READER’S DIGEST
June• 2019 | 41how you’re feeling and what you’re
experiencing, without judgment.
Howdoesit targetworry?
Worrying is about future scenarios.
Mindfulness grounds you in the mo-
ment, reducing that anxiety of what’s
to come so you can be more present
with what’s happening now.
Do these principles help
when y ou’re not meditating?
Mindfulness isn’t just about what
happens during the meditation – it’s
about how it translates to the rest of
your life. So if you’re in a situation
where you get frustrated, you have
the ability to stop and centre your-
self by slowing your brain down
and n ot reacting. When you’re being
mindful, you’re taking time away
from your to-do list and the worry
so that when you come back to those
things, you’ve created space for your-
self. It’s like closing all the tabs in
your internet browser. When you reo-
pen, you’re running a little faster and
you’re more connected to yourself.
How should one get started?
Meditation isn’t something you do
once and then feel a tremendous
change i n your life. It takes consist-
ency a nd commitment.
Begin with a few minutes at the
same time every day, and joining a
local group can help you face poten-
tial challenges as you practise more
frequently.
EXHALE YOUR
WORRIES
When you’re overwhelmed, Thring
recommends a simple breathing ex-
ercise called box breathing to slow
down your mind and help you feel
more in control. Here’s how:
Inhale for a count of four, hold for
four seconds, then exhale for four
and hold again for four seconds be-
fore starting again. Repeat this for
two minutes, working your way up to
longer spans of time as needed.Worry Dreams
Decoded
Sometimes our concerns keep us
up a t night, but other times they
come through in our dreams. “Wor-
ry dreams usually show us images
from the psyche in an effort to help
us,” says Ursula Carsen, a psycho-
therapist who specialises in dreams.
She explains that many dreams
are trying to tell us to stop and
take a break from something that’s
overwhelming us. A classic exam-
ple is when someone dreams that