A lot of our tiredness is due to the overload of our minds. It takes a lot of energy to worry, to ruminate, to let the mind go wild in random thoughts. Awareness of breath is a skillful meditation that will give your mind a rest. Using the breath as an anchor regularly throughout the day will help to rejuvenate, to bring clarity and calm.

Awareness of Breath

Mindful movements involve focusing on the sensations in your body as it moves. Just as with meditation when the mind wanders away from feeling the body moving, we simply bring it back to being with the sensations of moving in the present moment. This helps with focusing, calming the mind, releasing tensions in the body, unifying body and mind. This can be done when we get up or during a break from the computer, or any other work. It can also be helpful before a seated meditation. This series is a mix of stretches and Qigong movements, in a standing posture.

Mindful Movements - Standing

Mindful movements involve focusing on the sensations in your body as it moves. Just as with meditation, when the mind wanders away from feeling the body moving, we simply bring it back, 'being' with the sensations of moving in the present moment. This helps with focusing, calming the mind, releasing tensions in the body, and unifying body and mind. This can be done when we get up or during a break from the computer or any other work. It can also be helpful before a seated meditation. This series is a mix of stretches and Qigong movements in a standing posture.

The ‘Three Steps Breathing Space coping with difficulty’ (from MBCT - Mark Williams UK), helps to cope with difficult feelings in an efficient way, using the mindful approach. With this practice we learn to hold our experience with kindness, self-compassion and non-judgment. We use the breath as an anchor and to find a steady place. The mindful approach helps to dissolve the intensity of the feelings and body sensations, it creates mind space to see more clearly and therefore choose a wiser response to deal with the situation.

Breathing Space Coping with Difficulty

Short Meditation when feeling under pressure When we feel under pressure or overwhelmed we tend to use our habitual coping strategies – eating crisps, sweets, coffee, shouting, shutting down, etc. These often lead to more stress. The Three Steps Breathing Space is a very short practice, from MBCT (Prof Mark Williams UK). It was created to deal with these situations in a short and efficient way. It dissolves negative thought patterns, creates mind space to see more clearly, and respond vs react.

Three Steps Breathing Space

Taking a pause, what I call ‘a bubble of time’, to create space within the busyness of the day. Pausing regularly even for a few seconds allows us to reconnect with the present moment and to stop the cycle of autopilot mode.

Pause - Create Space - Breathe

We often get lost in thoughts and driven on automatic pilot mode. This meditation on the sensations of body and breath helps with grounding, coming to the senses, and settling the mind, with the mindfulness attitudes of kindness, curiosity, and non-judgment.

Body Scan 20mins

A lot of our tiredness is due to the overload of our mind. It takes a lot of energy to worry, to ruminate, to let the mind go wild in random thoughts. Awareness of breath is a skillful meditation that will give your mind a rest. Using the breath as an anchor regularly throughout the day will help to rejuvenate, bring clarity and calm.

Taking a pause for 7 minutes, what I call ‘a bubble of time’, to create space within the busyness of the day. Pausing regularly allows us to reconnect with the present moment, to stop the autopilot mode and stress cycle.

The ‘Three Steps Breathing Space coping with difficulty’ (from MBCT - Prof Mark Williams UK), helps to cope with difficult feelings in an efficient way, using the mindful approach. With this practice we learn to hold our experience with kindness, self-compassion and non-judgment. We use the breath as an anchor and to find a steady place. The mindful approach helps to dissolve the intensity of the feelings and body sensations, it creates mind space to see more clearly and therefore choose a wiser response to deal with the situation.

When we feel under pressure or overwhelmed we tend to use our habitual coping strategies – (ie eating crisps or sugary snacks, coffee, alcohol, shouting, shutting down...). These often lead to more stressful situations. The Three Steps Breathing Space is a very short practice, from MBCT. It helps to cope with difficulty in a short and efficient way. Instead of pushing away the unpleasant, we learn to hold our experiences with openness and self-compassion.

We often live in our heads, unaware of the messages the body gives us. The Body Scan offers a gentle way of bringing the mind in the body, noticing our bodily experiences with curiosity and kindness, in the present moment. This practice can done sitting or lying down.

Body Scan 13mins

This meditation is based on the Body Scan mindfulness practice. By sensing the body with an attitude of kindness, using the breath to soften and sooth tensions as we go along, you will be gently switching from the doing, thinking mode to the sensing, being mode. This will help your body and mind to settle into a deeper sleep.

Meditation for Sleep

We often live in our heads, unaware of the messages the body gives us. The Body Scan offers a gentle way of bringing the mind in the body, noticing our bodily experiences with curiosity and kindness, in the present moment.

Body Scan

The mountain meditation helps you to ground and drop into a mode of being. It guides you to become aware of thoughts and feelings as passing events, just like the changing weather or seasons. Moving away from the usual tendencies of grasping or pushing away pleasant or unpleasant feelings, it encourages you to notice your inner weather patterns and allow your experience to be as it is, non-judgmentally and kindly.

Mountain Meditation

Sandrine Cranswick

Mindfulness Teacher & Coach

AFGHANISTAN

ALAND ISLANDS

ALBANIA

ALGERIA

AMERICAN SAMOA

ANDORRA

ANGOLA

ANGUILLA

ANTARCTICA

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

ARGENTINA

ARMENIA

ARUBA

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRIA

AZERBAIJAN

BAHAMAS

BAHRAIN

BANGLADESH

BARBADOS

BELARUS

BELGIUM

BELIZE

BENIN

BERMUDA

BHUTAN

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BONAIRE, SINT EUSTATIUS AND SABA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BOTSWANA

BOUVET ISLAND

BRAZIL

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BURKINA FASO

BURUNDI

CAMBODIA

CAMEROON

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CAPE VERDE

CAYMAN ISLANDS

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

CHAD

CHILE

CHINA

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

COLOMBIA

COMOROS

CONGO

CONGO, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE

COOK ISLANDS

COSTA RICA

COTE D'IVOIRE

CROATIA

CUBA

CURACAO

CYPRUS

CZECHIA

DENMARK

DJIBOUTI

DOMINICA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

ECUADOR

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EQUATORIAL GUINEA

ERITREA

ESTONIA

ETHIOPIA

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FAROE ISLANDS

FIJI

FINLAND

FRANCE

FRENCH GUIANA

FRENCH POLYNESIA

FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES

GABON

GAMBIA

GEORGIA

GERMANY

GHANA

GIBRALTAR

GREECE

GREENLAND

GRENADA

GUADELOUPE

GUAM

GUATEMALA

GUERNSEY

GUINEA

GUINEA-BISSAU

GUYANA

HAITI

HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY STATE)

HONDURAS

HONG KONG