why meditation isn’t the solution to your anxiety
audio: 14 minutes | read time: 3 minutes
disclaimer: This is not medical advice. This is intended to educate, inspire and support you in your self healing journey. Speak to your medical professional. Some content might be sensitive; I invite you to practice self-harmonizing.
“Sit there and be still” — says your meditation teacher.
You can feel your heart racing, your breath shallow, your foot thumping against the ground… all the while your thoughts spinning at lightening speed!
And there is a sinking feeling that you’re failing at this meditation thing…
You wonder; “Why can’t I do this?”, “Am I too anxious to meditate?”, “Why isn’t this working?”, “What’s wrong with me?”…
I’ve been there… even as an avid yogi I’d enter a yoga class and the first 10 minutes were “still and silent” meditation and I thought… “WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!”
But guess what… there’s nothing wrong with you! You’re NOT failing!
You are sitting most of the day, stagnant, still, and stressed — you need to move first, meditate second… not the other way around!
Plus, you’d never ask someone learning addition to do your trigonometry homework? NO, NEVER! So why are yoga teachers and somatic coaches offering advanced practices to novices?!
The 8 Limbs of Yoga talks about two distinct types of meditations; one with a point of focus and the more advanced one as being meditation without a point of focus.
Yet this advanced one is the one so many teachers are going around offering, sitting still, in silence, no thoughts, suspending in nothingness, nirvana, bliss…
In reality, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t intimately know anxiety.
Anxiety is a survival instinct, a mobilizing energy from the sympathetic nervous system to get you to fight back or flee the scene to save yourself!
This anxious energy manifests as restlessness, fidgety, flighty, scattered…this energy wants to move! Sitting still in silence is NOT the FIRST practice to heal anxiety.
You are sitting stagnant at your desk, on the couch, at the dinner table likely 12 hours per day… AND you’re stressed!
You need movement not stillness (to start).
Ok, let’s take a step back and look at then the first type of meditation — a meditation with a point of focus or concentration; in the 8 Limbs of Yoga it’s called Dharana.
This type of meditation is often be dynamic or moving. Moving your body, moving your thoughts, moving your awareness… on purpose.
It can be a breath meditation where you’re focusing on the breath, counting using your mind so it doesn’t wander.
It can be tapping/EFT meditation where you are focusing on connecting with different parts of your face and body, while saying statements and/or affirmations.
It can be a walking meditation…
A kundalini kriya…
A meditation orienting with and drinking a cup of tea…
There are infinite meditative practices that are probably suited to where you at in your anxiety and stress healing journey that’s BETTER for you here and now than sit still and be quiet.
Even now, 10 years into my meditation practice, I still prefer movement before any meditation.
Let’s look at the 8 Limbs of Yoga again, Asana or postures is the third limb… the intention is to move before meditation. To release tension in the bodymind so you can benefit from an anxiety and stress relieving meditation practice.
You’re not doing meditation wrong… you’ve just been given the wrong meditation practice or instructions for your current unique needs and desires.
Ready to be shown anxiety and stress healing practices that are actually right for you? Book a free no obligation 1:1 somatic coaching exploratory call.
infinite love,
Stephanie
