Five Meditations That Will Change How You Feel

Meditation is a life changer.

What’s so great about sitting in silence and slowing down your brain? Everything.

As challenging as it can be to slow down, it’s so valuable.

Something I learned that has dramatically changed my life is that not all the thoughts I have on a daily basis actually belong to me. Thought categories include, but aren’t limited to:

• Patterns that my brain developed when I was younger that I’m unaware of
• Opinions from the external world
• Fears
• Things we picked up from our parents and haven’t thought to challenge or make our own

Why is it important to notice what thoughts belong to us vs. what thoughts are outdated and no longer serve us?

Our thoughts create our feelings which create our actions which create our reality. Shoutout to Brooke Castillo at The Life Coach School for that one. And when they’re flying by at an extremely fast pace and there’s no time to truly hear them, we can find ourselves in situations and habits that we’re no longer interested in.

Scenario: Sandra told you that you had weird legs when you were sliding down the slide in second grade.

Fast forward to the present day in your 20s. You wear pants on even the hottest days and avoid looking at your legs in the mirror because you believe “you have weird legs.”

Do you actually believe that or have you spent so long feeling embarrassed by what Sandra said that you never thought to question the thought, “I have weird legs.”

Forgive Sandra and reframe that thought to serve you.

What does this have to do with meditation?

Without space in your day or your brain to notice and observe your thoughts, there’s no way to know which ones belong to you or someone else. Even if you have a free day, are you spending all that time scrolling Instagram and watching Netflix, or are you giving yourself space to think?

There’s no right or wrong answer. But consider what your life would be like if you gave yourself some time (besides sleeping) to sit there and breathe.

Give your brain a break with these five meditations:

1. Empath Meditation

This short meditation connects you back to your body while intentionally bringing your energy back to your body. I know, I know. This sounds weird – but remember, get out of your head and into your body.

2. Sleep Affirmations

I’ve had nightmares since I could remember. Every time I would fall asleep, I’d have a bad dream. I learned about sleep meditations and it has drastically helped my sleep and my mindset. These positive affirmations can bring your mind back from the negative thought patterns.

3. Chakra Meditation

I had no idea what a chakra was before doing this meditation. Chakras are energy centers throughout the body. While this sounds super woo, these meditations changed the way my body felt. Plus the person’s voice is sooo soothing.

4. Body Scan Meditation

I used to avoid paying attention to my body. I was eating food that made me feel bad, but I avoided noticing. I had health issues that had no solution, so I was staying in my head to avoid my body. The first time I did a body scan meditation was the first time I realized I was avoiding my body because I was afraid of fully feeling the pain, but that caused the pain to get louder. Once I started paying attention, I took the power back. 

5. Song 

There are songs that go along with different meditation practices. I find the less my brain can cognitively recognize the song, the better. This song helps to ground you in your body and relax your energy. I found this song through Gabby Bernstein. 

Please note: we all have different experiences, struggles, feelings, etc. These are my personal experiences with meditations. I am in no way affiliated with the YouTube links above. These are my go tos.

Let your mind wander – don’t get discouraged when thoughts come up. Allow them and notice them. And then get back to your breath.

Pause, breathe, be in your body.

Shout out to my favorite life coach, Lindsay Amico, for teaching me about meditation.