Meditation for Stress Relief - Part 1

Meditation is one of the best and most effective relaxation and stress reduction methods. It calms your nerves, slows down your heart rate, and clears your mind of unproductive and cluttered thoughts.  Most importantly, it serves not only to alleviate stress at a particular instance, but to also make you more relaxed and less tense over the long term in your everyday life.

Nonetheless, there are many misconceptions and much confusion and contradicting information that we need to clear about meditation before you can start meditating effectively and getting the maximum benefit from it.

Most associate meditation with Yoga, Hindu or Buddhist spirituality, sitting in impossible lotus positions, and chanting "Ohm" over and over. Although all of these elements are indeed loosely related to meditation, they are also distinct from it and are not mandatory.

Meditation is actually a very simple concept. All it means is achieving a passive, as opposed to an active, state of mind. A passive state of mind doesn't necessarily mean the absence of any thought, as some believe, but rather, it is a state in which you are letting your thoughts flow freely through you without focusing on any thought in particular.

To meditate effectively and actually achieve a state of deep relaxation from it, you will need to find a time and place for yourself where you don't have any distractions. There is no "best time" to meditate as far as meditation itself goes. It only depends on your personal preference. Many like to meditate before sleep or early in the morning because these periods are usually the quietest.

If you are forced to meditate with a certain level of noise around, you can use ear plugs or noise canceling headphones to block the noise out. However, it is really best not to have any external distractions while you meditate. Remember, the whole point is to relax, which is kind of hard to do when you are constantly aggravated by noise and other disruptions.

Next, sit in a comfortable position. Most think that you must assume the "lotus" position in order to meditate, but it is a complete misconception. Although many who have meditated for a long time use this position, it is a hard position to hold for a long period of time, and does not pose any real benefit for our purpose. Of course, if you are flexible enough and feel comfortable sitting in that position, feel free to do so by all means. For the rest of us, sitting on a chair or in a "Karate" position (on the knees) will work just as well.

The only thing that you need to make sure is that you sit comfortably, but not too comfortably. So, if you decide to sit on a chair, use one with a straight and firm, and not cushy, back. Sit straight with your head on the same line as you back so that your spine is in one straight line. Place your hands on your legs and let them be loose.

If you are sitting on your knees, you can place a pillow or towel underneath your knees or between your buttocks and calves for comfort. As with sitting on a chair, sit with your back straight and head looking straight in front of you so that your spine is straight. Place your hands comfortably on your legs. Close your eyes and make several deep breathes.

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