Meditation: The Ideal Stress Therapy

We live in a very stressful world today that would be the understatement of the year! The day I decided to write this article, the world once again was hit by the threat of yet another act of terrorism. Not only do we have the general day to day stresses, but we now have a threat even greater, one that promises to take away our free way of living.

Many people find raising a family and holding onto a well paid job so stressful that their lives almost fall apart, they suffer bad health and just feel that they cant cope.

So, how do we cope with the pressures of life?

Meditation is not a miraculous cure for stress, or any other illness for that matter it is simply, putting our mind into a relaxed state enabling us to understand and handle the stresses in our lives. The power of the human mind knows no boundaries and if we teach ourselves to control the way our minds work we can become more in charge of our daily lives.

Using meditation to reprogram the mind is a step towards gaining a healthy soul and body. With regular meditation we can learn to relax, clear our mind of unwanted thoughts and focus on positive thoughts. Many of us need to learn about ourselves; why do we react the way we do to certain things; why do some things make us angry, why do other things make us happy or sad. By getting to understand our inner self, we can then start to change the things that cause us stress. Of course, we cannot always change events or happenings or avoid certain situations however, by learning to control our minds our reactions to those situations can be changed.

Meditation is one way to achieve control over our reactions, we can learn to accept people, situations, disappointments in a way that reduces the amount of stress we put on ourselves. Reducing stress not only makes our days seem brighter, but it goes a long way to preventing many stress related illnesses, such as high blood pressure.

Learning how to meditate should never be a worrying experience. Instead it should be approached calmly with an open mind and with no great expectations to begin with. Many beginners find it almost impossible to empty their minds of thoughts and this is quite natural. Instead of becoming frustrated with persistent thoughts invading your meditation, you should be aiming primarily for a state where you dont give the thoughts any focus, just accept them and left them drift away.

It is quite often helpful when starting to meditate to use a professionally recorded sessions. Always ensure you purchase from a well known reliable source as the quality of these recordings can make or break your meditation experience. If you chose a recording that includes voice, you need to know that the voice actually assists you rather than annoying you.

There are a number of methods used to gain successful meditation and you should choose the method you feel most comfortable with. Some people prefer the mantra chant while others choose soft relaxing music. Candles and/or incense can be helpful as a means of concentrating on something other than your thoughts.

The most important thing to do is to start! Dont keep putting it off, you will be so glad you decided to use meditation to either avoid or cope with the stresses in your life. When you become totally familiar with meditation you will be able to meditate almost anywhere, not just the cozy quiet relaxing corner you begin with. Probably the best thing about using meditation as a way of coping with stress it is free and it is not drug therapy.

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What is stress?

Stress (roughly the opposite of relaxation) is a medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause a physiological response called the general adaptation syndrome, first described in 1936 by Hans Selye in the journal Nature.
An emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health which can be characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability and depression. Stress does not cause migraine but can be a migraine "trigger".
A condition in which the organism is subjected to unfavourable or unfamiliar environmental conditions, resulting in some alteration in normal physical functioning. Short-term stress can often be overcome. Long-term stress can reduce resistance to disease and parasites, inhibit self-healing processes, and reduce life-span.