Guided meditation for the Mental Health Awareness Week
I have been struggling with anxiety for a number of years, or rather anxiety has been my faithful companion since my childhood days. I have to say, out of all the relationships in my life, this one has stuck out with me with surprising persistence. There are several topics it likes to discuss with me, the past and the future are at the top of the list. However, the meaning of life or the lack of thereof and a bunch of equally existentially disturbing queries are often right there.
I tried several remedies, philosophy schools, therapy approaches and even turned to the Lord of the Rings and Frodo’s victory over darkness for wisdom (the latter was a really low point in Covid, although it’s as valid a coping mechanism as any – whatever works). What helped me most, though, was my, now well established, meditation practice.
Therefore, for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, I prepared a guided practice that I hope will allow you to step out of your head and into the light for at least 20 minutes.
I decided to combine three meditation practices that I particularly enjoy and that help me stay grounded – a body scan, a sound meditation, and a relaxation breathing exercise.
As a sound artist, I appreciate the acoustic components of my environment and focusing on them is a very effective method for me to engage with the world around me as opposed to directing the attention beam inwards into the depth of my thinking soul.
If you have never thought about sound as the base to focus on while meditating – give it a go and see what you think! You might be surprised at what you discover.
Feel free to go straight to the part of the meditation you prefer. The fact that it lasts twenty minutes is no obligation to listen to the entire session. If you are new to meditation, even a couple of minutes will be beneficial to you.
Let’s leave the worries and stress aside and give ourselves permission to hold ourselves with kindness in this meditation.
*