Meditation - The Way To Reduce Stress

Meditation

 

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction.
Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process results in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.

Types of Meditation

1.Focused Meditation: If the idea of clearing your mind of all thoughts stresses you out, focused meditation is great because you can focus on a sound, object, mantra, or thought. The key here is to just focus on one of these things and stay committed to that one thought or object. This is when relaxation music comes in handy. Even though you're essentially using your mind, you'll be amazed at how rejuvenated you feel afterwards. In our day to day lives, our minds really are in 10 different places at once!
2.Mantra Meditation: Mantras are words that are chanted loudly during meditation. It may seem odd to be making loud noises during a meditation session, but it's actually the sounds that become the object being focused on. In yoga, the mantra Om is regularly used since it delivers a deep vibration that makes it easy for the mind to concentrate on that particular sound.
3.Heart-Centered Meditation Techniques : Heart-centered meditation techniques help us to awaken the radiance of our loving-kindness and compassion. They deepen our empathy and forgiveness, and teach us to live in kinder ways.They begin first with ourselves, and then open the circle of our compassion to embrace all living beings. They draw inspiration from each of the other meditations: focus and the power of peace from concentration; deep listening and presence from mindfulness meditation; insight into the nature of suffering and a sense of interrelatedness from reflective meditation; imaginative resourcefulness and skill from creative meditation.

Benefits of Meditation

What is one of the primary benefits of meditation? Stress relief. The deep rest experienced during the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique allows the body to naturally dissolve stress and strain. After learning the TM technique, it is common for meditators to feel less stressed and to notice that they deal more calmly with tense situations.

5 Benefits of Meditation

1. CALMNESS
The simple difference between those who meditate and those who do not, is that for a meditative mind the thought occurs but is witnessed, while for an ordinary mind, the thought occurs and is the boss. So in both minds, an upsetting thought can occur, but for those who meditate it is just another thought, which is seen as such and is allowed to blossom and die, while in the ordinary mind the thought instigates a storm which rages on and on.

2. Inner Peace

 Most people would like to experience more inner peace in their lives; at times peace feels an elusive quality because our lives are so hectic. Meditation teaches us how to switch off from the noise of the mind, we no longer give importance to the teeming thoughts which fly through our mind. Through meditation we can gain a clear state of mind; this is the secret of feeling a real inner peace.

5. LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE

A study at Harvard Medical School found that meditation lowered blood pressure by making the body less responsive to stress hormones, in a similar way to blood pressure-lowering medication. Meanwhile a British Medical Journal report found that patients trained how to relax had significantly lower blood pressure

6. Better Relations with Others

 Often we can have minor conflicts with other people because we dwell on minor faults of the other person. Whether it is justified or not, it is a common source of unhappiness and division. Meditation teaches us to give no importance to minor thoughts. When we meditate powerfully we develop a sense of oneness with other people; we naturally look to their good qualities. Their minor faults seem unimportant.

7. To discover a real sense of who we are

Our intellectual mind can seek to discover the answer to many questions, but the one question of who am I? always remains unanswered. To discover our real self; to be aware of our own soul we have to go beyond the mind. It is in meditation that we can become aware of a living spiritual presence. When we find this we feel a new purpose in life.

 

How to do Meditation at Home

There are several kinds of meditation techniques that have their own set of instructions to provide an effective solution to its practitioners. However, you can decide the one that best suits the need of the hour. The duration of the meditation also depends on the kind that is chosen. For the most basic level of meditation at home, follow the following steps:

Step One

To start with meditation at home, you should look for a place that is peaceful and serene. Absence of noise and pollution is very important while you sit for meditation.

Step Two

Try to sit upright and keep your spine straight for as long as you are comfortable, without exerting pressure on your body. You can either choose to sit on the bed or on a carpeted floor or even on a chair. The usual position for meditation is crossing the leg but if that is uncomfortable, you can choose to sit with your legs stretched or in a position that gives you utmost comfort and relaxation. The effectiveness of the meditation technique highly depends upon the level of comfort in which it is pursued.

Step Three

Start visualising a specific object in your mind and try to consider the object as yourself. Try to visualize yourself to be the way the object is in terms of shape, colour, and texture. In doing so, you will begin to feel relaxed and calm. If the visualisation does not come naturally, do not push yourself into thinking what your mind is not comfortable with. You can begin with plain concentration on something around you and gradually build into visualising the object to be you.

Step Four

It is likely that while concentrating on an object, you may fluctuate between other issues concerning everyday situations. In such a situation, you should draw your attention to the pattern of your breathing. Try taking deep breaths and exhale completely. Ensure that you develop your concentration on your breathing pattern and gradually revert to visualising yourself as an object.

Step Five

Try to increase the speed of your breathing pattern and observe your stomach compressing and expanding. This will help you ensure that your mind is at one place. No matter what kind of meditation technique you opt for, practicing the above mentioned basic steps can help you figure out the complex ones with ease.

Meditation Facts

Meditation, in fact, has several different effects on the body; both on the physical body and on the psychological well-being of the mind. First, some of the physical benefits of meditation include:

• Oxygen consumption lessens

• Respiratory rates decease

• A marked increase in blood flow occurs, which in turn slows the heart rate

• Meditation actually increases the level of exercise tolerance in heart patients

• High blood pressure is lowered to normal levels

• A decrease in muscle tension and headaches

• Increases in the production of serotonin levels (which influences and mood and behavior). Note that low levels of serotonin have been associated with depression, obesity, insomnia and headaches.

• Meditation has also been shown to help in chronic diseases, such as allergies and arthritis.

• In women, meditation can reduce pre-menstrual syndrome. 

Conclusion

Once you mastered focusing on one thought you have reached the level of meditation where you focus on nothing at all. This is the essential level for cleaning your mind of chatter. If thoughts come back you can now look at them quickly, but you will have the ability to gently push them out of your mind. This level of meditation can take years so do not be discouraged if you cannot clear your mind of all thoughts. With practice it will come and you will become a master.