In today’s post concerning natural stress relief,
we’re going to discuss how daily meditation can
help with your stress levels.
This ancient practice is used by people all over
the world every day because it gives them time to
clear their minds and focus on being present.
Perhaps now more than ever it’s important to simply
live in the moment instead of constantly being
glued to our technology.
When you meditate, you close your eyes and focus
only on your breathing. It’s normal for thoughts to
pop up in your mind as you do this, but don’t let
it frustrate you. Simply acknowledge the thought and
then let it float away.
As you incorporate meditation into your daily life,
you’ll find that those thoughts pop up less and less.
To set the mood for your meditation session,
find a place and time where distractions are avoidable.
Perhaps it’s early in the morning before
everyone in your house wakes up, or on your lunch
break sitting in your car.
While long meditation sessions are beneficial,
you really only need 10 minutes a day to see
long-term results.
Completely relax your mind and body and focus only
on your breathing. Think about how good it feels to
breathe in, and then breathe out. Continue doing this
and try not to focus on anything other than your
breathing.
As you go about your day, practice mindfulness in
everything that you do. This means ignoring cell
phone notifications, thinking about other tasks
that have to get done, or taking on more work than
you can handle.
Remember that quality trumps quantity.
You can also practice yoga, which is often referred
to as meditation in motion.
Just like mindful meditation, you don’t need a lot
of time to do yoga.
In fact, your mind and body can see immediate results
with just 10 to 20 minutes a day.
And thanks to the internet, there are plenty of
free videos and articles demonstrating basic yoga moves.
Be sure to invest in a thick yoga mat before trying
any moves, so as to cushion your body. And just as with
mindful meditation, be sure to do it when and where you
won’t be interrupted.
With regular meditation, both mindful and yoga, you’ll
soon be on the way to living a more relaxing life!
Stay tuned for the next post, when we’ll discuss how something as simple as writing can help you alleviate stress.