How to Be Present and Peaceful When You Can’t Stop Thinking
Move Your Body with the Rhythm of Your Breath
When You Have 2 Minutes:
Breathwork is the perfect tool to use to slow your thinking fast. Place your hands on your belly and close your eyes. Breathe in deeply through the nose to the count of four, filling your belly with your breath.
Breathe out as slowly as you can through the mouth to the count of eight. Continue for 2 minutes, and your thought will still, and you will feel much more present and peaceful.
When You Have 5 Minutes:
Either sitting or standing, bring your arms to your sides. Breathe in deeply through the nose as slowly as you can as you stretch the arms out to the sides and up over your head until your fingertips touch.
Exhale as slowly as possible, and bring the hands together and down the front of the body and back to your sides. Repeat this movement, flowing fluidly like water, linking your breath with movement.
Next, switch the direction. Bring your hands up along the central axis of the body and up over your head on the inhalation, and stretch the arms out as you allow them to glide slowly back to your sides.
Repeat this flow, making your inhalation and exhalation as slow as you can as you float the arms up and around.
When you have 10-15 Minutes:
When you can’t calm yourself, land into the present moment, and stop thinking, then it is often negative thoughts that are running through your mind. Going from racing thoughts to no thoughts and serenity is too big of a jump for the majority of people on the planet.
You are not alone!
What we need is to stop berating ourselves for not being able to switch off the brain instantly. Instead, we can create a bridge from fast and furious thinking to blissful mindfulness.
This is HOW: get outside and go for a gratitude walk in the fresh air.
Gratitude is scientifically proven to have a profound positive effect. Start repeating in your head, “I am so grateful.”
After two minutes, add on what you are grateful for to the end of your statement. Start small and simple.
I am so grateful to breathe in the fresh air. I am so thankful to be able to go for a walk.
I am so grateful for the heart pumping in my chest.
I am so thankful for the sun shining on my face.
I am so grateful for the beauty of the tree swaying in the breeze in front of me.
Feel the vibration of thankfulness in your chest; experiencing the emotion in your heart is a critical ingredient in making the practice potent and powerful.
After 7-10 minutes, you can check in with how you are feeling. Are you elevated? Now is the time to come to stillness. Lean against a tree.
Feel the texture of the bark. Breathe in deep and imagine the roots of the tree deep in the earth. Try to feel grounded to the earth.
Or take off your shoes and go walking barefoot through the grass or sand. Feel rooted and connected to the planet.
In a final step, become still, close your eyes, and imagine warm, healing energy flowing up from the earth into your feet, up your legs, torso, fingertips, arms, and out the crown of your head.
As you exhale, visualize healing lavender energy flowing down from space into the crown of your head and over and through your entire body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
For three to five minutes, see the light traveling up from the earth through your body on the inhalation, and down from space through your body and the exhalation.
Do not judge yourself if thoughts arise and pull your attention away. Just return your attention to the visualization.
Follow these three steps, and within just ten to fifteen minutes, you will be able to slow or stop your racing thoughts and become calmer and more present.
When You Have 20-60 Minutes:
Allow your body to dive deep into the present moment and become peaceful, present, and blissful by doing yoga, qi gong, or tai chi practice.
There are a wide variety of yoga styles and intensities available, so you can find one that suits your level of fitness, personality, and vibration.
Some of my personal favorites that I teach are Power Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Fascia Yoga, and Yin Yoga. Power yoga will enable you to get in a total body workout, builds strength and flexibility, and is heat-inducing.
Vinyasa yoga links breath with movement in a fluid flow of yoga asana postures for greater strength, flexibility, balance, and dexterity.
Hatha yoga is more static, calmer, and softer. You hold each posture longer and bring the focus to the movement of the breath in and out of the body in each pose.