Published on Livestrong Blog on Mindfulness & Anxiety 4/26/11
Mindfulness & Anxiety
Mindfulness helps relieve anxiety in many ways. By following the breath we soon notice that thoughts just pop up, on their own. Thoughts are automatic in nature, and untrue. You could say that our mind has a mind of its own. It also teaches us that by doing nothing with the thought but simply by watching it, the thought will dissipate on its own in 30-90 seconds. Try it. This is so powerful.
On the flip side if we feed the thought with more negative thoughts of your own we can spiral into a whirring dervish of anxiety provoking thoughts. Since we of course don’t want to do that, with practice we can put out the negative anxiety producing thought by simply doing nothing but watching the thought dissolve in 30-90 seconds.
We can also practice using our mind as the powerful tool and ally that it is and think thoughts that make us feel good. We can choose to think thoughts like, “Things are good exactly as they are.” “I am perfect exactly as I am.” “I am beautiful exactly as I am.” “I am loved.” “I am okay.” “I am safe.” “Everything is all right .”
Also, did you ever notice that your mind can only do one thing at a time? So if you start to feel anxious and start to follow the breath you are no longer able to feed into anxious thoughts. Did you know you can only think one thought at a time?
Remember to breathe 3x, half smiling throughout the day several times every day. If you haven’t done this before, you just breathe normally — but you pay attention to breathing, or follow the breath. When you breathe, make sure you add half smiling for extra added benefits — simply pay attention to how it feels when the air is coming in to your nose as you inhale, and pay attention to how it feels when the air leaves your nose as you exhale. This simple exercise will help relax your body and mind.
How do I know this works? I used this exercise during my recovery from breast cancer. I still do today. Follow my blog at https://mindfulnesswalks.wordpress.com for more tips. I wish you peace. Cindi Silva Communication Coach|
follow me on twitter:
http://twitter.com/@zendi4peace
4 minutes ago via LIVESTRONG.COM ··
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Mindfulness Walks 