Introduction: For Sleepless Nights Spinning with Thoughts

“Will tomorrow go well?”
“What’s going to happen to me from here on?”

Once those thoughts start, the mind keeps racing—and even lying in bed, I can’t fall asleep. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I used to often have these sleepless, overthinking nights, especially during career transitions or times of big life changes.
But as I shared in my previous blog, I started practicing meditation each morning and night—mornings to regain a sense of calm, and evenings to gently let go of the day.
Little by little, that habit began to shift my tendency to overthink.

Eventually, I noticed something deeper: my relationship with anxiety itself had changed.
Meditation hasn’t made my anxiety disappear entirely—but it has become the foundation I rely on when I feel overwhelmed.

In this post, I’ll share how a simple and quiet meditation practice has helped me navigate anxiety about the future, along with my personal experiences and how my heart has gradually changed.

A Quiet Morning Meditation to Center an Anxious Mind

Have you ever woken up and immediately thought,

“What should I do today?”
“Will I really be okay in the long run?”

Especially on mornings before a big, high-pressure task, I’d find myself swept up in these worries.
That’s when I open the Gassho app, and let the sounds of nature or Buddhist chanting play for five minutes.

At first, I used the app as part of a peaceful morning ritual. But over time, it’s become more than that:
It’s now my way of returning to the present instead of being pulled into anxious thoughts.

By focusing on the sound, my mental “storytelling” about the future pauses—and I reconnect with the here and now.
That moment of stillness helps me realize:
“Oh, I just need to take one small step forward.”

The future is always uncertain. It’s not something we can control.
But with regular meditation for anxiety, I’ve found a growing ability to calmly focus on what I can do now.
That, to me, is one of the greatest benefits of this simple practice.

A Gentle Evening Meditation to Ease the Weight of Worry

Evening meditation, for me, marks a soft boundary—
a way to let go of the day.

Lately, though, I’ve come to realize something else:
Evening meditation becomes even more powerful on nights when anxiety is at its peak.

A Small Personal Story

One night, I had an important meeting scheduled for the next day.
Thoughts like “What if I can’t express myself well?” and “What if they react badly?” kept looping through my mind.
Even with my eyes closed, I couldn’t stop the storm of thoughts. Panic started to build.

So I opened the Gassho app, like I always do.

On nights like this, I usually choose the soft sound of a temple bell and a short sutra.
Lying in bed, I just listened—focusing on the sound and gently acknowledging:
“Oh, I’m feeling anxious right now.”
I didn’t try to push it away. I simply stayed with it.

And strangely enough, my mind slowly began to quiet down.
It felt as though the sound was saying, “It’s okay to feel this way.”
Wrapped in that gentle affirmation, I eventually drifted into sleep.

What Matters Most in Evening Meditation

Evening meditation isn’t about erasing anxiety.
It’s about creating a peaceful space inside you—a place where you can rest even with anxiety present.

The Gassho app’s audio helps create this soft inner boundary.
Its videos and sounds are beautifully designed, but for bedtime, I love that I can simply listen—no screen time necessary. That flexibility is one of the things I truly appreciate about it.

How Meditation Builds Strength to Walk Alongside Anxiety

At first, my morning and evening meditations were just a way to carve out quiet moments in my day.
But over time, they became something deeper—
A foundation that keeps me steady when I’m tempted to spiral into worry about the future.

Anxiety doesn’t disappear completely. But meditation helps me recognize when I’m in an “anxious season” of life.
That shift allows me to breathe with anxiety, instead of being swallowed by it.

It means I’ve started to grow a safe space inside myself.
And I’ve done that little by little through a meditation habit supported by the Gassho app.
Even just a few minutes a day—bringing myself back to now—has transformed how stable and grounded I feel in daily life.

Closing Thoughts: Just 3 Minutes Tonight to Listen Inward

Meditation isn’t a magic cure for anxiety.
But I truly believe it creates a calm inner space where anxiety can simply exist without overwhelming us.

The Gassho app offers that space through sound—a quiet refuge when things feel too loud inside.
Whether you’re using it as meditation for anxiety or a gentle companion on sleepless nights, this tiny habit has helped me more times than I can count.

One Small Step You Can Take Today

If your heart feels unsettled tonight, try opening the Gassho app.
Choose a chanting voice or a calming nature sound.
You don’t even have to look at the screen.
Just listen for three minutes—and you might notice a gentle shift in your state of mind.

In my next post, I plan to share tips for creating a “steadying mindset” for those days when your heart feels especially scattered.
If that resonates with you, I hope you’ll visit again soon.

Team Gassho – Yuka