My New Favorite Trick to Defeat Monkey Mind

Do you suffer from monkey mind? You know, those days where your thoughts swirl around and around, bouncing from one thing to the next so you can’t seem to stay on task? Or else negative thoughts play on repeat over and over, driving you crazy? I’ve been there, and in this post I’m sharing a powerful way defeat monkey mind.

Why is it called monkey mind?

Imagine a troupe of monkeys chattering away in your head, swinging from one thought to the next or repeating the same nonsense over and over. That’s monkey mind. The term originates from Buddhist tradition, based on observations of monkeys swinging aimlessly through trees.

Monkey mind encompasses those times when you feel restless, anxious, scattered, or confused. It’s annoying, frustrating, and stress-inducing.

My secret to defeat monkey mind

Ultimately, monkey mind is defeated by becoming aware of your thoughts, regaining a broader perspective, and reframing the ones that aren’t helpful.

But when you’re stuck in the monkey-mind cycle, it can be all but impossible to corral your thoughts and gain objectivity. That’s where my trick comes in.

Is it meditation? Nope.

Repeating mindfulness mantras? Nope.

Those may work for some people but when I’m struggling with chaotic thoughts and lack of focus, trying to bring order inside my head by sheer willpower fails every time.

Instead, the best way for me to defeat monkey mind is to switch gears: to get my focus OUT of my head and ONTO my body. I get up and do something active that requires my full attention.

By turning my focus to physical movements and sensations, I’m able to shut down the spiraling thoughts and reboot my mental system, so to speak. This isn’t a magic cure-all that will halt monkey mind forever, but like a reboot, it clears the junk gives you a fresh start.

5 ways to get out of your head and defeat monkey mind

Here are some possible activities that might help you defeat monkey mind by drawing your attention into some kind of physical action. Just remember these key points:

1. This is NOT about fitness or losing weight.
2. The goal is to draw all of your attention to your chosen activity. If your brain is still free to ruminate, the activity isn’t drawing you fully into the moment (and away from monkey mind).

Yoga.  Yoga is ideal for refocusing attention, since it’s all about paying attention to your breath, physical movements, and sensations. It doesn’t matter how adept you are, so long as you’re willing to try.  I’m still a yoga beginner and probably always will be, but following along with a yoga video helps me get out of my head and defeat monkey mind.

If you’re a newbie to yoga, here are two videos to start with:

Christian Yoga with Caroline Williams.

Yoga for Complete Beginners with Adriene.

Body scan. A body scan slowly moves your focus from one part of your body to the next, starting at either the head or feet and working to the other end. Sounds simple, but if you’re struggling to stay focused, you’ll probably need to utilize a video to stay on track. You can find tons of body scan videos online. Here are a two to try:

6-minute body scan

10-minute body scan

Dance. If you love to dance, go for it. But remember the goal is to bring full concentration to your body, so choose something that challenges you to pay attention. Work on a new step sequence or play a game similar to Dance Dance Revolution.

Exercise. Find an activity that requires concentration. Pedaling an exercise bike while your mind wanders probably won’t help as much as something that challenges your dexterity or involves paying close attention to timing.

Music. If you love to play an instrument, this might be your best choice. Immerse yourself in a challenging piece of music and fill your joy tank while simultaneously breaking out of your spiraling thoughts.

My best hack for defeating monkey mind at bedtime

I have always struggled to fall asleep, because I don’t have an off switch for my brain. Sometimes I toss and turn for hours, trying to fall asleep.

When my thoughts are spinning and they won’t shut down, the most effective hack I’ve found is to get out of bed and do some Tai-Chi-style moves.

I do them as s-l-o-w-l-y as possible, as if I were moving through water instead of air.

The super slow movements help my body and mind calm down. I focus on maintaining the slow pace, staying balanced, and moving smoothly. All of this pulls me out of the monkey-mind cycle. After 5ish minutes of these slow movements, I crawl back in bed and am able to fall asleep.

The actual moves themselves aren’t important. It’s my focus on moving really, really slowly that matters. But if you want some ideas of how to move, try this Tai Chi for bedtime video. After following along with the videos a few times, I could remember enough movements to do it on my own.

NOTE: I do these can’t-sleep-Tai-Chi moves without turning on the lights, because there’s enough ambient light in my bedroom for me to do it without bumping into things. That might not work for you.

I hope these suggestions will help you the next time you find yourself stuck in monkey mind. Refocus on your body and gain some perspective (and peace).