Breathing meditation to counteract the affects of stress
We experience stress every day in our lives. It doesn’t matter if we are at work or at home, with so many tasks to do and so many people to take care of, sometimes we forget to slow down and take care of ourselves.
Breathing meditation is extremely beneficial and is used by millions of people around the world to relieve the anxieties we face on an on-going basis. It is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve the immune system, and has been used to help stop smoking as well as get rid of other bad habits. I have used breathing meditation as a way to counteract stress for many years. I found that it was when I didn’t meditate and exercise daily that I experienced my most extreme reactions to stress.
One of the benefits of meditation is that it promotes an inner balance and feeling of well-being. It also revitalizes your mind and body. You don’t need much to practice meditation, just a quiet room. In your room you sit either on the floor or on a chair and begin the relaxation process by focusing on a sound of your own making, or an object. As you sit quietly, allow you mind to concentrate on your breathing pattern as you make your sound softly or focus on the object you’ve chosen.
Once you are relaxed, you will actually be listening to your breathing. As you pay attention to your breath, while you breathe in and exhale deeply, you will be able to slow down your breathing to the point where you are in a deep meditative state. After your meditative session you will feel renewed and your anxiety and stress will have dissipated.
Note that it takes a few sessions to get it down just right, but it is worth the effort. You’ll begin to receive significant relief from stress and anxiety on those days when you are being pulled in twenty different directions.
Here’s a key point. In order for breathing meditation to become a successful part of your life, it requires you to engage in this practice on a daily basis. Just like anything else, the more you practice, the better you will be able to reach the meditative state.
There are also some great exercises that incorporate breathing meditation into their practice, such as Yoga and Qigong. I practice both of these daily and I have found that they can have an immediate and positive effect on your entire body as well as your mind.
One great thing about these breathing exercises is that you can utilize them at home, at work, in your car, or on a subway or bus. Let’s say you are driving home and are slowed down by some heavy traffic or an accident that keeps you stuck for an hour or more. Instead of worrying about how long it will take and getting all worked up, try using breathing meditation to stay calm. If stress begins to build at work you can also use meditative breathing either while sitting at your desk or, even better, at a quiet place where you can sit and meditate alone. The trick is to use it, because it does work.
No matter what you are doing during the course of your day, take ten minutes to meditate in order to relieve whatever stress or anxiety you are under. Just as you take care of others’ needs, it is important to concentrate on your own health as well.
A few years ago, I got divorced, I quit my job, both my parents died, my daughter was fifteen going on thirty and I had to clean up a house full of the junk my parents had accumulated by living in a house for 50 years. I couldn’t sleep, my head constantly hurt, my cholesterol was 230 and I was 25 pounds overweight. My subconscious was running away with my mind and making me nearly crazy. To say the least, I was a real mess. Now I should have known better because for the last thirty years I’d been studying how to improve my life and how to set goals and achieve them but it didn’t change my weight. I kept overeating, eating the wrong things and using the wrong type of exercises.
As a result I changed my approach and went back to training in Tai Chi and Chi Kung at least twice a day. These are two Chinese martial arts that help develop internal energy. I also began recording and listening to hypnosis sessions I had developed over the last 30 years. It took a while but my weight came down, my stress level is down and my life is more stable. Recently I had a physical. My total cholesterol was 172 and my HDL’s (good cholesterol) was 42. I weigh 171 pounds and I’m feeling fantastic.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/breathing-meditation-to-counteract-the-affects-of-stress-867750.html
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December 20th, 2009 at 7:31 am
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