Meditation is an alternative medicine to help with relaxation and calmness, by controlling or suspending thoughts for a period of time. Because meditation involves physical and mental relaxation it is a wonderful way to relieve stress.
Some people do not believe that meditation is a way to relieve stress. However, research has shown that meditation works to eliminate stress and helps people to manage stress through the practical meditation technique.
The most notable research on meditation’s usefulness in relieving stress was done in 1968 by Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University. He conducted a series of experiments on popular meditation techniques and published his findings in the book “The Relaxation Response”. He discovered that meditation has a “real effect on reducing stress and controlling the fight-or-flight response”. Dr. Benson wrote that meditation increased the skin’s resistance to damage or infections, slowed the heartbeat and breathing rate and reduced oxygen consumption.
Meditation is all about consciously relaxing your mind and body for a period of time. Meditation means that you need to focus inwardly, so that your mind is so busy concentrating on breathing and body form, that there’s no time to think about the events that are causing you stress.
The act of meditation is actually really quite simple. Meditation does not require you to be very spiritual, it is something that anyone can do almost anywhere.
When you are preparing for meditation, give yourself a certain amount of time in a place where you will not be interrupted. Meditation does not need hours of practicing at one time for it to be effective in lowering stress. A ten or twenty minute time window with be good enough.
In order for meditation to be successful, make sure you are in a comfortable and peaceful environment. This also means that when practicing meditation, you should wear comfortable, unrestrictive clothes. Whether you are inside or outside, the temperature should be comfortable for you. This makes your meditation session as stress free as possible.
Stress-relieving meditation is all about concentration. When you are completely comfortable, either sitting or lying down with closed eyes, focus your attention on your breathing through your meditation session. Count your breaths. Say the number of breaths out loud to discourage your mind from wandering.
Another way to control your thoughts from wandering when you are meditating is to use imagery. Imagery is very useful in meditation. Focus on something you consider refreshing or pleasant. Music is also a popular way to help your mind concentrate during meditation. You can also do a monologue hum, or use some soothing music that features plenty of nature sound.
Mind control is the key to meditation. When you learn to control your mind, you can control your thoughts. With control of your mind and thoughts you will be more able to control the functions of your muscles. Once you have mastered meditation you will find that it can be practiced almost anytime and anywhere. This will help you to relax when feeling overwhelmed with stress.
