How Meditation In The Rain Helped Me Overcome Anxiousness & Stress

I didn’t realize it on the time, however a robust two-hour meditation session within the rain would rework my concern and nervousness eternally.

Let me take you again…

Years in the past there was a bloody terrible time in my life when my pricey mother almost handed and on the similar time I used to be breaking apart with my girlfriend, all whereas coping with a serious well being concern. I received’t lie. I used to be in a horrible state, my stress and nervousness ranges had been via the roof, and I used to be having panic assaults. It felt as if I had been being electrocuted from the within. And it went on for weeks.

Then in the future I simply couldn’t take it anymore. I demanded myself to go exterior and meditate for nonetheless lengthy it took to work my means out of the maze of stress in my thoughts. I’m about to inform you how I did that, as a result of I’m very assured that my expertise, and what I discovered from it, might be very useful for you in the event you’re going via a time of stress.

Fast Reality Break: What Stress Does To The Mind

How I Meditated Out Of Stress And Anxiousness

It was a really wet spring day after I determined I’d meditate till I escaped my fears.

And right here we come to the primary inalienable fact of meditation and nervousness: it may be loopy troublesome to make your self meditate throughout instances of acute stress. At such instances you are feeling way more like screaming on the high of your lungs than sitting silently and observing your breath.

It’s paradoxical that meditation, arguably the perfect factor for stress, is the very last thing you are feeling like doing whenever you’re careworn. I believe there’s a level of concern too, since you’re typically nervous about what ideas you may observe whenever you lastly sit in silence — whenever you lastly cease distracting your self from all that ache inside.

For me, it took a second of sheer will — the sort of will you’ve gotten when ripping off a bandaid — to truly make myself go exterior to meditate. However I did resolve to face the music and dance. And so I went exterior and stood within the pouring rain. And have you learnt what? Standing within the rain helped an amazing deal.

Throughout instances of utmost stress, you are feeling much more like screaming than sitting silently and observing your breath.

Fast Perception: Why Meditation Feels Laborious Throughout Stress

• Battle-or-flight mode makes sitting nonetheless really feel unnatural
• Worry of ideas: Silence can amplify painful feelings
• Vitality imbalance: Restlessness and agitation peak throughout stress

Standing within the Rain Helped…

After I determined to meditate within the rain that day, it wasn’t deliberate. I used to be simply determined to be alone, exterior, and respiratory deeply.

However wanting again, I’m completely sure the rain helped me floor myself through the meditation session. Scientifically, we all know that tapping (Emotional Freedom Method) and chilly publicity can assist to cut back nervousness signs. So it makes excellent sense that the chilly rain tapping in opposition to my pores and skin naturally supported my try at overcoming stress via meditation.

Additionally, due to the rain, I couldn’t sit down. That turned out to be one other blessing. I used to be too agitated to sit down calmly, however standing? That felt doable. Possibly it’s the physique language distinction — standing feels stronger, extra empowered than sitting passively.

Apparently, standing meditation is a standard method in Daoist practices. It’s referred to as Zhan Zhuang, and it’s used to align the physique with pure forces and strengthen inside power (Qi). It additionally teaches stillness within the face of discomfort, one thing I desperately wanted at the moment.

Standing Meditation (Zhan Zhuang) At A Look

I Additionally Used Abhaya Mudra

One other necessary a part of my meditation that day was my hand gesture: Abhaya Mudra.

That is an historic gesture symbolizing fearlessness, safety, and peace. You carry out it by elevating your proper hand to shoulder top, palm dealing with outward, fingers prolonged upward.

Symbolically, it’s about projecting power and calm, which is strictly what I wanted to beat my intense nervousness. Utilizing it helped me embody the interior energy to remain current via the storm — each exterior and inside.

How Abhaya Mudra Helps Anxiousness

• Represents fearlessness and security
• Embodies braveness bodily via posture
• Rewires body-mind connection towards calmness

And So, My Anxiousness Meditation Started

The second I attempted to meditate, it turned apparent: I couldn’t use my standard meditation method. My thoughts was too scrambled for that.

Usually, I’d concentrate on my respiratory, however each time I attempted, my thoughts would instantly spiral into stress ideas. So as an alternative of forcing a inflexible methodology, I gave myself permission to concentrate on something within the current second: the rain on my pores and skin, the sensation of my toes planted on the bottom, the sound of the wind.

The straightforward rule I gave myself was: “If you get too misplaced in ideas or feelings, simply come again to any sensory expertise.”

It took a very long time. However slowly, my thoughts started to quiet. I began feeling extra grounded, extra alive, extra right here.

Fast Tip: Sensory Focus Meditation Technique

• Give attention to one sense (contact, sound, odor, and so on.)
• When overwhelmed, return to that sensory anchor
• Light consideration, no power or strain to pay attention

That Meditation Modified Issues

I’m not going to inform you I immediately healed all my trauma in two hours. This isn’t Instagram.

However I’ll inform you this: that meditation created an actual shift in me.

The stress and nervousness had been nonetheless there after that wet meditation, however my mindset had modified dramatically. Earlier than, I had felt hopeless, trapped in my struggling. Afterward, I felt empowered. I spotted that even in the midst of overwhelming stress, I might maintain myself via it with meditation.

And that realization began me on the true path to therapeutic.

Prepared To Begin Therapeutic By Meditation?

In the event you’re scuffling with stress or nervousness, meditation could make all of the distinction.
Begin easy. Begin now.
And in the event you’d like some steering, try my free sources or e book a non-public meditation teaching session with me.
You might be stronger than you suppose.

Paul Harrison is a meditation instructor with 20+ years of expertise and a deep ardour for serving to others. Identified for his empathy and genuine method, he’s devoted to guiding people and groups towards mindfulness, readability, and well-being.