Mindfulness.com
Meditation
See all Meditation

Browse

Top articles

How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

Mindful LivingSleep
CommunityFor Work

00:00

00:00

Melli O'Brien

4.7

Duration

Scan the following QR code with your camera app to open it on your phone

When You Get Triggered, S.T.O.P

Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:

Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.

Today I'm going to offer you

a very simple mindfulness

micro-practice, the STOP method.

So this, this was developed

by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and it's a

wonderful mindfulness practice to

use when we're feeling reactive,

stressed, or triggered in any way.

So it's really simple.

So STOP, it's an acronym.

S stands for stop.

So physically becoming still.

T stands for take a deep breath.

And something that's very, very

useful to do when we become triggered,

because it helps us to calm our nervous

system and become present again.

O stands for observe.

So observe your body and emotions.

Be present with them and observe them

and by doing so, we take a step back from

them instead of being taken over by them.

And P stands for proceed

with awareness and kindness.

So often when we're triggered, we want

to react, we want to lash out, but

here we set an intention to continue

with whatever we're doing from a place

of awareness instead of reactivity.

So I want to give you an opportunity to

kind of just try this right now with me.

So perhaps bring into mind right now,

if you care to, um, the last time you

felt really triggered, really reactive.

And just noticing as you remember this,

what it feels like in your body to have

that surge of reactivity or triggeredness.

Okay.

So now with this in mind,

just S stands for stop.

So just pausing where you are and just

becoming still and settled for a moment.

And then take a deep breath in, and out.

And as you breathe out, perhaps

allowing a little bit of tension to

release from the body on the exhale.

Just seeing how that feels.

And then O stands for observe.

So just noticing what's happening

in your body, in your emotions,

in your thoughts right now, and

just being present with them.

So noticing what's here as a way

of stepping back from the emotion,

stepping back from the thoughts.

And then P, just proceed

with awareness and kindness.

So the invitation for today and

for the days to come, whenever

it's useful, is to be attentive.

And if you start to feel triggered

or reactive in some way, when

you do just remembering to stop.

So that you can just take a moment to send

to yourself, become present, and then you

can respond instead of react, and bring

more awareness and kindness into the

moments where you often need it the most.

And my wish is that this practice

is a source of greater connection,

peace and ease in your life.

And as always thank you for your practice

and being a person who's doing this

work, working towards bringing more

wisdom and wellbeing into the world.

And as you care to, just beginning

to settle in for today's meditation.

Get Unlimited Access

Start your mindfulness journey today.

A Mindfulness Plus+ subscription gives you unlimited access to a world of premium mindfulness content.

  • Over 1,800 meditations, sleep, calm music, naturescapes and more
  • Daily mindfulness video meditations 365 days a year
  • 100s of courses and tools to help manage anxiety, sleep and stress

Get started today

Start your 7-day free trial
Or sign up with

Email Missing

We couldn’t detect your email with the SSO provider you have selected.
or

Mindfulness Guarantee

We are here to make a positive impact on the world. We never want to sell you something that hasn’t helped you live a better life. That’s why if you’re unhappy with any purchase from us, you have 30 days to get a full refund and your money back.

If you subscribed to Mindfulness Plus+ and are unhappy with your purchase, please get in contact with us within the 30-day period and we’ll refund your purchase.


Learn more about our Mindfulness Guarantee.

Mindfulness

Bring balance into your everyday life.

We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.

  • 2,000+ Guided Meditations
  • Daily Coaching
  • Sleep Content
  • Mindful Exercises
  • Mindful Radio
  • 10+ Courses from world-class teachers

Private Browsing

Added to your cart!

Checkout

Claim your free access

Create a mindfulness account and we’ll unlock this premium session in your account forever.

or continue with
By continuing, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Do you already have an account?

Start a free trial to play this session

7-Days free trial, cancel anytime.

Finish personalizing your account

Complete a few quick questions to make your own personalized mindfulness plan.