How to Meditate and Calm Down

In a 2013 study published in Thailand’s premier medical you are feeling up

Method1
Practicing Walking Meditation to Calm Down

1
Make sure you have a safe place to walk. While you can practice walking meditation any time you are walking anywhere (e.g. while walking to school or work), if you are new to the practice, it’s best to choose a place where you can walk without encountering traffic.^[2]
- It is important to be safe while walking. While this type of meditation is great for calming down and relaxing, you do have to remain aware of what you are doing and where you are walking. It is not meant to be a trance-like state.
2
Decide how long you want to walk. You can walk for five minutes if that's all you have time for, but you can also walk for 30 minutes or an hour if you have the time, and are feeling particularly anxious and caught up in the daily grind.
- Knowing how long you want to walk can be helpful in choosing a place to walk. If you know you’re only going to walk for five minutes, you can probably find a small park to walk through.
- If you are feeling very upset about something you can also skip this step and just dive straight into walking. You can walk for as long as you feel like walking or until you feel that you’ve calmed down.
3
Stand still. Before you begin your walking meditation, start by standing still outside. Take a few deep breaths, and breathe as deeply as you can into your belly. Try to notice your breath and how it feels going into your body, and then how it feels as you exhale.^[3]
- After you take a few deep breaths, return to your normal breathing, but try to stay focused on your normal breathing.
- Try to become aware of how your body is feeling. Notice any soreness you might have or any tension you are feeling.
- Some also recommend setting an “intention” before each meditation session. If you are meditating to calm down, you could make this your intention. For example, while you are standing there breathing, think about exactly what it is that is upsetting you, but don’t think about what you are going to do about it. Say to yourself, “During this meditation, I want to calm myself.” You could also simply say to yourself, “Calm.”
4
Start walking. Now that you have become more aware of your physical and emotional feelings, start walking. You don’t need to walk fast. Instead, just walk at a pace that feels comfortable for you.^[4]
- While you walk, try to stay focused on the physical sensations that you feel as you walk. For example, do you notice any pain in your knees? How do your feet feel as they touch the ground?
- You will probably get distracted by something you notice while you are walking, or your mind will want to wander back to whatever upset you. Don’t get even more upset by beating yourself up about this. When you notice your thoughts have wandered, simply go back to focusing on how walking feels.
5
Become aware of your feet. As you walk, start to pay attention to how your feet feel. How do they feel as they touch the ground? How do the socks feel on your feet? Are your shoes tied tightly, or are they a bit loose?^[5]
- Once you have spent some time focusing on your feet, slowly start to move upwards. For example, move to your ankles. Think about the sensation of your ankle joints allowing your feet to flex and relax. Then continue to move slowly up your body stopping anywhere you notice tension.
- When you notice tension in the body, focus on letting that tension go. Let the tension in your hips relax, and allow them to swing loosely. Visualize the tension leaving your body and floating away.
6
Keep returning to the walking. Inevitably, especially if you are very stressed, you will find it difficult to remain focused on yourself. Don’t get upset about this as it is normal for most people. When you notice that your mind has wandered to something that has upset you or that has stressed you out just do your best to refocus your mind on the sensations of walking.^[6]
- Remember that meditation is a practice. This means that you aren’t meant to become the ultimate master of meditation in a month or even a year, but instead that you can practice meditating to become better at it. You will have some days where it is very easy to stay calm and focused, and some days you will find it nearly impossible.
7
Return back to home/school/work whenever you feel ready. If you have set yourself a time limit, then return when your time is up. On the other hand, if you are walking until you feel more calm, return when you feel like you have calmed down enough.
- Having a calm mind will allow you to deal with the problem with less anger, and may help you see solutions you weren’t able to see before.

Meth
Practicing Mindfulness Meditation to Calm Yourself

1
Find a peaceful place where you won’t be bothered. You can meditate anywhere, but it will be easier to focus if you can find a quiet place where you will be left alone. You can meditate in your bedroom or even outside if you want to.^[7]
- Try to minimize distractions. Turn off the television, the computer, the stereo, and close the door to the room you are in to keep any pets from wandering in.
2
Set a timer. This is not a requirement, but it can be helpful for allowing you to completely focus without wondering how long you’ve been meditating. Nearly all smartphones come with a timer, so you can just set it for however long you want to meditate, and start it once you’re ready to begin. Try choosing an alarm sound that isn't too jarring — try setting it to the sound of chimes or something melodic so you won't be shocked out of meditation when it goes off.
- If you’re brand new to meditating, try to aim for a short time, maybe five minutes.
- If you are very upset by something, meditating for a bit longer (say 10 minutes) may be very helpful in allowing you to center yourself.
3
Find a comfortable sitting position. You can sit on the floor on a meditation cushion, you can sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. The important part is that you find a stable position to sit in.^[8]
- You will want to sit up straight while you meditate, so make sure that you will be able to comfortably do so in your chosen sitting position.
4
Set an intention. This is not totally necessary, but it may be helpful if you want to calm down through meditation. Give yourself a few minutes to think about what is upsetting you without trying to solve the problem. Think about the emotions you are feeling. Then, think about what you hope to accomplish through meditation. For example, “I want to calm down so I can deal with this problem better.”
- Your intention can even be a single word or phrase. For example, the intention of your meditation might be to calm down, so you could simply say to yourself, “Calm.” It can be helpful to say the word or phrase that is your intention aloud, but if you don’t want to, then just say it silently to yourself.
5
Rest your arms on your lap. You should try to rest your arms so that your upper arms are parallel with your body. You can rest your forearms on your lap with each arm resting gently on the legs.^[9]
- You don’t have to sit with your hands in any particular position (e.g. with palms facing upwards and index finger and thumb touching), just sit however feels most comfortable for you.
6
Relax your gaze. You should allow your chin to gently drop just a little bit, and allow your gaze to rest on a point in front of you.^[10]
- You don’t need to stare at a fixed point, just let your gaze land wherever feels comfortable.
- You can also close your eyes if that is most comfortable for you.
7
Begin to notice your breathing. Focusing on the breath is the biggest part of mindfulness meditation. All you have to do is focus on your breath going in and out. Is it cool going into your nostrils? Is one nostril more open than the other?^[11]
- You can focus more on the in-breath for awhile and then switch your focus to noticing the out-breath more for awhile. You can also focus on the whole pattern of breathing from start to finish if you like.
- If you find that you absolutely cannot clear your mind, then incorporate your anger/worry/stress into your meditation. For example, imagine your anger leaving your body through each out-breath. Think of each in-breath entering your body and “cleaning up” all the anger, and carrying it away as it leaves your body.