Key Takeaways

• Find “islands of calm” inside a pain storm by using the breath as an instant safety signal 

• Strip away “muddy pain.” Learn to separate pure sensation from the suffering we pile on top 

• Practise four core breathing drills—Two‑Hands, Straw Breath, Captain’s Breath & Full Breath—to switch on the relaxation response 

• Soften body and mind. Notice unconscious bracing and replace it with gentle compassion 

• Build a habit that sticks. Cameron explains why the “price of admission” is paid up‑front—and why it’s worth it every time

Feeling tossed around by anxiety?

In Episode 3 of the Meditation Gym podcast, Cameron Aggs shows you how to sail steadier—no matter how stormy life’s waters become.

Using a powerful metaphor, Cameron explains that each of us is the Captain of our own ship, tasked with navigating ever-changing seas . But when anxiety takes over—when our inner Anxious First Mate grabs the wheel—we can quickly lose our sense of direction .

In this rich, practical conversation, you’ll learn:

1. Why anxiety often hijacks your attention—and how to gently bring it back.

2. How acceptance and limit-setting create a safer, more manageable internal world .

3. How to work skillfully with your anxiety, rather than fight it, using Cameron’s Medic and Cheerleader mindsets .

Cameron doesn’t just talk theory—he equips you with real tools you can use immediately.

In this episode of Meditation Gym, we explore how meditation can help us cultivate a kinder, more resilient inner world. Clinical psychologist Cameron Aggs introduces three powerful ways to think about meditation:

🔭 The Observatory – A space where we simply observe the mind in its natural state, noticing thoughts without judgment.

🏥 The Infirmary – A “time-in” space to process emotions and do our emotional laundry, helping us integrate and heal from the challenges of daily life.

🎭 The Studio – A place to train new psychological skills, like letting go of thoughts and developing self-compassion.

In this first installment, I provide a 12 point introduction  to a wonderful set of mindfulness metaphors, in which compare the task of living a human life to the complex task of sailing a ship on the open ocean.  The ship in this metaphor is You, and represents the reality that you wake up in your life (on your boat)  every morning. The external conditions such as the seas and the weather in the little model, are the life circumstances that you find yourself navigating from one day to the next. Now….  Isn’t it true that even if you wished you had a different boat and/or were sailing different waters? Yet nothing will change that you are on the boat you are on, and sail it you must, with the crew you have, with as much kindness and wisdom as you can muster? ….. And yet how to do that?