How Do I Eliminate Stress With Meditation?

Stress is one of the most often-cited contributors to common illnesses. During life, it is highly likely that you may have found that your normal routine towards empowering yourself can often leave you breathless. Trying to maintain the balance between the external world of work, classes, kids, husbands and wives, while at the same time trying to stay steady in our body, breath and mind, can be challenging to say the least.

Meditation is a wonderful way to manage stress, as well as a great way to improve your overall quality of life. Furthermore, calming your mind is a fast way to eliminate negative emotions and stress you may currently be experiencing.

Meditation has assisted countless individuals, from different cultures, ethnic and religious backgrounds, to relax and reduce the accumulation of stress. Many times, people think of meditation as some sort of esoteric art, only for a monk living in a cave. The simple fact is that meditation is one of the more simple things you can do to relax the body and mind. In fact, it is so simple that most people become frustrated about not doing it right. Time and time again, people try to sit still and meditate, only to find that they "just can't keep their minds still."

There are many different kinds of meditation that are practiced around the world. Most, advocate clearing our thoughts and emptying our mind. Other meditation practices say that it really isn't about stopping your thoughts, but about observing our thinking mind. In fact, it is within the act of observing our thoughts and emotions, without judgment, that we come to a place of being able to truly accept ourselves.

Naturally, from there the mind begins to quiet. Essentially, meditation is the art of making an effort to become effortless. Below I present to you a simple practice for coming into a space of silence to reduce the daily stressors of life.

Why Should You Meditate?

Meditation is one of the most highly effective, time-tested, culture-surpassing techniques for lessening our stress levels. It also helps us begin to tap in to our unconscious mind, clearing out old thoughts and experiences that may be hindering our development. Meditation provides a private, inner sanctuary where we can learn to go when the chaos of a rushed-lifestyle overwhelms us.

Simply put, meditation detoxifies the body and mind of stress.

Did You Know This About Stress and Meditation? People have been using meditation as a practice for over 2,000 years. Stress reduction was one of the main benefits of the practice.¹ Stress management meditation has been proven to help people deal with pain, illness, fatigue, depression, anxiety, stomach problems and insomnia.² There is a widespread acceptance among the medical and science community that recognizes direct correlations between the practice of meditation and wellness.³

When we become stressed mentally, emotionally, or physically, our bodies enter into a "fight or flight" pattern, releasing powerful chemicals into the blood stream. In the past, when humans were still prey to animals, these adrenaline-based chemicals helped us run from an attacker or fight off an enemy.

Today, these chemicals get released into our blood stream when we are stressed in traffic, for example. Only, as you can imagine, you don't normally start sprinting at high speed from your car, or punching out your neighboring driver (okay, hopefully!). You just sit there. And guess what? The toxins do the same thing. The build-up of these internal toxins is a huge health problem for modern humans. Meditation can help relieve this overload of stress and toxins.

When your body and mind are relaxed, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over. This is the part of your nervous-response associated with cooling, calming and healing the body. In this way, meditation literally detoxifies and heals the entire mind/body structure.

Harvard University is Surprised by the Results of Meditation

In the 1970's, Harvard Medical school did a study on the practice of Transcendental Meditation. The results shocked the doctors conducting the study.

After studying thousands of people who regularly practiced meditation, they found that by far, meditation had a hugely positive impact on health, stress and various organs and systems of the body³. Patel (1985) found a correlation between meditating and levels of melatonin, or "the feel good response." Hypertension or high blood pressure can be lowered by the practice as well.

Studies have shown that meditation relieves skin problems, boosts the immune system, reduces anxiety disorders and even helps ameliorate the entire spectrum of general practice medicine.⁴

Types of Meditation

There are hundreds of different types of mediation. The best advice is to choose a type of meditation that is both simple and effective for where you are in your life. Here are a few examples of meditative techniques, as well as a great "breath-focused" meditation for beginners.

• Concentrative Meditation
  This type of meditation focuses the mind on a particular object, sensation, sound or mantra. You may, as in the example below, focus the mind on your inhale and your exhale. You may focus on the sound of a mantra or a candle flame. Eventually, and with sustained practice, the mind becomes still and a space of clarity, ease and calm emerges. If it is your first time meditating, don't be alarmed if your thoughts run rampant! This is normal. Just continually observe the object or breath, and keep practicing!
• Mindfulness Meditation
  Mindfulness mediation, such as the form practiced in Vipassana Meditation, involves observing the mental movie going on inside. There is no external focal point (such as in the example of above) but a silent witnessing of the constant movement of the sensations in your body, the feelings of your emotions, or the thought-patterns of your mind. This is a slightly more advanced meditation, and requires a great deal of passive-observance, non-judgment of yourself and a wide angle lens view of your mind.

The following example is another good meditation practice for a beginner. Once you have practiced it a few times, you will find that each session has a way of showing you the true benefits of the practice. Don't be surprised if you are flooded with thoughts or emotions during the first stages of practice. This is normal! Think of your mind and body like an ink-well attached to a desk. Imagine pouring pure water into the dirty ink well. For the first few minutes, lots of black ink is going to come out. The same process happens when we detox our body and mind. With practice, soon your ink-well will be flooded with pure, clear water!

A Sample Practice of Meditation

I recommend meditating anytime during the day when your thoughts a running rampant. However the best results with meditation are obtained in the early morning hours between 3am & 6am. During this time the world is still and quiet around you, and you have forgotten most of the stressors from the day before.

Sit in a quit area in a comfortable position and close your eyes and focus on the blackness located between both of your eyes. Mystics refer to this as your third eye. Try your best to quiet your mind of all thoughts, until you feel one with your body and the universe. The first 20 minutes are usually the hardest but with daily persistence you will conquer your mind and feel the relaxing and energizing effects meditation can provide you.

REFERENCES

1. nccam.nih.gov
2. www.meditationforhealth.com
3. The Relaxation Response. Herbert Benson. 2000.
4. http://www.helium.com/items/361329-evidence-based-facts-on-meditation?page=2