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Enter Your Mind
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00:00:00 Hello listeners
00:01:59 BELLY BREATHING
00:07:38 THE 5-4-3-2-1 GROUNDING TECHNIQUE
00:13:09 HAVE A MANTRA
00:18:41 SCAN YOUR BODY
00:26:58 LAUGHTER MEDITATION
00:31:43 LOVING-KINDNESS MEDITATION
• Easy, everyday lifestyle changes can make a big difference with anxiety and overthinking. An obvious area to examine is whether you’re having too much caffeine. Try to limit yourself to four hundred milligrams daily.
• Everyone worries, so at least do it strategically by scheduling worry time. Keep a worry journal so that instead of fighting worry, you postpone and contain it, tackling it on your own terms.
• Practice gratitude daily to gently shift your perspective to focus on everything that is going well in your world. Use a journal or write thank-you notes to people who have shown you kindness.
• Mental anchoring is a technique that, once established, can be used as often as you like to help ground and calm you. Choose an anchor, choose a desired state, then connect the two during visualization so that revisiting the anchor brings you back to that state of mind.
• Have a consistent morning routine where you focus on good food, nature, healthy habits, and quiet contemplative time where you set your intention for the day. Make sure you’re hydrated, since dehydration can elevate cortisol levels.
Transcript
Hello listeners, today is Monday, April 22nd, 2024, and welcome back to The Path to Calm.
Speaker:Remember our motto is Stop Over Thinking, Become Present, Find Peace.
Speaker:Are you feeling bombarded by worries and anxieties?
Speaker:Does your mind seem to be on a constant loop?
Speaker:Today's episode dives deep into practical strategies from the book Anxiety is the Enemy by Nick Trenton
Speaker:to help you silence the inner critic and cultivate lasting calm.
Speaker:Nick Trenton is a renowned author on anxiety, and his book offers a wealth of tools and
Speaker:techniques you can start using today.
Speaker:If you'd like to learn more about Nick and his work, check out the resources section
Speaker:on his website at bit.ly-slash-nick-trenton.
Speaker:Are you ready to embark on this journey towards inner peace?
Speaker:Let's begin!
Speaker:No book on stress management and anxiety reduction would be complete without a section
Speaker:on meditation and mindfulness.
Speaker:In fact, meditation is rightly considered one of the best and most effective ways to
Speaker:regulate your stress response and access a more tranquil and controlled state of mind.
Speaker:However, don't worry if you've never really enjoyed formal meditation or feel like you
Speaker:may lack the time or wherewithal.
Speaker:The mindfulness techniques discussed in this chapter are easy and accessible and can be
Speaker:done anywhere, anytime, with very little practice.
Speaker:The great thing about them is how easily they can be combined with other strategies covered
Speaker:in this book.
Speaker:14.
Speaker:Belly Breathing
Speaker:One excellent technique to start with is a deceptively simple one, belly breathing,
Speaker:also known as diaphragmatic breathing.
Speaker:Instead of breathing from the chest, belly breathing is about deeper, fuller breaths
Speaker:that originate from the diaphragm, which is a large, dome-shaped muscle in your abdomen.
Speaker:When you breathe in, the diaphragm tightens and moves down, creating more space in your
Speaker:lungs that draws air in.
Speaker:When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes, and this contracts the lungs, expelling air out.
Speaker:This type of breathing encourages full oxygen exchange, which in turn slows the heartbeat
Speaker:and lowers blood pressure.
Speaker:All of this spells more relaxation of your entire body, less physiological arousal, and
Speaker:a more balanced stress response.
Speaker:The next time you're feeling ultra-stressed, pause and notice what your breath is doing.
Speaker:Often, we breathe incorrectly without even knowing we're doing it.
Speaker:Anxious breathing tends to be shallow and rapid.
Speaker:It's part of our fight-or-flight response.
Speaker:Even though we were all born with the knowledge of how to breathe deeply, watch how a baby
Speaker:breathes.
Speaker:We can learn bad habits as we grow up in favor of smaller, tighter chest breathing, but if
Speaker:we relearn this skill, we give ourselves a tool to quickly relax our bodies via our breath.
Speaker:By slowing our breath, we slow our thoughts and bring ourselves into a more relaxed frame
Speaker:of mind.
Speaker:So, how do you do belly breathing?
Speaker:Thankfully, it's something anyone can learn to do, and it can be done anywhere, anytime.
Speaker:1.
