.
What kind of thoughts are arising?
And just noticing are these
thoughts, ones that have been
maybe coming up a lot lately.
And as these thoughts arise, just
noticing too, what emotions start to
rise up in response to those thoughts.
So just tuning into and actually
feeling those emotions for a moment.
So just noticing them attending to them.
And this is the first step to the
practice, to shift your attention out
of the thoughts and into the body,
into what you're actually feeling.
So if you could name this
feeling, what would you call it?
Is it sadness?
Is it stress?
Is it anxiety?
And just mentally now naming the emotion.
So you might be mentally saying to
yourself, Aah, I'm feeling anxiety.
Or, Ahh, I'm feeling stressed.
And the befriending part involves
the attitude to which we want
to attend to this feeling.
We want to attend to it with
compassion and kindness.
So can you bring the same attitude towards
your distress or pain that you might
bring to a loved one who was hurting?
So just attending to the feelings in
your body with a sense of kindness,
a sense of befriending it, rather
than rejecting it or pushing it away.
So when we attend and befriend like
this, we soothe our nervous system,
unhook ourselves from the fear
response and can become calm and
clear-headed in the middle of it all.
So just knowing that you can remember
this practice in times of fear or stress.
You can attend and befriend.
So as always, thank you for your
practice and your presence here with us.
I hope this practice is a great
support to you in the days to come.
And now let's settle in
for today's meditation.
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Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
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