I find it really hard to sit down and do nothing.
My mind goes 100km/h with the things that I need to do.
Being pregnant has really tested this part of my personality. I have reached a point now where I can't do everything that I want and need to do. I have to now ask for people to help me or put things off until tomorrow when I have more energy.
I suffer from anxiety and have been medicated for this for a number of years. I was first medicated for depression. I truly believe exercise helped me overcome by depression. Although the depression has gone, the anxiety is still there. I get stressed easily and I panic if I am out of control.
I can't wait for the baby to be here but I also do feel anxious that looking after a new born baby, something I have never done before, is going to be quite stressful. I can feel the start of the anxiety attacks coming nearly everyday...
So I have been meditating. Something that I am trying to do every day. Something, that like most things in life, takes practice and patience. I am getting better. I am loving the 15 minutes each day where I can just sit, try to shut out the world and think of nothing more than my baby wiggling around in my tummy. It is our time together and a time that I feel the baby really enjoys; no noise, no stress, just calm.
I have downloaded an App on my phone called Headspace Take 10. It is a free App where you do 10 minutes of guided meditation every day for 10 days. The App just talks you through how to meditate. At the end of Take 10 you can purchase the Headspace App for more meditation tools and techniques.
I cannot recommend meditation more highly. I have only been doing this daily for the last three weeks and I think it is helping hugely with the anxiety I am experiencing.
Meditation isn't completely about stopping the mind from thinking but rather trying to stop the "chitter-chatter" of the mind by focusing on each breath. Think of meditation more as conscious breathing rather than trying to completely shut off the outside world.
From doing Headspace Take 10, the main things I try to practice when meditating are...
One.
Find a comfortable seat. You don't need to be sitting in the lotus position in a Zen garden to meditate. You could be on your sofa, at the kitchen table, even sitting behind the wheel of your car. Conscious breathing is easiest without distractions so picking somewhere that is comfortable is quite important.
Two.
Close you eyes and lengthen your breath. Breathe in for a count of six and visualise your lungs filling up with air and your chest expanding. Breathe out for a count of six and visualise your lungs empty and your chest descending. I count my breaths; inhale is count number one, exhale is count number two, and so on until you get to 10, then start back at number one.
Three.
Starting with your head and working down to your arms and feet, notice how you feel in your body. Taking in your head and neck, notice if you feel tense, relaxed, calm or anxious. See how much you can spread any sensations of softness and relaxation to areas of your body that feel tense. Once your reach your feet, work back up your body.
Four.
You will get distracted, your mind will wander to the sounds around you, you will start thinking about what you need buy at the supermarket, the deadline you have a work. It is natural for your brain to continue to think of things. Don't try and force your brain to stop, simply recognise when your mind has wandered and draw it back to your breathing.
You don't need to meditate for an hour, five minutes is a great start. We are all busy and telling yourself you are going to meditate for an hour when you know that you simply don't have the time is only going to see you putting your meditation to bottom of the to-do list.
There are numerous, proven scientific benefits of meditating which I am not going to go in to but I do want to outline the emotional benefits you may receive from taking 10 minutes everyday to practice meditating...
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
Happy breathing x