Speaker:Find a comfortable spot to sit or lie down, checking to see that you're not slouching
Speaker:or holding tension in your muscles.
Speaker:2.
Speaker:Close your eyes, or if you're more practiced, keep them softly gazing in the middle distance.
Speaker:3.
Speaker:Put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
Speaker:4.
Speaker:Breathe normally and notice the movement of your hands with your body.
Speaker:Try to breathe deeply so that the hand on your belly is moving up and down more than
Speaker:the hand on your chest.
Speaker:5.
Speaker:Take more deep breaths, focusing on keeping the breath in your belly.
Speaker:Breathe in through your nose and imagine you're blowing yourself up like a balloon.
Speaker:Inhale slowly through the mouth, almost like you're whistling, but without sound.
Speaker:And that's it.
Speaker:When we're deeply relaxed, we tend to breathe like this anyway, but if we can pause during
Speaker:stressful moments and train ourselves to breathe like this on purpose, we encourage
Speaker:ourselves to relax and slow down.
Speaker:Shallow chest breathing is unfortunately the norm, but it is associated with tension,
Speaker:both muscular and psychological.
Speaker:Practice shallow quick breathing at the top of your lungs for a minute or so, and then
Speaker:notice what emotions you feel afterward.
Speaker:Belly breathing is a wonderful thing to do first thing in the morning, almost as though
Speaker:you're waking up your lungs and filling every cell in your body with fresh, clean air.
Speaker:As you breathe, you could even use visualization to imagine that you're exhaling stress and
Speaker:worry and inhaling peace, calm and happiness.
Speaker:We'll look at visualization techniques in more detail later on.
Speaker:A 2017 paper published in Frontiers in Psychology by Zhe'alma and colleagues found that belly
Speaker:breathing triggers the body's natural relaxation response, which then has positive benefits
Speaker:on the psychological experience of stress.
Speaker:The researchers took 40 participants and randomly assigned them either to a control
Speaker:group or a group that completed a belly breathing intervention.
Speaker:This intervention included 20 intensive breathing training sessions over 8 weeks.
Speaker:These participants learned to breathe at an average rate of around 4 breaths per minute.
Speaker:All 40 participants completed tests for attention, mood, and cortisol levels both before the
Speaker:8-week period and after.
Speaker:The results showed that the intervention group had better moods, better attention, and lower
Speaker:salivary cortisol levels, suggesting they were less stressed overall.
Speaker:If these participants could achieve all that in just 8 weeks, what could you do if you had
Speaker:the rest of your life to master deep belly breathing?
Speaker:Now, as with all mindfulness techniques, not every approach is going to work for everyone.
Speaker:For some, focusing so closely on the breath can actually exacerbate anxious feelings.
Speaker:If you notice yourself feeling awkward, panting, holding your breath, or getting worried about
Speaker:whether you're doing it right, pause and come back to the exercise later.
Speaker:It doesn't mean that breathing exercises are not right for you, it just means that something
Speaker:else might work better.
Speaker:For example, yoga breathing.
Speaker:You could also use an app to help guide your breathing practice or even seek out the help
Speaker:of a therapist.
Speaker:It may work for you to pair breathing exercises with another relaxation technique like guided
Speaker:imagery, chanting, or singing, or something like Tai Chi.
Speaker:That said, it's worth noting that diaphragmatic breathing may feel strange at first, so don't
Speaker:worry if it takes a little while to become familiar with it.
Speaker:15.
Speaker:The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
Speaker:Anxiety has a funny way of fueling itself.
Speaker:We can get caught in loops, and a negative thought or sensation when focused on seems
Speaker:to grow larger and larger, and soon we're panicking about how much we're panicking.
Speaker:This is in effect what happens in a panic attack.
Speaker:Isn't it strange how a person can be in the grips of the most terrifying experience of
Speaker:their lives, convinced they're about to die, even though they're in reality, just sitting
Speaker:in a mall where nothing's going on and they're perfectly safe?
Speaker:Such is the power of the mind.
Speaker:Grounding techniques work because they recognize that anxiety is about detaching our senses
Speaker:from the real world.
Speaker:Ordinarily, our fight-or-flight response is there to keep us safe from real dangers in
Speaker:the present moment.
Speaker:But with anxiety, the danger is only imagined.
Speaker:We respond to something that actually isn't happening to us.
Speaker:There is one surefire way to come out of this mental loop, get back into our bodies.
Speaker:The mind can carry us to the past, to stress about things that have already happened, or
Speaker:to the future to things that haven't happened yet, and may never happen.
