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Learn two emergency meditation techniques that will help you deal with tough, anxious situations – and you don’t have to be sitting on your meditation cushion to use them!

Maybe vipassana mindfulness meditation teachers don’t explain this correctly to newcomers, but you’re supposed to learn to be mindful 100% of the time. Sometimes the relief you get from early meditation experience is so pleasant that you think that it will only happen when you are doing your formal meditation practice.

Not true! If you meditate consistently, you will start feeling that calm state of mind and body at other times. When you first learn to meditate, your nervous system is hypervigilant and anxious. You’re used to multitasking, jumping from one problem-solving effort to another. No wonder you’re exhausted. Once you learn to observe thoughts and feelings as they arise and pass away, you realize that most of those situations you thought were emergencies were nothing but impermanent spikes of thought and feeling. You gradually stop feeling like every little thing is an emergency. You relax into your day taking care of business mindfully, one chore at a time. What a relief.

This doesn’t mean you never have big problems. You will have disagreements with some people. Some days you’ll feel exhausted and short-tempered. Some days you can’t solve a problem at work, or maybe your young children are driving you crazy with their hyperactivity. Welcome to the real world!

There are two emergency meditation techniques that help you deal with tough, anxious situations, and you don’t have to be sitting on your meditation cushion to use them.

Emergency Meditation #1 – BREATHE. As soon as you notice yourself tensing up in some situation, stop right there. Bring all your attention to your breath. Take long, slow nasal breaths. Your mind will quickly shift from panic to awareness of breath. Your heart rate will slow down. You will start to think more clearly about how to proceed. Since breath focus is the first meditation skill, it’s the most obvious one to bring into action during stressful times. It also works great at the market when the person in front of you has a handful of coupons and is writing a check for $3.50.

Emergency Meditation #2 – SLOW DOWN YOUR MOTION. As soon as you start to feel anxious and panicky, bring your attention to your body and perform your actions in slower motion. If you’re rushing to your office, walk slower. If you’re stressing out trying to get the kids dressed for school, pay attention to the individual actions that make up the process. First the left arm goes into the sleeve, then the right arm, then you do the buttons, one at a time. You’ll be amazed. When you slow down, whomever your involved with will pick up your vibes and relax, too. Even try it at the gym next time you work out. Instead of hurrying through your routine so you can get home, just move casually from one exercise to the next and lift your weights slowly and carefully.

There’s nothing you need to do that you’ll do better if you’re stressed out and rushing. Breathe, slow down and get the job done.

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