Do you ever feel like you spend way too much time worrying? Do you find your sense of wellbeing suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of anxious thoughts? Or maybe you experience chronic worry and negative thinking all the time, and feel like there is no way out.  Let’s explore how meditation and breathwork can alleviate worry, and give us a fresh lease on life.    

We all get worried sometimes, and in many cases this is completely normal. Difficult situations happen in all our lives, but if we don’t have proper tools to manage these tough times our worries can snowball out of control.  When worrying persists for long durations it becomes unbearable and starts to impact our mental health.

But what to do, and when? 

Meditation and deep breathing can help us to manage worry and negative thoughts so we can return to our natural state of peace and calm.

The consequences of negative thinking, anxiety disorders, and excessive worrying

For many of us, worry and stress have become the norm. The global pressures caused by the pandemic, combined with our own personal concerns have taken our tendency to worry over the top. We worry about money, relationships, career, family, and health. The list goes on and on.   

Excessive worry has become so commonplace that many of us believe it to be normal, but there are a host of negative consequences to our mental, emotional, and physical health that result from being in a constant state of anxiety.

Chronic anxiety can lead to:

• Muscle tension

• Reduced sense of wellbeing

• Headaches

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Difficulty sleeping

All of these symptoms can make life even harder.  Our stress and worry result in headaches and insomnia, which make us even more stressed and worried.  This begins a downward spiral that may leave us feeling hopeless and defeated, but there is a powerful and effective way to break this destructive cycle. 

How breathwork and meditation can help 

Meditation and breathwork can be the perfect relaxation techniques to naturally deal with anxiety, and ultimately break the cycle of excessive worrying.

Meditation, breathwork, and the fight-or-flight response

When we feel overwhelmed by negative emotions we often go into a state of panic. Our nervous system responds the same way it would if we were in danger. When this happens, we experience what is commonly known as the fight-or-flight response.  Our systems are flooded with the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline to prepare us to fight or flee. This response is designed to keep us safe in times of danger, but in modern times the flight-or-fight response is overactivated, and leads to excessive stress and worry.

Meditation and breathwork can help to regulate our nervous systems so that our fight-or-flight response is triggered less often. Through regular practice, we can manage stress, regulate our nervous systems, and increase our sense of emotional well-being.

Meditation, breathwork, and negative thoughts

Consistent negative thinking leads to ever-increasing anxiety.  We may find ourselves imagining worst-case scenarios, or turning problems over in our minds for hours on end.  After days or months like this, we feel wiped-out and exhausted.  

Through a regular meditation practice we can start to change our relationship with our thoughts. Meditation doesn't stop thoughts from occurring, but it does help us to be less influenced by them. It can also reduce the number of negative thoughts we experience. 

Breathwork is also a great tool to relieve constant worrying. By engaging with the breath, we are able to shift the focus away from our repetitive negative thoughts and come into the present moment.

These practices can help to bring a more balanced perspective, so we are able to face our difficulties without being overwhelmed by them.

SKY Breath Meditation breaks the cycle of excessive worrying

So, meditation and breathwork can be amazing tools to help us cope with stress and anxiety, but how do we get started? 

As obvious as this sounds, the best way to start is to start! You can get started right now with these guided meditations led by Art of Living founder Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

If you would like to practice meditation, and reduce anxiety, stress, and worry, then I think you will really enjoy SKY Breath Meditation.

SKY is very simple, and has been shown to significantly reduce clinical and non-clinical anxiety and depression, as well as improve sleep, boost immunity, and increase general feelings of happiness and wellbeing. It's incredibly user-friendly, so even those who think they are "bad" at meditating can enjoy the benefits of SKY, and you can learn it online at home!

If you'd like to try a free intro to find out more about how SKY Breath Meditation can help you, please join us for a free session led by a live instructor.