Meditation and Mindfulness – Release the Emotions

Meditation is a great skill that helps us deal with the daily stresses of life. There are many, many studies proving various benefits to mental and physical health from a regular practice of meditation. Training your mind to engage with life in a new way can start with just a couple of minutes a day, which is better than longer practices done less regularly.

The basics of meditation are paying attention to the present on purpose. Personally, I find counting my heartbeats to be a good anchor. There’s a built in metronome, I need to quiet my body in order to sense my heartbeat, and while I can observe other thoughts come and go at the same time, the part of my mind automatically counting is calm and that calmness spreads.

In this watercolour illustration I have used figurative art and colour to represent someone meditating. The colours represent emotions and energies, the stacked stones, the anchor we use to calm ourselves to mindfulness, and the birds, thoughts that flutter and whirl within us.