Speaker:But when we stay in the present, we notice how little there is to actually fear in front
Speaker:of us.
Speaker:Your brain can rush around in a million directions, but your body can only ever be in one place,
Speaker:the present, so connect to that present by anchoring in your body's senses.
Speaker:Here's how to do the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique.
Speaker:Unlike some techniques, it's quite easy to remember, and you can mix it up a little without
Speaker:changing its effectiveness.
Speaker:Try it anytime you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed, or when your mind is getting
Speaker:caught up in a reinforcing loop.
Speaker:You only need a few minutes.
Speaker:First, take a few deep breaths and orient yourself.
Speaker:Then, find five things around you that you can see.
Speaker:Completely immerse yourself in the sense of sight.
Speaker:Find something in your environment and focus on it.
Speaker:It's precise texture.
Speaker:It's color.
Speaker:It's shape.
Speaker:Just explore the object with your eyes.
Speaker:Do this for four more things.
Speaker:Then, find four things that you can touch.
Speaker:Maybe you notice the feeling of the fabric on the chair you're sitting on, or the feeling
Speaker:of your hair against your cheek.
Speaker:Next, find three things that you can hear.
Speaker:There's no need to identify positive or negative, good or bad, just listen.
Speaker:You might hear the low of them a computer, birds outside, or chatting next door.
Speaker:Then find two things you can smell.
Speaker:Some people can find this difficult, but if you pay attention, you may notice there are
Speaker:actually plenty of smells all around you.
Speaker:Finally, find one thing that you can taste.
Speaker:This may simply be the lingering taste of coffee on your tongue, or you may detect a faint taste
Speaker:of toothpaste.
Speaker:If you can and you want to, nibble on something nearby, or take a sip of something, even if
Speaker:it's water.
Speaker:What's the point of all this?
Speaker:Well, when you try it out for yourself, you'll notice that after just a few minutes, you feel
Speaker:calmer and more grounded.
Speaker:Sometimes, all you need is to break the anxiety spiral and distract yourself long enough to
Speaker:calm down.
Speaker:You're also doing something else with this technique, and that is inviting your body
Speaker:to notice just how little danger there really is.
Speaker:Our minds can be screaming, danger, danger, danger, this is bad.
Speaker:But if we pause a moment and check in with what's really actually happening, we realize
Speaker:that things are fine.
Speaker:Sure, we may still have a problem to deal with, but we may be feeling far calmer and
Speaker:more in control about it than before.
Speaker:You can try this technique anywhere at any time.
Speaker:You can even do it in public without people being aware that you're actively calming yourself
Speaker:down.
Speaker:After having a hard time and feel overwhelmed at work, for example, you can always excuse
Speaker:yourself to the bathroom and take a few minutes to gather yourself with this exercise.
Speaker:One twist on the usual 5-4-3-2-1 exercise is to finish off with finding one positive
Speaker:thing about the present situation or about yourself.
Speaker:Often, when we're lost in anxiety, we can feel like we're being ridiculous and getting
Speaker:worried over nothing, and this can leave us with a strong sense of embarrassment or
Speaker:even shame.
Speaker:Feeling so out of control can be a knock to the confidence and make us feel vulnerable
Speaker:and unsure of ourselves.
Speaker:That's why it's so useful to ask yourself, what good thing can I see in this situation
Speaker:right now, or what one good thing can I recognize in myself right now?
Speaker:It may be that at the end of the exercise you become aware of a possible solution and
Speaker:that the problem doesn't seem so bad anymore.
Speaker:Maybe you simply remind yourself that you've been in tough situations before and you've
Speaker:coped with it just fine.
Speaker:Or you realize that you've had the presence of mind and mental strength to recognize your
Speaker:anxiety and take control of the situation.
Speaker:Well done.
Speaker:You can feel proud about that.
Speaker:Being trapped in anxious overthinking can feel very lonely and scary as though you're completely
Speaker:adrift, but really you have plenty of anchors, emergency switches, and escape routes to help
Speaker:you halt the stress spiral and gain calm control again.
Speaker:One way you can put a speed bump in rumination is to use a mantra.
Speaker:Mantras are a commonly overlooked form of meditation.
Speaker:Basically a mantra is any word, phrase, or meaningless sound that you chant out loud
Speaker:in order to slow the mind, focus your thoughts, and come to awareness in the moment.
