Meditation: A quick and easy way to reduce stress
Meditation can wipe away the stress of the day and bring inner peace. See how you can easily learn to meditate when you need it most.
If stress makes you feel anxious, tense and worried, you might want to try meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can help restore your calm and inner peace.
Anyone can practice meditation. It’s easy and doesn’t cost much. And you don’t need any special equipment.
You can meditate wherever you are. You can meditate while you’re walking, on the bus, waiting at the doctor’s surgery, or even in the middle of a business meeting.
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Early meditation was used to deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. Today, meditation is most often used to relax and reduce stress.
Meditation is a form of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can help you relax deeply and calm your mind.
During meditation you concentrate on one thing. You get rid of the stream of thoughts that can clutter your mind and cause stress. This process can lead to improved physical and emotional well-being.
Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit your emotional wellbeing and overall health. You can also use it to relax and cope with stress by focusing on something that calms you. Meditation can help you learn to stay centred and maintain inner peace.
These benefits don’t stop when your meditation session is over. Meditation can help you get through your day more calmly. And meditation can help you manage the symptoms of some medical conditions.
Meditation and emotional and physical wellbeing
When you meditate, you can clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.
The emotional and physical benefits of meditation may include:
Giving you a new way of looking at things that cause stress.
Build skills to manage your stress.
Making you more self-aware.
Focusing on the present.
Reducing negative feelings.
Help you to be more creative.
Help you be more patient.
Lower resting heart rate.
Lower resting blood pressure.
Help you sleep better.
Meditation and illness
Meditation can also help if you have a medical condition. This is especially true if you have a condition that is made worse by stress.
A lot of research shows that meditation is good for your health. But some experts don’t think there’s enough research to prove that meditation helps.
With this in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:
Anxiety.
Asthma.
Cancer.
Chronic pain.
Depression.
Heart disease.
High blood pressure.
Irritable bowel syndrome.
Sleep problems.
Tension headaches.
Be sure to talk to your healthcare professional about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these or other health conditions. Sometimes meditation can make symptoms of some mental health conditions worse.
Meditation doesn’t replace medical treatment. But it can help when used in addition to other treatments.
Meditation is an umbrella term for many different ways of getting into a relaxed state. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that use parts of meditation. They all have the same goal of achieving inner peace.
Ways to meditate can include:
Guided meditation. This is sometimes called guided imagery or visualisation. This method of meditation involves forming mental images of places or things that help you relax.
You try to use as many of your senses as possible. This includes things you can smell, see, hear and feel. You may be guided through this process by a guide or teacher.
Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to keep unwanted thoughts out.
Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful. This means being more aware of the present.
In mindfulness meditation, you focus on one thing, such as the flow of your breath. You can be aware of your thoughts and feelings. But let them pass by without judging them.
Qigong. This practice usually combines meditation, relaxation, movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qigong (CHEE-gung) is part of Chinese medicine.
Tai Chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts. Tai chi (TIE-CHEE) involves doing a series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful way. The movements are accompanied by deep breathing.
Yoga. You do a series of poses with controlled breathing. This gives you a more flexible body and a calmer mind. The poses require balance and concentration. This helps you to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.
Each type of meditation may include certain features to help you meditate. These may vary depending on whose instructions you’re following or who’s teaching a class. Some of the most common features of meditation are:
Focused attention. Focusing your attention is one of the most important elements of meditation.
Focusing your attention helps to free your mind from the many things that cause stress and worry. You can focus your attention on things such as a specific object, an image, a mantra or even your breathing.
Relaxed breathing. This technique involves taking deep, even breaths using the muscle between your chest and abdomen, called the diaphragm, to expand your lungs. The aim is to slow down your breathing, take in more oxygen and reduce the use of your shoulder, neck and upper chest muscles during breathing, so you breathe better.
A quiet setting. If you’re a beginner, you may find it easier to meditate in a quiet place. Aim to have fewer things to distract you, including no TV, computer or mobile phone.
As you become more skilled at meditation, you may be able to meditate anywhere. This includes high-stress situations such as a traffic jam, a stressful work meeting or a long queue at the supermarket. This is when you can get the most out of meditation.
A comfortable position. You can meditate whether you’re sitting, lying down, walking or in any other position or activity. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation. Try to maintain good posture during meditation.
Open mind. Allow thoughts to pass through your mind without judging them.
Don’t let the thought of meditating the « right » way add to your stress. If you want to, you can attend special meditation centres or group classes led by trained instructors. But it is also easy to practise meditation on your own. There are apps you can use.
And you can make meditation as formal or informal as you like. Some people make meditation part of their daily routine. For example, they may start and end each day with an hour of meditation. But all you really need is a few minutes a day for meditation.
Here are some ways you can practice meditation on your own, whenever you want:
Breathe deeply. This is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function.
Put all your attention on your breathing. Feel and listen to your breath as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Breathe deeply and slowly. If your mind wanders, gently bring your focus back to your breathing.
Scan your body. As you use this technique, focus your attention on each part of your body. Notice how your body feels. This could be pain, tension, warmth or relaxation.
Mix body scanning with breathing exercises and think about breathing warmth or relaxation into and out of the parts of your body.
Repeat a mantra. You can make up your own mantra. It can be religious or not. Examples of religious mantras include the Jesus Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the Om mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.
Walk and meditate. Meditating while walking is a good and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere you’re walking, such as in a forest, on a city sidewalk or in a shopping centre.
When using this method, slow your walking pace so that you can concentrate on each movement of your legs or feet. Don’t concentrate on where you’re going. Concentrate on your legs and feet. Mentally repeat action words such as « lift », « move » and « place » as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. Focus on the sights, sounds and smells around you.
Pray. Prayer is the most well-known and widely used form of meditation. Spoken and written prayers can be found in most faith traditions.
You can pray in your own words or read prayers written by others. Check the self-help section of your local bookstore for examples. Talk to your rabbi, priest, pastor or other spiritual leader about possible resources.
Read and reflect. Many people report that they benefit from reading poetry or sacred texts and taking a few moments to reflect on their meaning.
You can also listen to sacred music, spoken words or any music that relaxes or inspires you. You may wish to write your thoughts in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.
Concentrate on your love and kindness. In this type of meditation, you think of others with feelings of love, compassion and kindness. This can help you feel more connected to others.
Don’t judge your meditation. This can increase your stress. Meditation takes practice.
It’s common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you’ve been meditating. If you’re meditating to calm your mind and your mind wanders, slowly bring it back to whatever you’re focusing on.
Try different types of meditation to find out what works best for you and what you enjoy doing. Adapt meditation to your needs as you go. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to meditate. The important thing is that meditation helps you reduce stress and feel better overall.
