Yesterday I was teaching a meditation class for Mental Health Awareness Month and during the meditation, after taking time to become aware of and present to their thoughts, I instructed the participants to use their breath to help let go of them.

Afterwards, one participant told me that she had trouble letting go of her thoughts and asked what to do when that happens?

My answer: I asked her to consider how hard she was trying to let go.

TRYING to let go of your thoughts is like TRYING to fall asleep.

The harder you try, the harder it becomes.

Sometimes it’s enough to simply acknowledge those thoughts and honor how attached the brain is to them. (Hint: the harder it is to let them go = the more your brain is attached to them.)

Our brain is very skilled at holding onto thoughts. And not just holding onto them, ruminating on the same ones. According to the National Science Foundation, 95% of the thoughts we have each day are not new, but the same thoughts we’ve had before.

And unless our thoughts are focused on the specific task we're doing in the moment, when we’re thinking we’re not usually present.

Our thoughts tend to be focused on the past or on the future and the unknown. This can often lead our mind on an unproductive path, a downward spiral of sorts, based on things we cannot change or things we cannot control.

The National Science Foundation also shows that 80% of our thoughts are negative, focused on things like past regrets, unhealthy comparisons, blame, asking "what if" questions, pessimism, catastrophizing and perfectionism.

Click below for a short practice you can take yourself through whenever you need it, to help yourself let go of ruminating, pesky or unproductive thought patterns and retrain your brain towards the positive, healthy and helpful.

Because it's always the perfect time to begin again.