Speaker:Mantras have a long religious devotional history in many different ancient cultures,
Speaker:but you need to fully immerse yourself in the spiritual aspects to benefit from the
Speaker:mind calming power of a mantra.
Speaker:In 2016, Perry et al. published a paper called Chanting Meditation Improves Mood and Social
Speaker:Cohesion.
Speaker:In the researchers experiment, they examined 45 inexperienced chanters, as well as 27
Speaker:experienced chanters, and discovered that simply chanting om for 10 minutes can relieve
Speaker:anxiety and depression, focus the mind, boost mood, and even improve social bonding if done
Speaker:in a group.
Speaker:A similar 2017 paper by Jai Dudaja wanted to understand the biochemical basis of this
Speaker:effect, suggesting that mantras may work because they boost the overall levels of nitric
Speaker:acid in the body, which regulates the nervous system, relaxes muscles, and increases blood
Speaker:flow.
Speaker:When we chant, we calm our autonomic nervous system and lower our breathing rate, our blood
Speaker:pressure, and our heart rate.
Speaker:And we breathe more deeply and slowly, too.
Speaker:What mantras should we use and how?
Speaker:First of all, classic Sanskrit mantras have very specific meanings, and you may or may
Speaker:not like to explore some of these.
Speaker:For example, the sound om is meant to evoke the primordial sound of creation itself, and
Speaker:chanting it is a contemplative practice on the nature of reality.
Speaker:Alternatively, you can use what's more commonly thought of in the West as an affirmation and
Speaker:chant it like a mantra.
Speaker:Here are some excellent mantras in English that can help dissolve anxiety and worry.
Speaker:This too shall pass.
Speaker:Reminds you that how you're feeling now won't last forever.
Speaker:One thing at a time.
Speaker:Just focus on what's in front of you and you'll feel less overwhelmed.
Speaker:I am not my thoughts to give some distance from negative self-talk.
Speaker:I'm only human.
Speaker:Mistakes are normal.
Speaker:I'm right here right now.
Speaker:Reminds you to anchor in the present and in your body.
Speaker:You may simply like to repeat a calming word over and over, such as peace, peace.
Speaker:You can also use a poem, a quote, a saying, or a favorite prayer that's personally meaningful
Speaker:to you.
Speaker:You can use a nonsense, made-up phrase if you want to use mantras to simply distract
Speaker:an overwhelmed mind.
Speaker:Once you've selected a mantra that you like, get comfortable, close your eyes, and take
Speaker:a few deep breaths.
Speaker:Arrive in the moment.
Speaker:Now start to repeat the mantra.
Speaker:You can repeat it mentally, whisper it, say it out loud, or even sing it.
Speaker:However you express the mantra, it's a good idea to find a consistent rhythm with your
Speaker:voice and breath flowing smoothly and feeling your body rise and fall.
Speaker:Meditate on the sound itself, immerse in it fully, and become aware of the fact of your
Speaker:breath being shaped in your lungs and throat and how the sound waves are leaving your body
Speaker:and going out into the world.
Speaker:You might like to recite the mantra on the inhale and exhale, or on the exhale only.
Speaker:One option is to repeat the mantra, then taper it off.
Speaker:So gradually lower your voice, then, for a few repeats, simply move your lips without
Speaker:making sound.
Speaker:Finally, finish by repeating the mantra in your mind only.
Speaker:Imagine that as you open your eyes and carry on with the rest of your day, you are still
Speaker:internally carrying the essence of that mantra, keeping you serene and at peace.
Speaker:This mantra meditation can be done at night before you go to sleep, or in the morning
Speaker:as you prepare to take on your day, but it's also something you can use in the heat of
Speaker:the moment, so to speak.
Speaker:If you become aware of yourself feeling anxious, try to close your eyes, come to your breath,
Speaker:and recite your mantra a few times.
Speaker:This can be especially effective if the mantra itself has been mentally anchored in the NLP
Speaker:fashion described above.
Speaker:This way, you can pair the movement of your lips, the sound of the mantra, and the associations
Speaker:of the words with a particular psychological state.
Speaker:Through the mantra, you can access this state whenever you want.
Speaker:17.
Speaker:In every organ and tissue of the body, we tend to think of anxiety as a psychological disorder,
Speaker:or something that's all in your head.
Speaker:It isn't.
Speaker:The stress response has its roots in the ancient fight-or-flight mechanisms that begin in the
Speaker:brain and then manifest in the nervous and endocrine systems.
