You know what’s pretty amazing? There are so many meditations out there to choose from and you can find the right one to support almost any mood. But, it can be kind of hard to do this when you’re right in your feels. You might know that you need a meditation to help lift you out of your funk, help you relax, stop feeling so anxious but it’s hard to find the right one when everything feels overwhelming.
We’ve got your back!
First off, let’s just take the pressure off. Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and then a long and slow exhale out through your mouth. There is no RIGHT meditation or style. Rather, there are lots of styles, types of meditations, and teachers that all serve their purpose depending on the day and how you’re feeling.
So… how are you feeling? Take a few moments to check in with yourself. Think about the type of day that you’ve had, and what you’d like the rest of your day to look like. Give yourself permission to explore the feelings that might pop up as you reflect. Take another deep breath and let yourself shrug off the expectation of others, and the weight of all the things on your to-do list. So often when we check in with ourselves, we feel drawn to expressing how we think we should be feeling rather than how we are really and truly feeling.
Based on how you are feeling RIGHT NOW, in this present moment, we’ve put together groupings of our favourite meditations. Some are ours, while others are new teachers and styles for you to explore. As you adventure through some of these meditations, keep in mind that it is not the goal of meditation to never feel how you are feeling right now again.
Meditation helps us to move through our feelings and emotions, it helps us to come up with creative solutions for our problems from a more centred mindset. As we meditate more and more, we become more skilled at not holding on quite so tightly to negative emotions while being able to more fully enjoy all the positive emotions.
Looking for somewhere to get started? We've included a list with some of our favourite meditations on YouTube and InsightTimer below. Never heard of InsightTimer? Well you're in for a treat! It's a website (as well as a free app for your phone or tablet), with a massive collection of meditations to check out!
I’m feeling anxious:
I’m feeling sad:
I’m feeling joyful:
I’d like to feel more grateful:
I’m feeling overwhelmed:
I’m feeling afraid:
I’m not feeling centered:
I would like to let go of something that is no longer serving me:
I’m feeling angry:
I need a reminder of how worthy I am:
I'm having a hard time relaxing:
Obviously, there are so many more emotions and ways that you could be feeling- this is just a start! It’s really important to remember that all emotions and feelings are valid and important. It’s completely human to feel many kinds of ways, and just because you’re feeling angry, or afraid or anxious now, doesn’t mean that you have to feel this way forever. Meditation can be such a useful tool for helping us to find a place of calm within us from which to see our struggles more clearly.
If you’re really struggling with negative emotions please do reach out to a counsellor or therapist in your area. They’ll be able to chat with you about what’s going on in your life, the problems you’re dealing with, and be able to offer you customized advice and tools. Sometimes having that trusted person you can talk openly with makes all the difference in the world!