A racing mind is a signal of too much activity in your life.
The thoughts zoom like crazy and prevent you from being able to be present, focused, appreciative, and sometimes keep you from sleeping.
In Ayurveda, a racing mind is a sign of someone who is ‘vata deranged.’ Too much speed.
What can you do to calm the mind and tame your vata derangement? (hey, I’m deranged too! :))
- MEET SPEED WITH SPEED. Although I teach meditation and yoga, I’m not a fan of ‘just relax’ when your mind is going nuts. If you ‘just relaxed’ you may go off the deep end. I suggest meeting speed with speed with a short duration activity. Sprint. Dance really fast. Shake and flail your body. Do push-ups. Raise your hands up and down over your head as you breathe in and out quickly for 30 seconds. Meet the crazy with where it is at for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then…
- VOCALIZE. No, don’t yell at your boss, kids, self, or partner. Don’t say words at all. Vocalize with any sound other than words. Try humming (don’t hum to a tune, one note humming is best). It is instantly calms the nervous system. Some say it even stimulates the pineal gland in the brain. Extra bonus points if you plug your ears and hum at the same time.
- NOW BREATHE. Inhale through the nose and out through the mouth 3 times. Then inhale through the nose for 3 beats and exhale through the nose for 4 beats. Exhaling longer than your inhale stimulates the parasympathetic (calming) fibers in your lower lungs. Your mind will respond in kind to a calmer body.
In order for this to work, you have to try it and in this order. 3 minutes to more sanity.
Enjoy this practice – Onward friends!
© Copyright 2013 Angela Savitri – Capri Health