Speaker:In every organ and tissue of the body, in fact.
Speaker:This is why chronic stress can start to look like headaches, ongoing pain, allergies, digestive
Speaker:trouble.
Speaker:What began as a temporary state of autonomic arousal has lingered in the body and become
Speaker:illness.
Speaker:There's nothing mystical then about saying that many pains and illnesses are simply
Speaker:anxieties trapped in the body.
Speaker:However, if we learn to scan our bodies and check in with ourselves regularly, we can
Speaker:notice small disruptions to our well-being early on before they become full-blown dis-ease.
Speaker:We can bring awareness to what we're actually feeling, noticing our tiredness, the tightness
Speaker:in the back of our throat, or the pain in our lower back that says, you've been working
Speaker:too long now without a break.
Speaker:Imagine your body works on this hierarchy.
Speaker:Body, emotion, thought.
Speaker:For example, you could be overtired, a little dehydrated, and strung out on coffee.
Speaker:This state of arousal in your nervous system is associated with higher cortisol levels,
Speaker:for example, and so it's registered in your conscious awareness as stress, anxiety, or
Speaker:grumpiness, emotion.
Speaker:This emotion then instigates some higher-order thoughts such as, I suck at my job, thoughts.
Speaker:We may be used to interfacing with our experience only on this last level, ignoring the fact
Speaker:that the thoughts that we have emerge from how we feel and how we feel emerges from our
Speaker:physical reality.
Speaker:If we can become consciously aware of what is going on with us on all levels, we can
Speaker:take measures to relax ourselves and undo anxiety at its root.
Speaker:So instead of dwelling on the question of our job and how much we hate it, we can tune
Speaker:into our emotions first and allow them to point us to the fact that we're overtired
Speaker:and dehydrated.
Speaker:The solution, you find out, has nothing to do with quitting your job.
Speaker:It's simply to give your body what it needs, rest, water, and find equilibrium again.
Speaker:Doing a body scan is easy and can be done as often as you like, wherever you like.
Speaker:You can use the acronym CALM or CLAM if you're feeling funny to help you remember the four
Speaker:main stress zones of the body to tune into.
Speaker:C, chest, A, arms, L, legs, M, mouth.
Speaker:When you check in with these places, you get valuable information about your physical and
Speaker:emotional state, plus you get to consciously decide to relax these parts, which then causes
Speaker:your entire body and mind to release anxiety.
Speaker:Start by finding a comfortable position and closing your eyes.
Speaker:Find your breath and slow down a little.
Speaker:Start with C, your chest.
Speaker:Imagine your consciousness is a scanning light running over every part of your chest inside
Speaker:and outside.
Speaker:What sensations come to the top of your awareness?
Speaker:Notice everything you can.
Speaker:What is your breathing like?
Speaker:Notice its rate and depth.
Speaker:Notice any muscle tightness, pain, or tension, and wear.
Speaker:After you've checked in, it's time to relax this area.
Speaker:Take a few deep breaths, belly breaths if you can, and notice how you feel.
Speaker:See if you can melt any tensions you've identified.
Speaker:Next, move on to A, your arms.
Speaker:This includes the top of your shoulders and all the way down to your fingertips.
Speaker:Is there any movement and tension there?
Speaker:Maybe you notice your palms are sweaty or your fists are clenched.
Speaker:To relax this area, squeeze your hands into fists and tense up the entire arm, then slowly
Speaker:release again with your exhale.
Speaker:Do this a few times, feeling the stretch and the release deep in each time.
Speaker:Next, scan L, your legs.
Speaker:Do the same here, looking for tension and then deliberately relaxing the area.
Speaker:Release the muscles, then gradually release the tension again.
Speaker:This is called progressive muscle relaxation, relaxing from the most activated state-actually
Speaker:results in a deeper release.
Speaker:Finally, end with M, your mouth, which can't hold a surprising amount of tension.
Speaker:Notice your jaw, your tongue, your lips.
Speaker:Zoom in on the sensations, inside and outside.
Speaker:To relax this area, let everything hang a little looser, let the tension melt away,
Speaker:and if you like, allow your lips to come to a soft and relaxed smile.
Speaker:As you complete the above exercise, you might notice something.
Speaker:The awareness of physical sensations easily blends into awareness of emotional sensations.
Speaker:That's because our emotions have their basis in the body.
Speaker:For example, the fluttery, nauseous feeling at the center of your chest feels like panning
Speaker:and self-doubt.
