If you’ve ever tried to push away anxiety or depression when they show up, you probably already know: Fighting these complex, difficult emotions usually doesn’t work. In fact, our resistance often makes the experience even more challenging.

In today’s practice, Ed Halliwell offers a guided visualization based on a foundational mindful question: What if you don’t try to push this experience away, but instead watch it as it plays out?

Ed Halliwell is a mindfulness teacher and writer, based in Sussex and London, UK. He is author of three books: Into The Heart of Mindfulness, How To Live Well By Paying Attention and (as co-author) The Mindful Manifesto and teaches courses and retreats to public groups, in organizations and to individuals, face-to-face and online via Skype. He is also an advisor to The Mindfulness Initiative, which is supporting the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group to develop mindfulness-based policies for the UK.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Ed Halliwell here.

Go Deeper

Anxiety, panic, and depression can sometimes feel like a vortex we’re sucked into that’s impossible to get out of. It’s important to understand that mindfulness and meditation aren’t cure-alls or instant fixes, and that they’re most effective when used in concert with other healing modalities. There are practices that can help us be with thoughts and feelings in a compassionate, non-judgmental way—and this open-hearted approach can often loosen the grip of difficult moments. If you’d like to explore more about how mindful practices can help improve mental well-being, check out these resources on Mindful.org:

• Practicing Self-Compassion Can Boost Your Mental Health

• Using Mindfulness for Mental Health

• Is Mindfulness a Treatment for Depression?

• 4 Ways to Curb a Panic Attack with Mindfulness

• How Mindfulness Protects Against Postpartum Depression

• ​​Unwinding Your Anxiety Habit Loop

For more practice, here are 5 Guided Meditations for Panic and Anxiety that you can try.

And more from Mindful here:

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Our brains are hardwired to notice the negative. It’s part of how our ancient ancestors were able to survive in constantly threatening environments.

But this negativity bias can also make it difficult for us and our kids—even in our comparatively less threatening environments—to navigate daily stressors, like big tests, arguments, or disappointments.

In this shorter practice specifically designed for younger meditators, Dr. Mark Bertin shows kids how to gently guide their attention back to the positive things they might have missed, in order to help soothe the nervous system and bring calm.

Mark Bertin, MD., is a pediatrician, author, professor, and mindfulness teacher specializing in neurodevelopmental behavioral pediatrics. He’s a regular contributor to Mindful.org and Psychology Today. He is the author of How Children Thrive: The Practical Science of Raising Independent, Resilient, and Happy Kids (Sounds True, 2018). Dr. Bertin resides in Pleasantville, New York. For more, visit developmentaldoctor.com.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Mark Bertin here.

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Kids of all ages can benefit from learning and practicing mindful skills. For more resources to help kids and teens build resilience, navigate tough emotions, calm anxiety, and improve emotional regulation, check out these resources on the Mindful site:

• How to Model Mindfulness When Talking to Kids

• The Nature Remedy: Find Freedom from Tech Overload

• 5 Ways to Help Teens Engage in Mindfulness Sessions

• Mindfulness Can Empower Kids and Teens

For more practice, we’ve got an entire collection of meditations to support growing minds. Take-What-You-Need Meditations to Support Kids, Teens, and Young Adults

And more from Mindful here:

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Rest isn’t a “reward” for working hard enough. It’s a human need and birthright.

This week’s episode is a little different. We’re not only sharing a guided meditation from mindfulness leader and professional coach Jenée Johnson, but also her teaching on some of the brain science behind relaxation—why it’s essential for our well-being, how it works, and how to incorporate intentional relaxation practices into your daily life.

Jenée Johnson, is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, Racial Healing, Emotional Intelligence Educator, and HeartMath facilitator. Jenée initiated and led the unique effort to bring mindfulness into San Francisco’s public health programs and practices through the Trauma Informed Systems Initiative. She is on the advisory board of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute and is certified to teach mindfulness and emotional intelligence based on the latest neuroscience. She is also the founder and curator of The Right Within Experience, a day-long program for people of African ancestry that teaches practical mindfulness to overcome the diminishing impact of racism and open a portal to a liberatory lifestyle.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Jenée Johnson and her work with The Right Within Experience here.

Go Deeper

Mindfulness is a resource that can be used not only for finding more calm, but also as a support for mental, physical, emotional, and communal healing. If you want to learn more about these restorative practices and how they contribute to wider individual and collective healing, check out these articles:

• How Mindful Leaders Can Heal Trauma

• Encouraging Meaningful Conversations about Race and Trauma

• The Science of How Mindfulness Relieves Post Traumatic Stress

• Mindfulness for Racial Healing

For more practice, here’s another deep rest practice you can try: R.E.S.T.—A Guided Practice for the Tired and Weary.

And more from Mindful here:

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Most of us spend most of our waking hours at some kind of job, whether that’s in an office, a classroom, or in our own homes. This week, mindful leadership expert Jancie Marturano leads a practice you can do at your desk—or anywhere—to give yourself a mindful pause during busy days.

Janice Marturano is founder and executive director of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, a nonprofit that trains and supports leaders in exploring mindfulness and leadership excellence. She founded the institute after ending her tenure as Vice President of Public Responsibility and Deputy General Counsel for General Mills. She is the author of Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Janice Marturano and her commitment to raising mindful leaders here.

