How to Start a Meditaion Practice

Starting a meditation practice

Here is all you need to begin your meditation practice:

• A quiet environment. Choose a secluded place in your home, office, garden, place of worship, or in the great outdoors where you can relax without distractions or interruptions.

• A comfortable position. Get comfortable, but avoid lying down as this may lead to you falling asleep. Sit up with your spine straight, either in a chair or on the floor. You can also try a cross-legged or lotus position.

• A point of focus. You can begin with focusing on your breath or a meaningful word or phrase and repeat it throughout your session. You may also choose to focus on an object in your surroundings to enhance your concentration, or alternately, you can close your eyes.

• As you breathe, let your abdomen expand and contract, rather than moving your shoulders up and down. This deeper breathing is more natural and similar to how babies breathe.

• Don't breathe too quickly or too slowly; just breathe at a natural rate.

• If you find your thoughts drifting a lot at first, don't worry that you're doing it 'wrong'. Noticing that you've drifted and refocusing to your breathing is part of the practice, and something you're doing 'right'!

• An observant, noncritical attitude. Don’t worry about distracting thoughts that go through your mind or about how well you’re doing. If thoughts intrude during your relaxation session, don’t fight them. Instead, gently turn your attention back to your point of focus.

• The idea is to stay unattached to thoughts of any kind. That means that, if that inner narrative voice in your mind speaks up, gently come back to your point of focus, such as your breath and opt for internal silence. Keep letting go of any thoughts that may pop into your mind and the quiet spaces between thoughts will become longer and more frequent. You’re on the road of meditation

Tips:

• Give it time. Meditation often takes practice. If you’re expecting to do it ‘perfectly’, you may actually create more stress for yourself than you relieve, and you won’t want to stick with it.

• Start with shorter sessions—like five minutes—and work your way up to longer sessions—like 30. With practice, this type of meditation becomes easier and more effective.

• If the experience is frustrating for you and you don’t really want to continue, you may find more success with other types of meditation. Experiment!

Types of Meditation

Types of Meditations

Some practitioners stick with the same meditations indefinitely, but most people like to mix up the types of meditations they use in order to have a sense of variety. There are many type of meditations one can experiment with. The underlying theme of all is awareness and calm abiding in the present moment.

Researchers generally classify meditations into one of two categories: concentrative meditations and non-concentrative meditations. I personally like to use the terms analytical and single pointed meditation.

Single pointed (Concentrative meditations) involve concentrating deeply on one focal point (e.g. on breath.

Analytical meditation (non-concentrative meditations) can involve different points of focus, but still involve deep, non-judgmental concentration.

Some meditations can even seem to fit into both categories. Many beginners find Single pointed meditation to be a little simpler to learn.

Some examples of different types of meditative techniques are as following. All of these entail mindfulness.

Walking meditation - You don’t have to be seated or still to meditate. In walking meditation, mindfulness involves being focused on the physicality of each step — the sensation of your feet touching the ground, the rhythm of your breath while moving, and feeling the elements against your body.

Mindful eating – If you reach for food when you’re under stress or gulp your meals down in a rush, which causes acidity and discomfort later on. One should eat mindfully. Sit down at the table and focus your full attention on the meal (no TV, newspapers, or eating on the run). Eat slowly, taking the time to fully enjoy and concentrate on each bite. Experience the taste, texture and flavor of what you are eating.

As you become more experienced with your meditative practice you can further explore other types of meditations which can enhance your practice such as, Visualizations, Healing meditation, Compassion meditation, Present moment meditation, Kundalini meditation and many others.

Benefits of Meditation

The Benefits of Meditation: The benefits of meditation are manifold because it can reverse your stress response, thereby shielding you from the effects of chronic stress. Your mind also clears and your creativity increases. Meditations have been found to bring far-reaching benefits to those who practice them regularly. If you're new to meditations, you should expect a few benefits with even your first meditations.
These benefits can include:

Slowed heart rate

Release of physical tension

A sense of having a break from stress for a few minutes

A calmer mood afterward

After regular meditations, you'll likely see more long-term benefits, such as:

Less reactivity toward stress

Lower blood pressure

Greater clarity

Better decision-making

Greater resilience to stress

Dealing With Stress

How to deal with Stress

It is very important that we learn how to control stress. I have good news and bad news about controlling stress.

The bad news is: We create our own stress.

The good news is: We create our own stress.

Since we create our own stress, it also means we can learn to deal with it and avoid creating excessive stress.