Speaker:The hollow, wobbly feeling in the pit of your stomach is shame.
Speaker:The tight band of tension around the top of your head is overwhelm and so on.
Speaker:As you scan your body, see if it's communicating anything to you.
Speaker:If your chest, arms, etc. could speak, what would they say?
Speaker:What emotions do they each hold?
Speaker:By asking these questions, you develop physiological and emotional awareness at the same time and
Speaker:you strengthen your mind-body connection.
Speaker:You may even start to see how your anxious thoughts and rumination actually begin in
Speaker:this embodied emotion.
Speaker:Dr. Laurie Numenma studied 700 people and actually mapped out the places in the body where people
Speaker:most consistently experience certain emotions.
Speaker:By asking people to self-report where they experienced certain emotions on a body map,
Speaker:she discovered how consistent the responses were.
Speaker:For example, anger was most often felt in the hands and head, while disgust centered
Speaker:around the mouth.
Speaker:The fascinating results were published in a 2013 paper in the journal Proceedings of
Speaker:the National Academy of Sciences.
Speaker:Dr. Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University says that the areas in the brain that process
Speaker:emotions tend to be largely outside of our conscious awareness and that we can't really
Speaker:know how our body is processing emotions.
Speaker:Nevertheless, we can still increase our awareness of what it is possible to be aware of and
Speaker:we can still calm and relax ourselves even if we lack perfect understanding of the underlying
Speaker:mechanisms.
Speaker:You can learn to use your body to explore your thoughts and emotions.
Speaker:You'll be able to spot emotions emerging in yourself more quickly and this means you
Speaker:give yourself the choice of how you want to respond consciously.
Speaker:You can adapt the body scan to fit your needs.
Speaker:You don't need to use the column acronym.
Speaker:You could simply scan yourself from head to toe or ask your body to show you what it most
Speaker:wants to communicate.
Speaker:One great practice is to finish your scan with perceiving the entire body as a whole
Speaker:all at once.
Speaker:This heightens your mind body awareness and gives you real insights into your overall
Speaker:emotional state.
Speaker:See how long you can hold on to this heightened awareness as you go about the rest of your
Speaker:day.
Speaker:18.
Speaker:Laughter Meditation.
Speaker:Laughter meditation.
Speaker:Is that when you force yourself to laugh?
Speaker:Yes, and it's as cheesy and ridiculous as it sounds.
Speaker:It's also good fun and surprisingly effective.
Speaker:As a form of meditation, it's easy and straightforward as there's nothing to achieve and no goal
Speaker:to focus on or anything to visualize.
Speaker:You just laugh and you do it for no reason at all.
Speaker:Developed by Dr. Madan Kataria, this is definitely an underrated mindfulness practice.
Speaker:The idea is that when you're laughing, your anxious mind can't run all over the place.
Speaker:You are completely and utterly in the present and in your body, and that's what meditation
Speaker:is all about.
Speaker:Does it feel strange and awkward to start?
Speaker:Yes, we're used to laughing in response to something, but we can laugh whenever we like
Speaker:and humans are the only animals that can.
Speaker:Laughter lowers stress, improves immune function, and enhances your digestion.
Speaker:And it just feels good.
Speaker:Laughing lowers cortisol levels in the body too.
Speaker:A 2011 paper published in Science Direct by Ramon Mora-Repoll found that so-called simulated
Speaker:laughter can work as both a preventative for general well-being and as a kind of medicine
Speaker:to treat things like anxiety and depression.
Speaker:The review also discovered that the laughter prescription is one of the few interventions
Speaker:that has virtually no side effects, so you have nothing to lose by trying it.
Speaker:A 2016 paper by Louie et al. had similar findings, noting that laughter actually has an analgesic
Speaker:pain relief effect.
Speaker:They explore the MCET, the Motion Creates Emotion Theory.
Speaker:In other words, if you go through the motions of laughing, you actually create a genuine
Speaker:sense of fun and humor in yourself, so don't worry too much about real or fake laughter.
Speaker:Your body can't tell the difference, and in fact, fake laughter often turns into real
Speaker:laughter anyway.
Speaker:So how do you practice laughter meditation?
Speaker:The best time is in the morning on an empty stomach.
Speaker:Even by stretching, taking time to loosen up the muscles in your mouth, jaw, and face,
Speaker:practice smiling, start small, and begin to see how this smile spreads into the other
Speaker:muscles of your face.
Speaker:Start laughing, but don't force anything, just imagine it flowing out of you.
