Mindfulness

"If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are peace, you are living in the present."
                               - Lao Tzu

When I feel overwhelmed and can't control the flurry of thoughts, worries, regrets flying around my head I turn to guided visualizations. My first experience with visualization was in Royal West Academy's drama club where we were all laying on the floor, eyes closed and started a body scan (paying attention to your body parts one by one head to toes) then envisioned ourselves floating on a body of water. It was so real I could feel the soft lapping of the imaginary water surrounding me. Living in the moment, for me, is ultimate peace and tranquility as rare as it is.

Lake many other meditation does not come easy to me and I find it difficult to attend guided meditations with many people. I turn to online resources that I can use at home where it is already peaceful and quiet. In addition to the youtube video, here are few links that have been extremely helpful for me and are all free:

1. Just-a-Minute - One minute clips that are great when you are pressed for time. I prefer the visualizations (under the resources tab), with Letting Go being my absolute favourite for nearly a decade.
2. UCLA - download the iTunes U app and subscribe to "Mindful Meditations UCLA". Times range from 5 minutes to 20 minutes.
3. Kaiser Permanente - Amazing visualizations but a time commitment of at least 30 minutes. I listen to the weight loss podcast once a day.