Meditation didn’t calm me down - It rewired my overwhelm detection system. I don’t just recover from overwhelm now…I sense it long before it hits.

Overwhelm Used to Be My Normal

Overwhelm used to sneak up on me.

When I started trying to meditate, I wanted to use it as a tool to counteract my overwhelm. But here’s what actually happened:

In learning to spend quiet time with myself, I built the self-awareness to sense earlier when overwhelm was coming up, so I could pivot instead of letting it get all the way on top of me.

Let me back up a bit.

I used to be debilitated by overwhelm. As an overstimulated Highly Sensitive Person, overwhelm was my normal. And I felt victimized by it. I couldn’t sense when the tipping point would be, which resulted in me ‘spontaneously’ (or so I thought) bursting into tears in public, regularly.

How Accessible Meditation Changed Everything

I had been doing the yoga. Knew the breathing exercises. Had started learning about nervous system regulation.

But was Still. Resisting. Meditation.

Meditation was so uncomfortable! Sitting alone with the inside of my head?! Yuck!

Anyway,

I started using meditation tools as a way to calm down from the overwhelmed state - counting breaths, noticing my senses, moving meditations using the hands - accessible/beginner meditation methods.

And since overwhelm was my normal, I got a lot of practice 😂

The Power of Space Between Stress and Response

Here’s the thing:

These meditation methods brought my nervous system back down into my ‘window of tolerance,’ (a place I had previously spent very little time). Instead of living in fight/flight mode, I now had a tiny bit of space between extra stress and a meltdown. Wow!

And the more I practiced these techniques, the more aware I became of the subtle clues my body was giving me that I was edging out of my window of tolerance and into flight/fight mode.

Which means (!)

That I could feel the overwhelm coming, and had a bit of time and space to use the techniques that bring me back to centre, before I was already in tears.

Create that SPACE between stimulus and response (between stressor and meltdown) is the piece of yoga/mindfulness that I am most passionate about sharing.

Imagine if there was a moment of spaciousness between someone cutting you off in traffic and you honking your horn or giving them the finger?

A moment of clarity and calm between your family member saying that thing that pushes your buttons and you snapping back at them in a way you always regret later?

That tiny moment of space between stress and reaction has changed my life.
It’s what lets me feel calm, grounded, and empowered, even when life gets chaotic.

If you’ve been wanting that same sense of inner steadiness - keep your eyes open.
Something special is coming this week to help you PAUSE when you need it most.