Healthy ways to relax and recharge

Go for a walk. Spend time in nature. Call a good friend. Sweat out tension with a good workout. Write in your journal. Take a long bath. Light scented candles

Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea. Play with a pet. Work in your garden. Get a massage. Curl up with a good book. Listen to music. Watch a comedy

These are just some of the ideas. You can experiment and find your own stress busters.

How do people react to stress?

Reactions to stress

Here are some common but unhealthy reactions to stress. Do any of these describe your reactions? If you're not sure, consider keeping a daily journal for a week or so to monitor your reactions to stressful situations.

• Pain: You may unconsciously clench your jaws or fists or develop muscle tension, especially in your neck and shoulders, all of which can lead to unexplained physical pain. Stress also may cause a variety of other health ailments, including upset stomach, shortness of breath, back pain, headaches and insomnia.

• Overeating: Stress may trigger you to eat even when you're not hungry, or you may skip exercise. In contrast, you may eat less, actually losing weight when under more stress.

• Anger: Stress may leave you with a short fuse. When you're under pressure, you may find yourself arguing with co-workers, friends or loved ones — sometimes with little provocation or about things that have nothing to do with your stressful situation.

• Crying: Stress may trigger crying jags, sometimes seemingly without warning. Little things unrelated to your stress may leave you in tears. You also may feel lonely or isolated.

• Depression : Sometimes stress may be too much to take. You might avoid the problem, call in sick to work, feel hopeless or simply give up. Chronic stress can be a factor in the development of depression or anxiety disorders.

• Negativity: When you don't cope well with stress, you may automatically expect the worst or magnify the negative aspects of any undesirable situation.

• Smoking: Even if you quit smoking long ago, a cigarette may seem like an easy way to relax when you're under pressure. In fact, stress is a leading cause of having a smoking relapse. You may also find yourself turning to alcohol or drugs to numb the effects of stress.

These are just some of the reactions produced by stress. Different people in different circumstances may react differently to stress.

Stress Warning Signs and Symptoms

Stress Warning Signs and Symptoms

Some of the warning signs one should look out for are as following:

Cognitive Symptoms

• Memory problems
• Inability to concentrate
• Poor judgment
• Seeing only the negative
• Anxious or racing thoughts
• Constant worrying

Emotional Symptoms

• Moodiness
• Irritability or short temper
• Agitation, inability to relax
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Sense of loneliness and isolation
• Depression or general unhappiness

Physical Symptoms

• Aches and pains
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Nausea, dizziness
• Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
• Loss of sex drive
• Frequent colds

Behavioral Symptoms

• Eating more or less
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
• Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

What causes Stress?

Stressors or factors causing stress

What's stressful for you may be quite different from what's stressful to others. For example:
• Some people enjoy speaking in public; others are terrified.
• Some people are more productive under deadline pressure; others are miserably tense.
• Some people are eager to help family and friends through difficult times; others find it very stressful.
• Some people feel comfortable complaining about bad service in a restaurant; others find it so difficult to complain that they prefer to suffer in silence.
• Some people may feel that changes at work represent a welcome opportunity; others worry about whether they'll be able to cope.

Common external causes of stress

• Major life changes
• Work
• Relationship difficulties
• Financial problems
• Being too busy
• Children and family

Common internal causes of stress

Not all stress is caused by external factors. Stress can also be self-generated:
• Inability to accept uncertainty
• Pessimism
• Negative self-talk
• Unrealistic expectations
• Perfectionism
• Lack of assertiveness

What is Stress?

What is Stress?

The word stress is derived from the Latin word "stringi", which means, "to be drawn tight".

Definition: Stress is the body's reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response to events that causes bodily or mental tension.

The word "stress" is generally used when a person feels that everything seems to have become too much – the individual feels overloaded and wonders whether he really can cope with the pressures placed upon him. . Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress.

What causes stress?

Stress can be thought of as resulting from an “imbalance between demands and resources” or as occurring when “pressure exceeds one's perceived ability to cope”.

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make one feel threatened or upset ones balance in some way. When a person senses danger – whether it’s real or imagined – the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response.

Positive effects of stress

Some stresses get you going and they are good for you. Positive and negative stress is a constant influence on all of our lives. The trick is to maximize the positive stress and to minimize the negative stress.

High performance and achievement, and increased satisfaction are most often experienced under conditions of stress. The challenge before us is therefore to control stress within reasonable and productive bounds, rather than to eliminate it all together.