Speaker:You're not laughing at anything, but rather laughing with it.
Speaker:Whatever emerges in your experience, laugh at it.
Speaker:Keep this up for a while.
Speaker:With a little practice, you may find that you're actually able to make yourself have
Speaker:big, full belly laughs.
Speaker:Yes, really.
Speaker:When you're done, allow the laughter to fade as gently as it started.
Speaker:Gradually come to stillness again in your body, feeling the warm smile on your face
Speaker:and the good feelings in your body.
Speaker:Find stillness again.
Speaker:Finish the meditation by standing up and having a nice stretch.
Speaker:Let thoughts flutter past you and simply dwell on the sensations in your body.
Speaker:With regular practice, laughter meditation can have powerful effects on your life and
Speaker:banish anxiety.
Speaker:If you're feeling adventurous, you can seek out a group to practice laughter meditation
Speaker:with.
Speaker:The awkwardness is initially greater, but you may find you reach that mindful state a lot
Speaker:quicker.
Speaker:You'll be forced to not take yourself or the activity too seriously.
Speaker:Access that inner child, be silly, and don't worry about how it all pans out.
Speaker:Meditation then can be thought of as play, completely pointless, and a lot of fun.
Speaker:And that's all.
Speaker:It probably can't hurt to include more humor and laughter in your life more generally.
Speaker:Seek out comedy and funny shows or clips, make jokes and pull pranks, or simply trying
Speaker:to see the silly side of life.
Speaker:Being at yourself is an incredibly powerful way to melt anxiety knots.
Speaker:Arguing and fighting against stress just makes more stress.
Speaker:But what if you just laugh at it?
Speaker:The next time you're in a big, serious mental tangle and worrying over this or that, try
Speaker:to zoom out and take another perspective.
Speaker:Can you see how silly it all is?
Speaker:How silly you are?
Speaker:19.
Speaker:Loving Kindness Meditation
Speaker:Let's move on to another very accessible form of meditation that never loses its effectiveness,
Speaker:loving kindness.
Speaker:This kind of meditation, often shortened to LKM, is the perfect way to cultivate compassion
Speaker:in ourselves and improves not only our relationships with others, but with ourselves.
Speaker:It can also work wonders for the stressed out and anxious mind.
Speaker:During this meditation, we practice focusing kind and benevolent energy toward other people
Speaker:and toward ourselves.
Speaker:It's a technique that is simple, but not always easy.
Speaker:Sending and receiving love can be challenging.
Speaker:A 2018 review in the Harvard Review of Psychology by Grasper and Stanger collected an impressive
Speaker:amount of scientific evidence for LKM as well as other types of meditation.
Speaker:According to the researchers, LKM was effective in treating chronic pain and borderline personality
Speaker:disorder.
Speaker:A large number of non-randomized students indicate that LKM may be effective in treating
Speaker:a wide range of clinical conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, chronic pain,
Speaker:and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Speaker:Other studies have found that LKM can improve marriages, soothe social anxiety, reduce anger,
Speaker:improve empathy, and help with forgiveness.
Speaker:LKM can also increase gray matter in the area of the brain associated with emotional regulation,
Speaker:boost life satisfaction, and increase feelings of awe, gratitude, pride, and hope, make you
Speaker:more likely to help others and be generous.
Speaker:So there are many variations, and you can adjust the approach as you see fit.
Speaker:The general process goes a little something like this.
Speaker:Step 1.
Speaker:Find some time in your day when you won't be distracted, and sit or lie somewhere comfortable
Speaker:eyes closed.
Speaker:Find your breath and relax a little.
Speaker:Step 2.
Speaker:Imagine someone you love dearly.
Speaker:Picture their face.
Speaker:Feel the love and kindness as a glow inside you, and dwell on these feelings for a moment.
Speaker:You can visualize this kindness and compassion as a bright light or similar, or you can quietly
Speaker:chant the words, may you be happy, may you be safe and at peace.
Speaker:Imagine yourself holding this person in a cocoon of light in your heart.
Speaker:After you picture it, the idea is to conjure up strong feelings of love and kindness.
Speaker:Step 3.
Speaker:Holding onto this warm, fuzzy feeling, imagine someone else, someone you like but do not love.
Speaker:Try to project this same loving kindness onto them.
Speaker:See the humanity in this person.
Speaker:See how they have hopes and dreams and fears, how they were once innocent children, how
Speaker:they too hold the spark of the divine within them.
