Urge Surfing: Riding Out Those Risky Impulses
We all know what it’s like to feel pulled by something we don’t really want to do — that urge to eat when you’re not hungry, check your phone again, or say something you’ll later regret. These moments can feel automatic, like you have no control over what you’ll do next.
Urge surfing is a mindfulness practice that helps you handle impulses, cravings, or strong compulsions without being swept away by them. Instead of fighting the urge or giving in, you learn to observe it like a wave — noticing how it rises, crests, and eventually fades on its own. This simple shift in awareness can be surprisingly powerful.
Research in mindfulness-based interventions shows that learning to urge surf reduces stress and relapse risk while strengthening your ability to pause and make conscious choices. Over time, you gain more freedom — responding to urges with clarity instead of reacting on autopilot.
Here’s how it works:
When an urge arises — say, to overeat, smoke, lash out, or check your phone — instead of fighting it or giving in, you observe it with awareness. You imagine the urge like a wave: it rises, peaks, and eventually falls away. The key insight is that urges are temporary. They build in intensity and then subside — usually within minutes — if you don’t feed them with action or resistance.
Here’s the 🌊 Urge Surfing Practice (less than 5 minutes):
1. Notice the urge.
Bring to mind a current urge — maybe the pull to snack, interrupt someone, or escape discomfort. You don’t need to act on it — just notice that it’s here.
2. Label it gently.
Silently say to yourself: “This is an urge.” or “Craving is here.” No judgment — just awareness.
3. Tune in to your body.
Where do you feel the urge most clearly? It might be a tightening in your chest, fluttering in your stomach, or restlessness in your hands. Focus your attention there — as if you’re watching a wave forming in the ocean.
4. Breathe and observe.
Take a few slow, steady breaths. As you inhale, imagine you’re floating on the wave. As you exhale, feel yourself letting go — allowing the sensations to move and change on their own. Notice: does the urge grow stronger? Stay steady? Begin to fade? Whatever happens is okay. You’re just riding it.
5. Watch it crest and fall.
Like every wave, the urge has a peak — a moment of strongest pull — and then it naturally begins to ease. Stay with it, curious and kind. Remind yourself: “This won’t last forever.” “I can be here until it passes.”
6. Let it settle.
As the sensations fade, take a deeper breath. Notice any shift — more space, calm, or clarity. You didn’t fight the wave or get swept away — you surfed it.
Practicing this regularly helps retrain the brain to respond to urges with awareness rather than automatic habits. Over time, the waves feel smaller, and your sense of choice grows stronger.
If you’d like to walk through this practice together, just let me know. To schedule a free session, click ‘connect’, above.