Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is an awareness of our experiences in the moment without judgment.
We can use tools like meditation, mindful movement, or mindful time in nature to help cultivate this state.
Mindfulness practices have been used for thousands of years by cultures around the globe as a way to stay balanced, centered, and present. And there’s modern scientific evidence to prove the benefits.
Mindfulness boosts memory, focus, and mood while decreasing anxiety. It can help us control our impulses, build more positive relationships, and view life with a more open mind.
For mindfulness — for anything, really — to work best, it’s good to practice it regularly. Click one of the buttons below as a way to start.
Try meditation
Meditation is simple, and powerful. It can calm our nervous system, lower blood pressure, decrease pain, decrease frequency and intensity of asthma attacks, boost mood, lower anxiety, and actually improve our brain chemistry.
However, meditation can be challenging for those of us with ACEs, which is why it’s important to practice it in a way that feels comfortable for you. We recommend starting with these short, trauma sensitive meditations (they’re great for beginners!). Give them a try, and find more from our friends at Yoga Ed.
Release and Relaxation (2 minutes)
The video is in English, but Spanish subtitles can be turned on.
Check-in and Relaxation (3 minutes)
The video is in English, but Spanish subtitles can be turned on.
If at any time you feel too anxious or triggered, take a moment to get to a better place. And please don’t feel badly about doing so. This is an exercise for your wellbeing — not someone else’s — and part of that is recognizing where your limits are at any given time.
Here are a few ways to get grounded if you need to:
- Use your senses to notice the space around you while taking slow and steady breaths
- Change your position — you could sit up or stand up or walk around
- Tap here for more simple actions you can take to Get Grounded
Try a calming practice
Our friends at Yoga Ed have put together a video with three short practices to help calm mind and body. When our mind (or heart) is racing, these grounding techniques can help bring us back to the here and now. So find a quiet place, pull up a chair, and give them a try.
Learn more about Yoga Ed.'s grounding tools
Yoga Ed. Mind-Body Resources develop the mind-body connection to enhance health, well-being, learning, and behavior. Through breathing, movement, and relaxation, we learn how to find safety in our bodies, navigate both uncomfortable and comfortable sensations, become aware of our internal states, and utilize mind-body resources to regulate emotions and behavior. Grounding is one valuable mind-body resource. When your mind is racing, grounding brings you back to the here and now and is helpful in managing anxiety or overwhelming feelings. Grounding involves being present with your body and bringing your attention to what is happening to you physically in your body or surroundings instead of the thoughts in your mind. Specifically, through grounding techniques, you consciously focus on your feet, your legs, and the earth beneath them. Physically, anxiety and dissociation often shunt energy up the body and away from the legs. The invitation to feel our feet on the floor, or anything that is touching the earth, such as to feel our legs move, can shift energy into our lower body and bring the attention back to the present moment. This video provides three Yoga Ed. tools for practicing grounding, including a breathing exercise, a yoga pose, and a guided relaxation.
Write it down
For those of us living with ACEs, our innermost thoughts and memories can sometimes feel tangled and uncomfortable to access. And that’s normal. But science shows that journaling and reflection can help us to process and cope with difficult emotions.
We’ve put together two writing prompts to help cultivate mindfulness and nurture self-compassion (two important tools for healing). Launch notes on your phone, open a journal, or just grab a piece of paper and start with the first action below.
Write a thank you note to someone you’re grateful for, whether you know them personally or not. (You don’t have to send it to them).
Write a thank you note to yourself. For starters, thank yourself for starting your healing journey. It's a big deal.
Well done! And just so you know, if you're not comfortable writing it down, you can express yourself in drawings, doodles, or whatever kind of creative expression feels good to you.