In modern society a mindfulness meditation practice may need to part of your daily basics.

Mindfulness meditation: A Return to home - cultivating a sense of safety.

I believe that sustainable wellbeing isn’t built on hacks, heroics, or the next trending product. It begins with having a strong foundation with the basics. Things like deep rest, whole food, connection, movement, meaning (action aligned with values) and the practice of mindfulness meditation.

In today’s modern world, we’re constantly pulled by an incessant undercurrent of urgency. Common modern beliefs often involve: be faster, do more, stay ahead. Add to that the fear-based messaging we encounter daily: social media, news, wellness marketing that quietly suggests something is wrong with you (and conveniently offers a fix you can buy). The result? A nervous system that’s constantly bracing, scanning, and rarely feeling grounded and secure.

When it comes to your wellbeing, safety/security isn’t a luxury; it’s a biological requirement.

A healthy nervous system doesn’t live in perpetual calm. It's agile. It responds to challenge, then returns to it's centre - it's home - safety - there is a homeostatic balance of action and rest. But when you’re always in 'action mode' or drive, in otherwords, always chasing or fending off the next thing, your system can lose that flexibility and agility. You can end up stuck in survival mode: in fight, in flight, or in freeze. For many, survival mode becomes a baseline and when survival mode is your baseline, you may be more prone to chronic stress and burnout.

Here is the thing: the nervous system can’t always tell the difference between a real threat and an inbox full of unread emails, a passive-aggressive message, or the relentless pace of life. It can reacts as if everything is a threat .

This is where mindfulness becomes essential.

Not as a magic fix and escape. It is not aimed to remove stress entirely. It can anchor you in a storm and build resilience by expanding your your window of tolerance to stress. How - mindfulness meditation can be a gentle, grounded signal to your body: You are safe. You are home.

Mindfulness meditation is not about perfection. It’s not about clearing your mind or achieving some enlightened state. It’s about noticing on purpose with curiousity not judgement. Pausing. The practice allows you to become aware of the moment you’re in -  aware of the inner landscape - sensations, thoughts, feelings; aware of your surroundings - increasing granularity of an experience. Over time, this presence becomes a powerful antidote to the noise - it helps you build an anchor for the storms. It grounds you and can create space between stimulus and response, which can allow you to respond to life wither greater clarity and alignment.

And when practiced consistently, mindfulness meditation can help your system restore its natural rhythm and agility. From stuck to fluid. From reactive to responsive. From scattered to centred. It’s one of the simplest things we can do. It is a quiet, radical rebellion against the modern hustle.

A mindfulness meditation practice can look different for everyone. The principles are simple: pay attention on purpose, without judgement - notice when your mind has drifted and gently come back to noticing. The analogy of you are the sky and everything else is the weather can be helpful - mindfulness meditation can help you strengthen your observing mind - the sky. The thoughts, feelings, sensations - are the weather.

Here is a simple mindfulness meditation that I practice every morning - you can do this in a couple of minutes or for as long as feels releastic/sustainable:

1. Sit somewhere comfortably with an upright, relaxed posture (e.g. on a chair feet flat on the ground or on a cushion. Support your body with props if needed.

2. Body scan - scan through the body from head to toe - noticing any sensation or lack there of.

3. Eyes open take some breaths on purpose.

4. If comfortable close the eyes or just soften the gaze.

5. Without changing your breath, just notice it - the rise and fall of the chest/belly; where the breath enters the body and how it leaves.

6. To anchor your awareness count the breaths up to 10 and repeat - inhale 1, exhale 2....

7. Your mind will wander - this is okay and normal! we are changing the relationship with our thoughts - imagine they are like cars driving by - you will likely be lost in thought and catch yourself - this is okay. Gently bring your mind back to your anchor. This is the work - simply returning to the moment. You might return 100+ times.

8. Let your anchor go - allow your mind to do what it wants.

9. Come back to the body - remind yourself - I am safe, I am grounded.

Some great support tools to support building a mindfulness meditation practice:

Headspace App

Insight timer App

Calm App

In Wellington, AWHI yoga offers a variety of mindfulness based practices - yoga, meditation. Practice mindfulness in a community of support.

I'd love to hear if you have a mindfulness practice or would like to build one.

If you’re ready to uncover what’s really driving your symptoms - and want a clear, personalised plan to support your health from the root up - I'd love to chat..

Book a free Vitality Strategy Call to explore whether inflammation is playing a role in your health concerns and how I can support you.

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