Be Where You Are: Mindfulness Meditation

We spend much of our lives on auto-pilot, our bodies mindlessly going through the motions while our thoughts are elsewhere. In fact, our thoughts have a habit of drifting to what has already happened and what is about to happen, leading to feelings such as anxiety, stress, and depression. The antidote for mindlessness is mindfulness, paying attention to the present moment without judgement. When you are truly focused on the here and now, you can’t also be focused on those unpleasant thoughts.

Formal mindfulness practices can help us to cultivate the skills to be more mindful as we move through our lives. The “Be Where You Are” meditation is from “Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life: The New Acceptance & Commitment Therapy,” a book by Steven Hayes, Ph.D., the originator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Click the play button above to be guided through noticing the sensations in your body. Your body is always with you, yet you rarely pay much attention to it. By taking some time to focus on just the sensations in your body, you may also achieve a moment of peace from distressing thoughts.