Meditation for a Peaceful Mind

There are so many reasons why you should try meditation! You'll find that you have less anxiety, less depression, better health, and better relationships. How many practices can claim that? Would you rather take a pill for anxiety or learn to calm your mind and body in a more natural way?  There may be many unwanted side effects from medication (such as feeling "hung over" for hours, not being able to function with normal activities, and developing a dependency on the medication.) Meditation gives you calm and peaceful feelings without the side effects.  And having a peaceful mind is a form of stress protection that can help you to clear your mind of worries.

Greater Resilience

This is not to say that you won’t worry about things ever, but you'll find that worry decreases in both intensity and duration. In addition, you will develop a more effective way of dealing with the stressful situations in your daily life; you'll become more resilient. You will be able to understand situations in a different light and be able to see the situations for what they really are. When your mind is not at peace, it is hard to be happy even under the most pleasant circumstances. In some forms of meditation, you can analyze the thought processes that pass through your mind. When you concentrate deeply on the thoughts and situations of your life, you can reach the point at which you find your own answers to your problems.

Psychological Benefits

Today many types of meditation are recommended by health care professionals as a way of cleansing the mind and emotions of negative thoughts. By meditating, you can benefit from improved concentration and memory. It also helps to help you develop a greater understanding of stressful situations in your daily life so that you can have a greater understanding of the real cause of the problem. Anxiety is reduced dramatically. This helps you approach your problems with less stress because you do not impulsively react with fear, panic, depression, or anger. This, in turn, helps you get along with others much better.

Physical Benefits

Your body also benefits from meditation. When your mind is clear, you are better able to bring healing to the parts of your body that are ill. Meditating helps to improve the overall functioning of your immune system so that your body can fight off disease.  As your body becomes more relaxed, your blood pressure lowers and your heart can pump the blood to the organs of the body.

Morning Meditation

The aim of meditation is to give you a sense of inner peace that you will use throughout your day in all your dealings. This is why it is recommended that you meditate in the morning as soon as you wake. The positive feelings that you bring into your mind and body will then help you cope with your day. I highly recommend meditation for all of the above reasons.

Try it!

Start with a few minutes of silence each morning. It doesn't have to be long. In order to start a new habit, researchers tell us that you're better off doing your new habit a minute or two a day consistently for three weeks than an hour every once in a while. Once the habit is established, you'll want to keep this new habit because your physical and emotional health improve so much. Like anything else worth learning, you'll improve with practice. Let me know how it goes for you!

Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation techniques are a form of stress protection and can help you to enjoy a better quality of life. These relaxation techniques are so much more than sitting in front of the tv, enjoying a hobby, or talking with friends. The techniques in this article have been proven to help decrease the wear and tear of life's challenges on your mind and body. They will help to reduce anxiety and depression.

Benefits of Relaxation

• Slowing your heart rate
• Lowering blood pressure
• Slowing your breathing rate
• Reducing the need for oxygen
• Increasing blood flow to major muscles
• Reducing muscle tension
• Fewer physical symptoms, such as headaches and back pain
• Fewer emotional responses, such as anger and frustration
• More energy
• Improved concentration
• Greater ability to handle problems
• More efficiency in daily activities

Types of Relaxation

• Yoga
• Tai chi
• Breathwork
• Listening to Music
• Exercise
• Meditation
• Hypnosis
• Massage
• Biofeedback

Even looking at a beautiful photo can help to relax you. It doesn't matter which form of relaxation you use. What matters is that you do something for stress protection often.

Stress Protection

The stresses associated with daily living can add up. People who experience chronic work stress are 68 percent more likely to have coronary heart disease. 68 Percent! This was one of the findings of a 12-year study conducted through University College London. Also contributing to stress are lifestyle habits such as poor diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and a negative attitude.

Over time, stress disturbs the autonomic nervous system (that system of your body that controls involuntary bodily functions). This can cause "cardiac instability."

Stress is a killer

In a study conducted at the University of Iowa, researchers found that police officers have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease than that of the general population. They attribute this to the day-to-day stress of their jobs.

Becoming less stressed

What you want to do is promote  parasympathetic system dominance. In simple terms, that means feeling less stressed. When our sympathetic system is dominant (the fight-flight response), our bodies wear out.

Techniques that promote parasympathetic nervous system dominance include:

• Listening to relaxing music

• A long bath with the door locked—especially combined with music, and candles.

• Bodywork involves some form of touching, energetic work or the physical manipulation of the body—massasge, reiki, yoga, Feldenkrais, rolfing

• Get out into nature

• Locomotion in nature—walking, skiing, rowing, running, hiking

• Exercise--like dancing, treadmill, basketball, swimming

• Breathwork

Equally important is good nutrition. It's so important for stress management to eat healthy foods and stay away from junk food--like soda pop, sugar, "empty calories." Your body will thank you.

Stress can impact your health. So, it's important to add stress protection to your life every day. Carving out time to relax is important!  See our articles on relaxation, breathwork, and meditation.