I started my meditation journey in early 2017, not long after returning to therapy following a relapse of anorexia.

At the time, I was living a very busy and rushed corporate lifestyle. I spent around 60 hours each week either travelling to or working in my senior retail management role, studying to become a counsellor, volunteering to develop the skills I was learning on my course, and going to the gym at least ten times a week.

The gym was my way of unwinding and clearing my head, but when I injured my knee on Christmas Eve 2016, I was forced to stop. For the first time in a long time, I couldn't keep myself busy by constantly being on the go, and I needed to find a different way of creating space for myself.

As I struggled with being still, I found myself experiencing anxiety and depression alongside the ongoing battle of living with anorexia. With no other viable option to improve my mental health, I reluctantly followed my therapist's suggestion to try meditation.

I'm not going to lie—at first, it was a real challenge. It's not easy to sit with your thoughts when your mind is used to racing from one thing to the next. Like many people, I thought I was doing it wrong because my mind wouldn't quieten down.

What I eventually realised was that meditation wasn't about stopping my thoughts. It was about noticing them without becoming caught up in them.

With a dedicated daily practice, beginning with short guided meditations and gradually building up to longer practices, I started to notice the benefits. My mood improved, I felt calmer, I had more resilience and, above all else, I became much more self-aware.

That increased self-awareness ultimately led me to change the way I lived my life and helped me quieten the anorexic voice that had caused me so much distress for so much of my life.

Gone are the days of rushing around and feeling like I never had time for myself. Today, I begin each morning with a guided meditation on the Calm app and then return to my practice throughout the day whenever I need to.

Meditation has taught me that by slowing down my thoughts, I can feel calmer and more accepting of what is happening in my life. It has also helped me realise that thoughts and emotions are temporary experiences. The more we allow them to come and go without resisting them, the more quickly they tend to pass.

Below you'll find a selection of free guided meditations that I have recorded. If you're new to meditation, I encourage you to approach it with curiosity rather than expectation. There is no right or wrong way to begin.