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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! Welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. So today, we'll talk about how self-compassion eases anxiety and stress, soothes our nervous system, and calms our minds. So, some of us respond to anxiety when it arises with denial, we might try to push it away, or we might try to fight with it. Sometimes we might be frustrated, ashamed, or angry with it. And while there's nothing wrong with any of these emotions, they do have a tendency to intensify our difficult feelings, rev up our nervous system and pull us into reactivity and struggle.
So, what would happen if instead of fearing anxiety or fighting with it, we met it with kindness and compassion? What if we approached it with an open heart? So, although that might sound a little counterintuitive to open your heart to anxiety, it's actually a powerful way to regulate our emotions and finding a calm. So, according to professor Paul Gilbert, we have three types of emotional regulation systems. We've got the threat system, the drive system and what he calls, the soothing system. So, the threat system focuses on self-protection. It's our fight or flight response.
The drive system is reward-focused. It's involved in wanting, striving, achieving, and consuming. It's what helped our ancestors go and find food and make shelters and tools. The soothing system focuses on bonding and connection. It involves caring, kindness, and play.
In the soothing system, we feel more safe, relaxed, content, and connected. Now, when we're experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, we often get stuck in our threat system. And when that happens, we can start to feel frantic, revved up, reactive and unhappy. And if we're responding to that anxiety with anger, shame, fear, and struggle, we just get more stuck there. But if we can bring compassion and kindness to what's happening, we switch on our soothing system and we start to surround our anxiety with care, kindness, and soothing.
So when we switch that soothing system on, our brain also releases oxytocin, so we get this squirt of hormone that makes us feel connected, calm, and happy. So oxytocin is often called the cuddle hormone because of that sense of love and connection that it brings. It makes us feel safe. So by practicing self-compassion and kindness, what happens is we stop getting caught in that vicious cycle. We soothe our nervous system and bring kindness to ourselves when we need it the most.
So in today's meditation, we're going to practice in this way — bringing loving kindness to our feelings, to ourselves and to whatever arises.
The Power of Self-Compassion
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi! Welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. So today, we'll talk about how self-compassion eases anxiety and stress, soothes our nervous system, and calms our minds. So, some of us respond to anxiety when it arises with denial, we might try to push it away, or we might try to fight with it. Sometimes we might be frustrated, ashamed, or angry with it. And while there's nothing wrong with any of these emotions, they do have a tendency to intensify our difficult feelings, rev up our nervous system and pull us into reactivity and struggle.
So, what would happen if instead of fearing anxiety or fighting with it, we met it with kindness and compassion? What if we approached it with an open heart? So, although that might sound a little counterintuitive to open your heart to anxiety, it's actually a powerful way to regulate our emotions and finding a calm. So, according to professor Paul Gilbert, we have three types of emotional regulation systems. We've got the threat system, the drive system and what he calls, the soothing system. So, the threat system focuses on self-protection. It's our fight or flight response.
The drive system is reward-focused. It's involved in wanting, striving, achieving, and consuming. It's what helped our ancestors go and find food and make shelters and tools. The soothing system focuses on bonding and connection. It involves caring, kindness, and play.
In the soothing system, we feel more safe, relaxed, content, and connected. Now, when we're experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, we often get stuck in our threat system. And when that happens, we can start to feel frantic, revved up, reactive and unhappy. And if we're responding to that anxiety with anger, shame, fear, and struggle, we just get more stuck there. But if we can bring compassion and kindness to what's happening, we switch on our soothing system and we start to surround our anxiety with care, kindness, and soothing.
So when we switch that soothing system on, our brain also releases oxytocin, so we get this squirt of hormone that makes us feel connected, calm, and happy. So oxytocin is often called the cuddle hormone because of that sense of love and connection that it brings. It makes us feel safe. So by practicing self-compassion and kindness, what happens is we stop getting caught in that vicious cycle. We soothe our nervous system and bring kindness to ourselves when we need it the most.
So in today's meditation, we're going to practice in this way — bringing loving kindness to our feelings, to ourselves and to whatever arises.
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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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