Grounding/mini meditations

[Lady Wolfshead]

Thought I would post something I am starting to do every day, that a therapist told me about which is short 1-3 minute "grounding" meditation sessions. I have always found meditation helpful but struggle to do it consistently, especially for extended periods.

Here's what the therapist said: just take a minute or two to detach from thought and focus on your feet on the ground, preferably standing on grass but any surface will do. You can also do it sitting but your feet should be flat on the ground. Focus on your feet and your connection to the Earth, then take a few deep breaths and focus on your breath going in and out as well as still paying attention to your connection with the Earth.

Bingo. Done. If you can do it for longer, great, but apparently even doing this for a minute can lower your stress, lower your blood pressure, and even decrease the stress hormone cortisol in your body. It's good to do it in the morning right after getting up because apparently your blood cortisol levels are higher at that time.

Other things that can decrease morning cortisol include looking at the sun (not directly of course) and having sun on your face for a second or two. Also immersing your face in cold water or just splashing cold water on your face. Also delaying your morning coffee until you've been up for an hour (coffee raises cortisol levels).

I mean, I know it would help me to meditate for longer but I find that challenging, since I am Type A person. But I've watched neurologists on Youtube talk about how meditation changes your brain and makes it more effective at mood regulation. Meanwhile I'm hoping every bit helps.

 

[LumberJack]

Meditation is about frequency, not duration. It’s better to do 3 minutes daily than to do one hour once a week. When I was learning meditation, I could only sit still for 1-2 minutes, but with practice I got up to 3, then 10, and so on. I’m now at about half an hour each day, and I feel like it definitely helps with regulation.

Through the practice of meditation I have been able to separate myself from my thoughts and feelings. I don’t have to believe everything I think, to quote a bumper sticker.

I’m still struggling with self regulation, but without meditation I would have been dead or in prison by now. It was the effect that drinking had on my meditation that started me to get sober.

I was having health problems due to my drinking, but even though dr said to quit, I figured she was just doing the CYA thing. Turns out she was right; drinking a pint of vodka every night is really bad for me. Duh. I would probably have not perceived that I was damaging myself without the conflict between my drinking and meditation practice.

 

[Livelife]

So nice that this thread is here, thank you Lady W,
I'd like to restart it again.

Here's one that involves a mantra with some breath work:

POSTURE: Lie on the back, fully relaxing the face and body, to the best of your ability.

EYE FOCUS: The eyes are closed.

MANTRA: I AM THE GRACE OF GOD ( can substitute any word you like if "god" doesn't work for you. ex...the world, the universe, nature...

Inhale deeply, hold the breath in while silently repeating the mantra 10 times. Tense the fingers one at a time to keep count if you like.

Exhale all the air out, hold it out and repeat the mantra 10 times.

Continue this process of repeating the mantra 10 times on each inhale and 10 times on each exhale, for a total of 5 inhalations and 5 exhalations. This totals 100 silent repetitions.

Stay quiet and relaxed with eyes closed for a few minutes afterward. If having low key low volume meditative music on in the background helps then by all means add it in.

 

[Livelife]