A guide to using meditation to relieve stress
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a kind of alternative medicine that promotes mental tranquilly and relaxation through the temporary control or suspension of thinking processes. As meditation involves both physical and mental relaxation, it is an effective method for relieving stress.
Why do People do Meditation?
When some people hear that meditation can be used to ease stress, they scoff and dismiss the idea as nonsense. They believe that meditation is not an effective means of relieving stress. However, evidence indicates that meditation is an effective method for stress management.
In 1968, Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University conducted the most significant study on the stress-relieving benefits of meditation. His findings were reported in the book “The Relaxation Response.” He discovered that meditation “really reduces stress and controls the fight-or-flight response.” Dr. Benson wrote that meditation boosted skin resistance to harm or infection, lowered the heart rate and breathing rate, and decreased oxygen usage.
Meditation entails consciously relaxing the mind and body for an extended length of time. Meditation requires you to concentrate internally such that your mind is so preoccupied with breathing and body form that it has little time to dwell on the events that are giving you tension.
How to Perform Meditation?
Meditation is actually extremely simple to perform. Meditation requires neither mysticism nor a high degree of spirituality. Meditation is something that may be practised practically anywhere by anyone.
When you are preparing for meditation, you should set aside a particular period of uninterrupted time. To be successful at reducing stress, meditation does not require hours of daily practise. Practising meditation for five or twenty minutes is certainly plenty.
Effective meditation needs that you’re in a comfortable, peaceful atmosphere. This indicates that when meditating, you should wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. In order for your meditation session to be as stress-relieving as possible, the temperature of the surrounding environment (indoors or outdoors) should be suitable for you.
Meditation to alleviate stress is all about concentration. Close your eyes after you are completely relaxed (you can sit or lie down) and comfortable. Concentrate on your breathing during the entirety of your meditation practise. Count your inhalations. You can even pronounce the numbers out loud in order to prevent your mind from wandering.
Imagery is another method for controlling wandering thoughts during a meditation session. Imagery is commonly used in meditation. With images, all you need to do is concentrate on something you find refreshing or pleasurable. During meditation, music is also a common approach to aid concentration. You can do a monologue hum. Alternately, you might use music that has numerous nature sounds.
The key to meditation is mental discipline. When you learn to regulate your mind, you will be able to control your thoughts, and you will have greater control over the activities of your muscles. Occasionally, it takes some time to learn not to let your attention to stray while meditation. But after you’ve learned meditation, you’ll find that you can practise it practically anyplace to de-stress when you’re feeling stressed.