Speaker:May you be happy, may you be safe and at peace.
Speaker:Step 4.
Speaker:Move your attention again, this time to someone you're neutral about.
Speaker:Can you feel kindness and compassion for them too?
Speaker:Can you see how they love as deeply as you do, and that even if you don't know them fully,
Speaker:but deep inside, they are a beautiful being who deserves compassion and kindness.
Speaker:Step 5.
Speaker:Keep shifting your attention, find someone you dislike a little.
Speaker:This can be difficult but try to imagine holding them in the same light as you held
Speaker:your loved ones.
Speaker:Even if you don't like them, even if you hate them, can you still find a little well
Speaker:of goodwill for them anyway?
Speaker:Not because they deserve it, but just because.
Speaker:Step 6.
Speaker:Finally, take the step that some people find hardest of all.
Speaker:Extend your warm glow of loving kindness to yourself.
Speaker:Drop the desire to label, to judge, to find fault.
Speaker:Just look at yourself in all your flawed and beautiful humanity and imagine bathing yourself
Speaker:in a warm glowing light of kindness.
Speaker:Step 7.
Speaker:When you're ready, come out of your meditation, take a few deep breaths, stretch, and continue
Speaker:with your day.
Speaker:Practice this for a few minutes every day and be prepared to be astonished at how much
Speaker:your life changes.
Speaker:You will find relaxation and calm, yes, but you'll also discover other benefits.
Speaker:So many people who battle anxiety are very hard on themselves, but in LKM we smile kindly
Speaker:on this and accept it.
Speaker:You are just right, just as you are.
Speaker:So there is no problem and nothing to fight against, and so anxiety can dissolve.
Speaker:Look at others and really try to feel that they're doing their best.
Speaker:Look inward and understand that your anxiety is only trying to help you and that just because
Speaker:you're not a perfect human being, it doesn't mean you don't deserve understanding and kindness.
Speaker:If you're the kind of person whose anxiety focuses on other people, social situations,
Speaker:relationships, guilt, etc., this can be a powerful way to relinquish control.
Speaker:Love and anxiety don't exist together.
Speaker:Fill your heart with warmth and acceptance and you're far less likely to notice problems
Speaker:or to slip into fearful resistance.
Speaker:What's more, you can find forgiveness for yourself and others.
Speaker:Why ruminate on what's already been done?
Speaker:Let it go in forgiveness, not because you agree with it or condone it, but because deep
Speaker:down all you want is peace and happiness for yourself and others.
Speaker:Doesn't that feel so, so much better than anxiety?
Speaker:That warm glow inside your heart is always there.
Speaker:Practice repeatedly tuning into it and you'll find it almost impossible to be anxious.
Speaker:Summary Mindfulness techniques are a proven and effective
Speaker:way to combat anxiety, stress, and overthinking, but you don't have to do formal sitting meditation
Speaker:to get the benefits.
Speaker:One easy technique is to take a few minutes to practice deep belly breathing to oxygenate
Speaker:and relax your body.
Speaker:A mantra is to use the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique to come back into your body in the
Speaker:present moment by tuning into all five senses.
Speaker:You could finish by seeking out something positive about the situation or yourself.
Speaker:Chanting a mantra is another accessible mindfulness technique.
Speaker:Try saying an affirmation aloud or just internally to distract and calm yourself.
Speaker:Do a body scan in the morning to check in with how you're feeling and correct any minor
Speaker:tensions before they become strong negative emotions and anxious thoughts.
Speaker:Use the calm acronym to scan chest, arms, legs, and mouth.
Speaker:Scan from head to toe or simply ask your body what it wants to communicate to you.
Speaker:Use progressive muscle relaxation to loosen any tension you find.
Speaker:Further meditation takes a little bravery, but can flood you with feel-good hormones
Speaker:and banish stress and anxiety, whether practiced alone or in a group.
Speaker:Try loving-kindness meditation to calm social anxiety and learn to be a little kinder and
Speaker:compassionate with yourself.
Speaker:Well listeners, we've reached the end of another episode on The Path to Calm.
Speaker:If you found today's tips helpful, remember to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes
Speaker:and if you'd like to explore more, check out the resources section on Nick Trenton's
Speaker:website at vitley-slash-nick-trenton.
Speaker:There, you'll find a treasure trove of information and tools to help you manage anxiety and find
Speaker:lasting peace.
Speaker:Thanks for joining us today, remember, stop overthinking, become present, and find peace.