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Mindfulness and meditation don’t just have to happen on a cushion. Learn more about creative ways to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday, real life here:

• The Power of Running and Meditation: A Guide to Mindful Movement

• Nature-Based Mindfulness Practices for Families

• Everyday Mindfulness Techniques: Mindful Photography

• Practice Mindfulness With Everyday Sounds

For more practice, here’s another meditation to try: A Guided Walking Meditation to Notice the Beauty Around Us—Even in the City

And more from Mindful here:

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We often think about gratitude as happening in response to “good” things—but what about moments that aren’t grand or overtly happy, but are small and emotionally neutral? This week, Kim Armstrong leads a guided visualization practice to help you notice, take in, and consciously appreciate even the basic things we do every single day.

Kimberly Armstrong is a cofounder and facilitator at Space Between. She practices mindfulness in order to know, see, and feel what is really important in life. Kim has a masters in Child and Adolescent Psychology from the University of Washington and is a certified meditation teacher and 500 hour yoga teacher. Kim’s superpower is deep listening with full presence. When she isn’t managing operational details, she can be found strumming chords on her guitar.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Kin Armstrong here.

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If you want to learn more about how starting or growing a robust, regular gratitude practice can improve markers of physical and emotional well-being, check out these articles:

• How to Practice Gratitude

• Gratitude for the Lousy Ingrate

• The Power of Gratitude (with a Healthy Dose of Cynicism)

• The Science of Gratitude

For support in establishing a daily practice, we also have a beautiful Gratitude Journal, and a deck of flexible, versatile Gratitude Affirmation cards.

For more practice, here’s another meditation to try: A Guided Meditation to Awaken the Flow of Gratitude in Nature

And more from Mindful here:

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When we are experiencing a lot of stress or recovering from trauma or addiction, we can find ourselves living in a fight-flight-freeze state, where we feel either disconnected from or unsafe in our bodies. This practice is designed to gently cultivate a sense of safety and then create a kinesthetic anchor (rooted in awareness of how our body is moving) to start building a felt sense of security that your body can remember.

Emily Jane is a mindfulness teacher, certified Embodied Processing (EP) practitioner, and recovery coach with a background in social work. She’s been in recovery for over eight years, following two decades of active addiction, and her lived experience now fuels her passion for helping others heal. Emily is also the author of Beyond Addiction: A Mindful Guide to Recovery, where she shares her trauma-informed, compassionate approach to healing. Her work integrates mindfulness, coaching, trauma therapy, and somatic tools to help people reconnect with their bodies and find safety, peace, and empowerment on their recovery journey.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Emily Jane here.

You can order your copy of Beyond Addiction here.

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If you want to learn more about embodied practice and how mindfulness can aid in addiction recovery, check out these articles:

• Make It Personal: How Mindfulness Can Support Highly Stressed People

• A Simple Inquiry Practice to Unwind from Stress

• Could Mindfulness Decrease the Severity of Opioid Cravings?

• Constant Craving

For more practice, here’s another meditation to try: HALT Practice to Tune In to What Your Body Needs

And more from Mindful here:

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You may have heard of "impermanence" as an important theme in meditation. In this guided practice, Toby Sola introduces us to the ease of flow state with two simple but profound techniques: exploring impermanence directly by noticing changes in our body sensations, and using labels to hone concentration.

Toby Sola is dedicated to helping you create a feedback loop between your meditation practice and your ability to make the world a better place. Toby has been teaching meditation for two decades and has refined his craft through years of monastic training and close collaboration with the world-renowned teacher Shinzen Young. He is an award-winning designer and founder of the Brightmind Meditation app.

Note that this meditation includes longer pauses of complete silence to give you time to spend in contemplation and practice the techniques introduced. If you want more time, feel free to pause the recording as you go.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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Show Notes

Find more from Toby Sola here.

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If you want to learn more about flow state, focus, and facing impermanence, here are more articles to explore:

• Flow State: How to Get in the Zone

• Find Your Focus: Own Your Attention in 12 Minutes a Day

• Not Just Marking Time: How Rituals Help Us Face Impermanence with Mindfulness and Gratitude

For more practice, here’s another meditation to try: A Guided Meditation to Rest in the Flow of Effortlessness.

And more from Mindful here:

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When difficult or painful emotions feel like they’re swirling all around you, it can be challenging to find a steady place to catch your breath. In this guided meditation, mindfulness teacher Scott Rogers uses the metaphor of a hurricane to help us recognize the qualities and the impermanence of even our stormiest emotions.

Scott Rogers is founder and director of the University of Miami School of Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program where he integrates mindfulness into the law school curriculum, and he is co-founder of the UMindfulness, the University’s Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative. Scott collaborates on neuroscience research into the efficacy of mindfulness training programs in high stress professions and has written numerous articles and authored five books on mindfulness, including The Elements of Mindfulness. He has appeared on television and radio and been interviewed in newspapers and magazines across the world for his creative and accessible methods of sharing mindfulness with people of all ages and walks of life. Scott is principal advisor to Innergy Meditation in Miami, and lives with his family in Miami Beach, Florida.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online at Mindful.org next week.

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About Our Contributor

Find more from Scott Rogers here.

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If you want to learn about how mindfulness can help you make room for and move through all kinds of challenging emotions, check out these articles:

• A Mindful Guide to Navigating Difficult Emotions
• The Upside of Sadness
• Making Friends with Difficult Emotions

For more practice, here’s another meditation to try: A Guided Meditation for Navigating Difficult Emotions.

And more from Mindful here:

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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.