Sometimes the idea of “meditation” can feel really intimidating. We either associate it with religion/spirituality—which can feel yucky for many of us—or, we think that meditation is something really super hard that we just can’t do.

Indeed, many of us who are in the midst of healing heavy trauma have chaotic, busy brains. Our minds tend to run in circles and sometimes it feels impossible to focus on our daily work or our children, let alone focus our minds on something as nebulous as meditation.

Because we’ve been living in a high-stress mode, whether from trauma or from current challenging life circumstances, we may think that meditation is impossible. But that’s simply not true. Everybody can meditate.

Today I’d like to share with you one of my favorite ways to meditate. I invented this technique for myself during a time in my life when I was suicidal, struggling with chronic illness and C-PTSD. The Sourcing Self-Love Meditation is wonderful for calming anxiety and bringing a sense of relief to the troubled heart.

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This meditation be practiced anywhere, and you only need 2 minutes to do it! Super simple and quick!

Step one: Find a comfortable seat. You can sit on a chair or couch, or wherever. Set a timer for two minutes.

Step two: Place one hand over your heart. You may keep your eyes open or you may close your eyes—you decide.

Step three: Simply begin to notice physical sensations in your body. See if you can feel your heartbeat. Is your skin warm or cold? Is your hand shaking or steady? What does the air feel like against your skin? What sounds do your ears hear? Does your mouth still taste your lunch from a few hours ago? Simply observe any and all physical sensations that you can.

Step four: When the mind wanders away from noticing sensations (Don’t worry, this is normal!), simply say to yourself: “I love you ____ (insert your name here).” You can say this aloud or silently in your mind. Repeat this affirmation for as long as feels good.

• Please note: If you don’t feel like you truly love yourself as you say the words, that’s totally okay and normal. As you practice this meditation over the next few weeks, you’ll start to feel yourself generating a genuine warmth, care, and tenderness for yourself. Be patient. In time, you will be able to feel the love.

Step five: After you have said the affirmation as many times as you would like, return again to simply noticing the physical sensations of your body.

Step six: When the mind wanders again, say the affirmation for awhile and then return your attention to physical sensations whenever you feel called to do so.

Step seven: When your alarm buzzes after two minutes, thank yourself for taking the time to cultivate self-love. You are learning to self-source happiness, which means that you are not so reliant on anything outside of you to affect your mood. You can feel love, joy, and peace simply while sitting in a room alone. This is true power!!!