Stress Relief Meditation - Zen Stress Reduction!

If you are new to meditation or are skeptical then I do urge you to keep an open mind about it but also know that this is not magic or voodoo and you can do it without any hint of mysticism because meditation is a real thing that the body and mind can achieve that is rooted in science as well. If you hook up a meditating person to a brain scan you will see all sorts of activity in the brain as you slip into a trance like state and if you measured cortisol levels too you would see a reduction as well.

So if you are stressed and want to be calmer and happier try these tips to get you on your way to great meditation.

1. Location

Where you meditate makes a big difference to how effective your session is and how easily you can begin to relax. Choose a place that you will not be interrupted for at least half an hour and that is quiet and not too visually stimulating. It must be a place that is relaxing and comforting to you.

Some people like to do this outdoors. By the sea or a lake or just under a tree works while other like to simply use a room in their house and light some incense or make it relaxing in some other way. Whatever works for YOU.

2. Posture

Since you will be meditating for a good 15-20 minutes how you sit is a big part of achieving good, deep stress relieving meditation.

Make sure you sit with your spine straight and in a comfortable position where you will not cramp up or be uncomfortable after a time sitting there. The traditional cross legged stance with hand on your knees and a straight back is always a good way to start but if you need to use pillows or anything else to make this easier then do so.

Just make sure you have that straight spine or you will not be comfortable!

3. Focus

This is a major part of actually achieving proper meditation. You need to focus your mind and clear it of all the stressful things and intrusive thoughts that plague it. This is easier said than done though!

A great tool to use is a visual focus aid and also audio focus aides. A visual focus can be anything, just something you can look at to focus your eyes away from any distractions. Many people use a lit candle and some people simple stare at a point on the wall or a leaf in the wind or the rolling of the waves or ripples in a pond ... again whatever you have on hand and whatever works and is simple.

Audio aides are also very helpful, some people cannot get away from noise distraction in their location and others cannot handle a complete absence of noise also. Meditation CDs or MP3s can help you get into a good meditation easier than without.

4. Breathing

Your breathing should be relaxed and deep but not too deep. Just enough that you can feel your lungs fill down to your diaphragm and back out again slowly. Slower breathing (not too slow though!) will lower your heart rate which will help relieve stress and get you into a trance more easily.

5. Visualization

Once you have been able to sit and focus and relax and you feel the relaxation take hold and you are NOT focusing on anything but your meditation you can start visualization. This is a great relaxation technique where you imagine a stress free place, a relaxing place and try to visualize every part of it.

Not only the visual details though, try to hear, touch, taste and smell this place in your minds eye and really fall as deeply into this little fantasy as you can. again what you imagine will vary from person to person but I always imagined a lake as smooth as a mirror surrounded by mountains tipped with snow with a small village beside it and the light smell of burning wood from chimney smoke which is an image I hold dear.

I hope the above tips can help you meditate better but if you want some more free tips this site has a neat newsletter and free guide.

However what I really wanted to bring to your attention is something that will help with the audio part of meditation which is the part I found most frustrating!

With no noise my mind wanders and with music I focus on the music too much especially the lyrics. Ambient music was what I used to use which did help and a few other meditation help CDs some of which were OK and some not very good. However I just found something new which really helps and I can use pretty much anywhere.

Totally Tranquil is an audio aide that has been scientifically tested to actually synchronize your brainwaves to achieve a desired state or feeling. I was a bit skeptical to start but I downloaded the free demo and was hooked after that. I highly recommend giving it a try in the link below because it feels like a short cut to great stress relief meditation anywhere you have an MP3 player.