Control Your Stress Blog

Learning how to meditate is one of the best ways to relax and allievate stress and, unlike medication, there are no negative side effects.

There are many different types of meditation, from the complex to the simple, but I’m going to show you a quick and easy method which anybody can learn with few minutes practice.

First, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for about 15 to 20 minutes and sit in a straight-backed chair.

Place your feet on the floor and rest your hands comfortably on your lap.

Sit upright and imagine a thread pulling the top of your head up toward the ceiling.

Now, imagine that your belly is balloon – as you breathe in, the balloon expands and as you breathe out the balloon collapses in toward your spine. This abdominal breathing method ensures that you’ll be using your diaphragm instead of your chest muscles which promotes greater relaxation.

Concentrate on the movement of your belly, expanding and contracting, and also on the sound of your breath as it goes in and out of your mouth. You probably won’t be able to concentrate on both things at once – your attention will flip from one to the other which is OK.

Be aware of any thoughts which arise in your mind. Watch them as if from a distance. As if they were images projected onto a movie screen without making any judgements either way – negative or positive.

After a few minutes you’ll probably be pulled into a thought and completely forget to be aware of your breathing. But as soon as you realise that you’re not aware of your breathing – you’ll be aware again!

Your meditation will be like this: 

(1) Being aware of your breathing.

(2) Becoming lost in a thought and forgetting about your breathing.

(3) Realising that you’ve forgotten about your breathing.

(4) Becoming aware of your breathing again.

(5) Getting pulled into a thought again.

(6) Realising that your not aware of your breathing…

…and on it goes. But with regular practice you’ll get pulled into thoughts less and less.

When a trivial thought pops-up (like, “I wonder what’s on TV tonight”)  you’ll be able to dispel it by focusing on your breathing.

Past memories may pop-up for review, un-resolved conflicts may come to the surface – don’t dispel these, watch them without making a judgment.

Each problem dealt with reveals other problems underneath. Like layers of an onion being peeled away.

Continue meditating for about fifteen to twenty minutes, then open your eyes but don’t stand up straight away, wait for a few moments to re-orient yourself first.

Congratulations! You now know how to meditate.

Do this technique twice a day for a week and you’ll be amazed at how more relaxed and less stressed you feel.