Entering the new year with resolutions isn’t usually my style, but after a stressful festive period, I found myself drawn to this 10-minute meditation by Headspace that I found on YouTube. I tried it out on a particularly busy Twixmas day and it helped me so much that I bookmarked it to use again.
The purpose of this meditation is to reset a busy mind and decompress a stressed body. One of the most effective things to do when stressed is take a moment, consciously breathe, relax the muscles and quiet the mind. This meditation offers a guided way to do this, with the soothing voice of Andy Puddicombe, cofounder of Headspace, taking you through 10 peaceful minutes of breathing and intentional thought.
How to do this 10-minute meditation
Why I like this meditation
1. It can be done anywhere
This meditation appealed to me because it doesn't require you to be in a calm environment. Making space for meditation can be difficult at the best of times, but this exercise allows you to pick it up wherever you are—whether you’re in a car, at work, or on the train home. There's no need to light incense or put on atmospheric music: it meets you wherever you are, takes you by the hand and walks you to a calmer place. This is exactly what I need when I’m in a stressful situation—a mental break without having to physically move from my desk.
2. It helped me connect to my body
Sometimes it can be easy to disconnect from my body, especially when I'm doing something mentally stressful. I find myself tensing up and at the end of the day I will be carrying the stress in my shoulders, neck and back—all of which will ache. I’m also awful for grinding my teeth and chewing on my inner cheek without realizing that I’m doing it.
Placing a hand on my stomach encourages me to ground myself and bring my mental awareness back into my body, asking questions such as how does it feel? Where am I holding the tension? Do I need to drop my shoulders and unclench my jaw? If I hadn’t taken the time to bring my mind back into my body, I probably would have held on to that tension to the end of the day.
3. It used my imagination
If you can’t get out in nature to meditate, walk or just breathe, picturing nature can bring some of that energy into your space. The human imagination is a fantastic thing, and even just picturing a warm ray of sunshine helped me to feel calmer and more positive. I liked this visualization aspect of the meditation because it didn’t require much concentration (I’m not very good at picturing forests, I get distracted by imaginary birds), but it effectively helped me to picture the resetting of my mind and body.
