How to Meditate for Stress Relief
How many times have you felt overwhelmed, panicky, or chased through your day by obligations, deadlines, work demands, children, relationships, bills, illness, you name it.
How many times have you read or been told to relax, and stop worrying about _____ that is bothering you? How many times has that worked?
Can I just stop worrying?
It is impossible to simply stop worrying when you experience involuntary hormonal and biochemical changes. This automatic stress response, also called the fight-or-flight reaction, puts your bodiy in alarm mode: heart rate speeds up, breath becomes shallow, muscles tense, and our digestive and immune systems temporarily shut down. When the source of the stress is not life threatening, or even resolvable, your body stays in an extended state of tension and eventually begins to take on illness from the stress response.
The only way out of this stress response cycle is to change your focus. The more you resist or fight against the worry, the stronger the reactions become. You literally give the worry energy, recharge it, and bring it back stronger when you resist it. You cannot stop looking at “it”, or thinking about “it” because your focus is still on “it”.
Using meditation for stress can …
Meditation used correctly changes your focus and soothes the physiological response, easing the fight or flight reaction.
There are many styles of meditation, and schools of thought about right methods of meditation. Many students of meditation seeking higher awareness meditate by emptying the mind. This may work for you, but if you are experiencing stress, and simply empty your mind when you meditate, the pile of problems may be waiting for you at the end of the meditation. If this happens, try a different method.
The Focused Meditation
The focused meditation, as an alternative to the “empty mind” meditation, can be an effective tool to de-stress. If you change your focus to a powerful and positive image, thought or desire during the meditation, and envelop yourself in the feelings associated with that powerful positive image, you come out of the meditation with a change in vision.
Think of a childhood memory connected with great joy. For some this could be Christmas, for others a wonderful grandparent, loved pet, favorite toy, sunny morning playing in the sand, or a thousand other things. Now remember your feelings associated with that memory. Focus on the joy you felt, on the subtle vibration of anticipation in your body over opening a gift, going to the park, or whatever is specific to your memory. Now carry that feeling into your present and associate it with a positive image you want in your life today.
During The Meditation Session …
With the image in your mind and the feeling in place , begin the meditation session. Many proponents of meditation prefer silence, but if you are removing stress, you may want to use music. It works on the rhythms of your brainwaves to calm them. You can use relaxation music or empowering music, but suit it to your physiological responses. You may want to start with the relaxation levels to reduce your heart rate and deepen your breathing, though if you are exhausted from worry or illness, it will likely put you to sleep. That can be the best result to help you regain strength. Later, you may want to use a more empowering meditation to continue the focus on positive images. Experiment. Your body will tell you what you need if you trust it.
Remember also that you are your own best expert on you. Many times, stress is the end result of giving up control of your own life and looking for external sources of relief. Use focused meditations to remind yourself of the joy you are entitled to experience. Tune into your body responses to meditation and recognize positive changes, anticipate more and receive them with joy.
In Conclusion …
If this seems silly to you, keep in mind the natural world works around this law of attraction. Take a look at a grove of trees or a field of grass or a flock of birds. There is a natural grouping of like species. The same applies to thoughts - like begets like. Your focus on positive images and feelings will attract more positive images and feelings. Eventually these translate into positive actions and things. Using focused meditation elevates the electrical vibrations in your body and mind. It can literally change your life.
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May 27th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
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