Why Sometimes You Just Need to Get Out of Your Head

When life feels busy, sometimes the answer isn’t to think your way through it. It’s to pause, breathe and come back to yourself.

We spend a lot of time in our heads.

… Thinking about what needs to be done.
… Replaying what happened yesterday.
… Planning what needs to happen tomorrow.
… Running through lists while we’re supposedly relaxing.

And sometimes, you just need to step out of all that thinking for a little while.

That’s where meditation and mindfulness can help.

Meditation isn’t about stopping your thoughts

One of the biggest misconceptions about meditation is that you’re supposed to empty your mind… Good luck with that! Thoughts are going to come and go. That’s what minds do.

Meditation gives you an opportunity to notice what’s happening without having to chase every thought. You might bring your attention to your breathing, the sensations in your body, sounds around you or simply the experience of sitting quietly.

And when your mind wanders, you gently bring your attention back.

That’s the practice.

Mindfulness brings you back to what’s happening now

Mindfulness is about paying attention to your present experience with curiosity rather than automatically getting caught up in it.

You might notice the feeling of your feet on the floor, the warmth of your coffee, the sound of birds outside, your breathing or the sensations in your body.

These moments can be incredibly ordinary. And that’s the point.

You don’t have to wait until you’re on holiday, sitting beside a mountain stream or completely free of responsibilities to experience a moment of presence.

You can practice being here, right in the middle of everyday life.

Why make space for meditation?

Meditation isn’t another thing you need to be good at or another item to tick off your wellness list. It can simply be a few minutes where you stop doing and start noticing.

Regular meditation practice may help you:

create a little more space around busy thoughts
become more aware of your body and how you’re feeling
practice bringing your attention back to the present
develop greater awareness of stress and tension
create a regular opportunity to pause and reset
become more comfortable with stillness

And sometimes, the biggest benefit is simply giving yourself permission to stop.

You don’t need an hour

You don’t need a special meditation cushion, you don’t need to sit cross-legged, you don’t need to clear your mind, and you certainly don’t need to become a different, calmer, more spiritual version of yourself before you start.

Start with a few minutes.

Sit comfortably.
Notice your breathing.
Feel what’s happening in your body.
Listen to the sounds around you.
When your attention wanders, notice that too.
Then come back.

That’s meditation.

Coming back to the body

This is one of the reasons I love embodied meditation.

We spend so much of our lives thinking, planning and doing that we can lose touch with what’s actually happening in our bodies.

Meditation gives us an opportunity to reconnect… To breathe… To notice… To feel… To be here.

And sometimes, when you come back into your body, you realise you had been holding onto much more than you thought.

You don’t have to change everything.

Sometimes you just need to pause long enough to notice where you are.