How meditation can help with anxiety

Meditation and a spiritual life helped saved me from a life anxiety. A life of fear-based and negative thinking, feeling constantly on edge and often scared, having a lack of confidence and low self-esteem, not being able to talk sometimes, over-analysing and 'what-if' thinking, shying away from social situations (or choosing to numb my feelings with drink and drugs), heart palpitations, feeling dizzy, low energy and tired all the time, not eating properly and a general feeling of dread upon waking each day. 

I discovered meditation about 20 years ago. There were not many meditation groups around and it was probably a bit 'hippy' but I needed some peace and calm in my mind as it had reached a peak and I was living a very hectic and busy life in London. I needed to connect with some stillness. I started to meditate on my own lying down on the floor with a book called The Little Book of Calm. When I moved to Portsmouth in 2000, I discovered a beautiful meditation group at The Quiet Mind Centre, which is no longer sadly there and I really started to learn. "Everything is perfect as it is", "Everything happens for a reason" and "We are all one" were 3 of the many spiritual sayings that I chose to live by and when I felt this connection, I no longer felt so alone and my healing begun.

20 years on and I am still learning and growing and I 'meditate' not only sat on my bed in quiet (which is sometimes a bit tricky in my noisy household!) but when I am working with clients, when I am cooking, when I am writing, when I am in nature. Meditation is about connecting with the stillness and I try to connect with it at many points in my day. And the reason I do this, is because it is that stillness which heals us. That stillness, that quiet place, that inner peace is an escape from the chaos of everyday life. It is like a sanctuary you can retreat to and the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you can feel it through out your every day life. 

Meditation slows the nervous system right down, it calms the mind, it slows down the thoughts, it helps you think more clearly and more positively, it physically slows the body down and helps you to breathe properly so no palpitations, it grounds you so no dizziness, it balances all the systems so you have a healthy appetite and enjoy food, it makes you feel happy so you want to be with people and your happiness will bounce onto them too, you feel excited about life, you feel connected to something more so you don't feel alone. 

The thought of meditating, when you have anxiety, can put many people off. I, for one, did not want to sit down and be with my thoughts, I felt way too ungrounded for that. That is why I have made my meditation guidance more of a treatment. So you can come to a safe place, feel super relaxed on a warm couch with relaxing music playing and just lie down and let me do the work first. Let me show you the quiet space by guiding you gently into relaxation, then a meditation. Once you feel this stillness, you will want to know how to start doing it yourself, so I will show you a very short meditation to do at home. And if you like it, we meet again and we do the same, but with some different words to show you a different aspect of how it can help you. The course is 4 parts - Body, Mind, Heart and Soul as these are the areas, I believe, are really given a boost with meditation.

So, if you feel interested, if you are suffering with anxiety or have any other stress-related, busy-mind symptoms, why not give it a try. Meditation heals. Naturally. And I would be honoured to show you this and help with your journey of healing.