Shutterstock
Contrary to popular belief, an empty, clear mind is not a bad thing. Our society and generation have conditioned us to believe that your mind must always be buzzing or working. This is not true. You do not have to always come up with ideas or formulate plans, or even think about your future. Just like how your body needs a break after working out, so is your mind from the constant stream of thoughts. Emptying the mind is a useful tool to learn as it helps you give your brain a break.
According to the dictionary, to empty your mind means to try your best to think about nothing (8). It means to purposely put a stop to the constant stream of thoughts that are with us every day. When you learn the practice of emptying your mind, the brain becomes accustomed to entertaining a few thoughts per minute instead of automatically replacing a new thought with another (17).
While not all thoughts that constantly go through our minds are bad, sometimes we may experience thinking of negative and unwanted ones, which if not quickly taken care of could lead to great distress, anxiety, depression, and even violent outbursts to some people (14). Feelings you get when emptying your mind are a sense of calmness and eventually clarity.
Read More: Meditation Thoughts: Bring Your Mind To A Point Of Stillness And Clarity
Feeling overwhelmed by your thoughts is very common, but the good news is that there are several ways to help you counter this.
They are as follows:
This is the quickest way that one could use for emptying the mind. Whenever you feel that your thoughts are getting jumbled up, or you cannot stop thinking about that one problem or fear, find something to distract yourself with. Through studies, it has been found that the brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time (2).
Simple and healthy ways to distract yourself include (6):
Journaling is another great way to help with emptying your mind. This simple practice has been proven to help reduce stress, manage depression and anxiety (7), boost your mood, keep your mind sharp, improve your immune function, and help you get in touch with your emotions (3). Whether you are using a pen and paper or an app to pen down your thoughts, the act of writing them down will help you clear and empty your mind.
BetterMe: Meditation & Sleep app can help you transmute stress into serenity, pull you up from the doldrums, free your mind from the cares and worries of the world, quell racing thoughts and infuse you with tranquility! Start using it now and change your life!
Mindfulness is described as a type of meditation that helps you focus on being intensely aware of what you are sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment (11). Practicing mindfulness can be incredible for busy people. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by a decision, take a minute to practice some mindfulness techniques. A simple example is to just focus on your breathing. This takes out all the thoughts from your mind other than just noticing how your body expands and contracts through every inhale and exhale.
This is the practice of trying to ignore or control thoughts that we find threatening, distressing, or even embarrassing. A study done in 2012 showed that suppressing or voluntarily forgetting unwanted memories can help individuals cope with negative or traumatic experiences (12).
A point to note, however, is that while some research has found that this practice can help some, it can also have negative side effects. Since it can increase your mental load, it may eventually bring back your bad thoughts to haunt you (15).
Read More: Analytical Meditation: Taking A Different Approach To Your Thought Process
Whenever you are stressed, you may not feel like wanting to be around people. Hiding away and trying to solve your problems may seem like a good idea, but in truth, it may make you even more stressed. Being surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones, even without actively participating in the activities they are doing is a great way to unconsciously empty your mind (1).
The benefits of mediation are endless. This simple practice can help with (9):
Here are some simple steps to try:
Before determining which asanas would work best for emptying the mind, we must first define what yoga asanas are. To anyone who may not be familiar with the term, asana is one of the eight limbs of yoga. These limbs are as follows (4):
There are five Yamas in total, and these are moral directives used to guide the practitioner’s behavior towards others. They include nonviolence towards others, truthfulness, not stealing or putting others down to build yourself up, chastity, as well as not coveting what other people have.
These are rules that direct your behavior towards yourself. They include cleanliness, contentment with yourself, self-study, the surrender to a higher power, and self-discipline.
This is what most people call yoga. Asanas are the physical poses that most people practice and learn how to do.
These are breathing exercises.
This is the withdrawal of senses, which means you do not let external forces interfere with the world within you.
This is the ability to focus on something uninterrupted by external or internal distractions. In simple terms, it means concentration.
This is the practice of meditation.
This is translated to either bliss or enlightenment and is achieved through dhyana/meditation.
Here are some incredible yoga asanas for emptying mind whenever you feel stressed or overwhelmed (13):
If you cannot reach your forehead, use a yoga strap, and strap it under the balls of your feet to help you stretch. You could also bend your knees a little to help you get your forehead further down.
Whether you want to learn how to exit the spiral of self-harming behavior, overcome anxiety, cure insomnia or simply give yourself the time and space to bliss out and soak up the moment of complete peace and quiet – BetterMe: Meditation & Sleep app is exactly the tool for that! If you don’t take care of number one, who will?
More often than not, people suffer insomnia symptoms such as struggling to fall asleep or finding it difficult to stay asleep because their minds are too full. So, how can you practice emptying your mind so you can fall asleep and get the rest you deserve?
Here are some things to try (5):
A to-do list helps you make a game plan of how to tackle the problems that are bothering you. This will empty your mind of said worries, and you will fall asleep faster.
How many times have you said one more episode or one more video on social media, only to realize that it is 3 am, and you are still awake. Switch off your screens at least 30 minutes before bed to allow your mind to calm down.
This is a great distraction that helps your mind relax, thus effectively emptying it and allowing you to sleep.
There are many free apps today that offer soothing sounds that can help you sleep. White noise, whale sounds, the sound of rain, or the sound of thunder are some soothing sounds that people listen to can help with emptying their mind for sleep.
Meditation for sleep is great as it trains us to be less in our head and more aware of the present moment, which will, in turn, help with sleep. Some great forms of meditation to help clear your mind for sleeping include breathing exercises, body scanning, visualization meditation, practicing gratitude, or counting down from any chosen number (10).
No, it is not. Emptying the mind is defined as being free of thought, meanwhile, meditation is a practice that helps you alter your consciousness to find awareness within yourself and peace with yourself and all those around you (16). In meditation, people often use focus points such as breathing, mantras, candles, sounds, or pictures to help them achieve their desired state (18).
If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, full of negative intrusive thoughts, or just cannot fall asleep at night, the emptying mind can be beneficial to you. Although it can be hard initially, constant practice and dedication will eventually help you filter out your thoughts, where you only think about a few things a minute and even eventually stop thinking for a minute or five every day to give your mind a break.
Please remember that no matter what anyone says, your mind should not and is not meant to be racing at all times. Just like your muscles need a rest day or two from the gym, or how a human being is not programmed to be up and working for seven days a week. Your mind is not meant to be overworked. Take a break, clear your mind, and breathe.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!