Meditations for situations
You probably know all the benefits to meditation and yet somehow never find the time to do it. Not even for 10 minutes? Nope. I have to get the kids out of bed, feed the cat, catch up on my social media feed, spend time with my partner, binge that TV show, do the dishes and generally live life. Building a habit is difficult, but when the situation arises we all need that peaceful moment before we go out there and perform on the stage of life. So here’s a list of what I like to call my five favourite “situational” meditations that I like to do when I am in a particular “situation”
When you have that big presentation — Emily Fletcher’s performance meditation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPE0AehfGo)
Before that big meeting/presentation/game/art performance, just when you start feeling those nerves and worry about how the next few minutes/hours will determine something in your life, take a few minutes to breathe and pat yourself on the back. I have used this before all sorts of big and small presentations, including my PhD final seminar where I had bring together three years of hard work condensed into that one hour of talking.
When you are too anxious to function — Paul McKenna’s meditation for anxiety (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVInDGEq4Tw)
Anxiety is that uninvited guest that stays in our mind and always shows up at the doorstep when we least want it to. Paul McKenna’s soothing, hypnotic voice with the fancy british accent combined with the gesture of stroking your hands against your shoulders is a magical anti-anxiety cocktail.
When you can’t sleep — Joe T’s sleep meditations (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLs4IKoo9ByJ3IQS6u0pRRw)
Can’t sleep? Joe T’s hypnotic meditation series can play in the background while you happily drift off to sleep. There is a variety of them to choose from so I will let you decide for yourself which one you like the best.
When you are angry at yourself — Kristin Neff’s meditation for self-compassion (https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#guided-meditations)
Need a little self compassion? Kristin Neff is a researcher on self compassion and has a variety of self compassion exercises and meditations to offer. I like to take a little self compassion break every now and then when I am at work and find myself beingf too hard on myself.
When you have literally one minute — Mini meditation by Headspace (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEqZthCaMpo)
When it comes meditation for dummies and busies, Headspace has made their mark in making sure meditation reaches the masses. When you have literally one minute to spare and want to take that moment to catch a breath but don’t know how to, I love this quick breathing exercise to quickly ground myself and bring myself to the present moment.
Hope you find benefit in some of these techniques. Do you have any other short meditations that help you ground or feel calm?
