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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hi! Welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. So today, we'll talk about how self-compassion eases anxiety and stress, soothes our nervous system, and calms our minds. So, some of us respond to anxiety when it arises with denial, we might try to push it away, or we might try to fight with it. Sometimes we might be frustrated, ashamed, or angry with it. And while there's nothing wrong with any of these emotions, they do have a tendency to intensify our difficult feelings, rev up our nervous system and pull us into reactivity and struggle.
So, what would happen if instead of fearing anxiety or fighting with it, we met it with kindness and compassion? What if we approached it with an open heart? So, although that might sound a little counterintuitive to open your heart to anxiety, it's actually a powerful way to regulate our emotions and finding a calm. So, according to professor Paul Gilbert, we have three types of emotional regulation systems. We've got the threat system, the drive system and what he calls, the soothing system. So, the threat system focuses on self-protection. It's our fight or flight response.
The drive system is reward-focused. It's involved in wanting, striving, achieving, and consuming. It's what helped our ancestors go and find food and make shelters and tools. The soothing system focuses on bonding and connection. It involves caring, kindness, and play.
In the soothing system, we feel more safe, relaxed, content, and connected. Now, when we're experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, we often get stuck in our threat system. And when that happens, we can start to feel frantic, revved up, reactive and unhappy. And if we're responding to that anxiety with anger, shame, fear, and struggle, we just get more stuck there. But if we can bring compassion and kindness to what's happening, we switch on our soothing system and we start to surround our anxiety with care, kindness, and soothing.
So when we switch that soothing system on, our brain also releases oxytocin, so we get this squirt of hormone that makes us feel connected, calm, and happy. So oxytocin is often called the cuddle hormone because of that sense of love and connection that it brings. It makes us feel safe. So by practicing self-compassion and kindness, what happens is we stop getting caught in that vicious cycle. We soothe our nervous system and bring kindness to ourselves when we need it the most.
So in today's meditation, we're going to practice in this way — bringing loving kindness to our feelings, to ourselves and to whatever arises.
The Power of Self-Compassion
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi! Welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. So today, we'll talk about how self-compassion eases anxiety and stress, soothes our nervous system, and calms our minds. So, some of us respond to anxiety when it arises with denial, we might try to push it away, or we might try to fight with it. Sometimes we might be frustrated, ashamed, or angry with it. And while there's nothing wrong with any of these emotions, they do have a tendency to intensify our difficult feelings, rev up our nervous system and pull us into reactivity and struggle.
So, what would happen if instead of fearing anxiety or fighting with it, we met it with kindness and compassion? What if we approached it with an open heart? So, although that might sound a little counterintuitive to open your heart to anxiety, it's actually a powerful way to regulate our emotions and finding a calm. So, according to professor Paul Gilbert, we have three types of emotional regulation systems. We've got the threat system, the drive system and what he calls, the soothing system. So, the threat system focuses on self-protection. It's our fight or flight response.
The drive system is reward-focused. It's involved in wanting, striving, achieving, and consuming. It's what helped our ancestors go and find food and make shelters and tools. The soothing system focuses on bonding and connection. It involves caring, kindness, and play.
In the soothing system, we feel more safe, relaxed, content, and connected. Now, when we're experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, we often get stuck in our threat system. And when that happens, we can start to feel frantic, revved up, reactive and unhappy. And if we're responding to that anxiety with anger, shame, fear, and struggle, we just get more stuck there. But if we can bring compassion and kindness to what's happening, we switch on our soothing system and we start to surround our anxiety with care, kindness, and soothing.
So when we switch that soothing system on, our brain also releases oxytocin, so we get this squirt of hormone that makes us feel connected, calm, and happy. So oxytocin is often called the cuddle hormone because of that sense of love and connection that it brings. It makes us feel safe. So by practicing self-compassion and kindness, what happens is we stop getting caught in that vicious cycle. We soothe our nervous system and bring kindness to ourselves when we need it the most.
So in today's meditation, we're going to practice in this way — bringing loving kindness to our feelings, to ourselves and to whatever arises.
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Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
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