Meditation – A Perfect Solution For Stress Relief
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Is stress getting to you? Fret not, because meditation can help you. Meditation is a great stress relief technique, and you must be thankful for the masters of yore for formulating it.
When you feel stressful, instead of looking for an external source to temporarily subdue it, try meditation. Meditation is an inward process that you can do all by yourself and train your mind to react to stress with calmness and clarity.
To do that, you need to know the right technique and setting, and we are here to guide you through that. Find it below, go on.
How Does Meditation Help Relieve Stress?
Meditation is an ancient technique that brings together the body and mind to help you deal with stress in a balanced manner. It does so by reducing your blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, and depression which are all triggers for stress.
And, most importantly it brings inner peace with just a few minutes of practice every day. Research tells that meditating every day causes the brain to alter its neural pathways and make them more resilient to stress.
Meditation takes you to a tranquil state of mind and relaxes you deeply. It soothes your nerves and acts like a balm to your tensed and frenzied being.
When you meditate, you focus your attention on a word, a phrase, or your breathing. This induces relaxation and a sense of balance sets in. This sense of balance increases your self-awareness and creates space in your mind to organize your priorities.
The best part about meditation is that the effect carries over if you practice being mindful about it. The calmness obtained from meditation helps you through the day in a stress-free manner.
Also, meditation helps you gain a new perspective and develop skills to manage stress better. It imbibes qualities in you like increased self-awareness, focusing on the present, reducing negative emotions, increased patience, and tolerance which all help to reduce stress.
Those are quite many reasons to practice meditation to relieve stress. Let’s find out how to do so, shall we?
[ Read: How To Fight Depression With Meditation? ]
How To Practice Meditation To Relieve Stress?
First and foremost, you need to know some standard features of various types of meditation before you go ahead and choose to do a particular kind of meditation. Let’s look at them now.
1. Place
The place you are meditating at plays a crucial role. Choose a location that is quiet, a place you are used to and comfortable with. Preferably a cozy corner in your house with medium lighting and a provision for fresh air to come in.
Clean the place and arrange all the things in the room neatly without any clutter or mess. Make sure you remove all the gadgets from the place. Create a soothing and positive vibe in the place.
2. Position
The position in which you meditate needs to be comfortable but not too comfortable that you sleep off. Usually, meditation is practiced in the following yoga asanas—Siddhasana, Sukhasana, Vajrasana, Padmasana.
If you are unable to sit in any of those positions, you can take a wooden or plastic chair and sit on it with your back straight and your foot firmly placed on the ground and parallel to each other.
A comfortable position adds to the experience of meditation and lessens distraction that can crop up from an uncomfortable sitting position. Sit with an open and positive attitude.
[ Read: 7 Important Meditation Tips For Beginners ]
3. Breathing
Begin breathing consciously. Observe how the breath goes in from your nose to the windpipe and finally the lungs. Notice how it comes out the same way. Feel it, observe it and be thankful for it.
Also, notice how your chest and abdomen contracts during inhalation and swells during exhalation. Keep the breathing deep and even-paced. Count numbers up to 10 while you breathe in and do the same when you breathe out.
4. Attention
Be attentive of yourself and your breath – which are the most important aspects of meditation. When you sit down to meditate, a countless number of thoughts attack you.
When that happens, you must keep in mind to stay calm and not react to them. Silence those thoughts by focusing on your breath completely.
Those are some essential aspects of meditation. There are various ways to meditate, and Vipassana is the best among them to relieve stress. Let’s learn about it.
Vipassana Meditation – Best Meditation To Relieve Stress
Vipassana is the most ancient meditation technique to combat stress. It was taught by Buddha about 2500 years ago as a means to become aware of yourself, your life, and the essence of your existence.
In this meditation, the mind becomes a tool to get closer to reality and understand the way things work. Vipassana leads you to liberation – a permanent phenomenon unlike the temporary tranquility that other kinds of meditation offer.
[ Read: 5 Types Of Meditation Techniques And Their Benefits ]
The Practice Of Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana is in-depth and lasting. The ability to understand the life process without any filters is not as easy as it sounds. You need to practice a series of mental exercises to help you become aware and attentive.
You must remember that Vipassana is a gradual process that ultimately helps you understand the real purpose of life—where stress has no place.
Keeping your mind free of negative thoughts and focusing on your breath and breathing right isn’t easy at all, but don’t give up. Don’t judge yourself for straying. Always get back on track, gently yet firmly.
Slowly, you will feel the awareness kicking in. The feeling of knowing something for what it is, perceiving the truth of everything, and realizing the potential and power of the present. You experience these feelings after continued practice.
Vipassana meditation takes you past the illusion and presents reality as it is, helping you understand the essential truth where stress has no place.
To know more about the meditation and its procedure, click here—Vipassana Meditation.
Now, let’s answer some common queries on meditation and stress.
Expert’s Answers For Readers’ Questions
Can I practice meditation to relieve clinical stress?
Yes, you can. Meditation is a way of learning how to regulate your emotions and physiology.
How long does stress last?
It varies from person to person and also depends on the situation they are in.
Stress is an ever-nagging problem and living with it is a stress in itself. Running around for work and errands leaves you no time to deal with stress appropriately and overcome it. Pause for some time and practice meditation; it is a good solution for stress relief. Why don’t you try guided meditation for stress relief? Share your experience with us by leaving a comment below.
