Posted on 20th June 2012

Meditation

There are often times in life when things can get really rather stressful, and we’ve probably all been in numerous situations where we just need to calm down and focus in order to feel better and get thejob in hand done efficiently and productively.

Whether exams, work, worrying about the future or just being very busy are causing you feel to anxious and uptight, there is something that you can do in order to help you feel more grounded and less stresses… Meditation.

Meditation is the process of being focused and concentrated on being in the moment, rather than allowing your brain to think of a hundred different things at once. Think of meditation as concentrating all of your energy into one specific moment, rather than dividing it into many different moments, past and present. What you need to do to ‘chill out’ is to learn about dealing with the ‘now’ and having all your energy at your disposal to help you.

There are many different exercises that can help you to find that inner space of stillness and wisdom, but a good way to start is by using your breath and welcoming calmness into your body. Below is one that we can recommend to get you started.

Find a comfortable place to sit and gently close your eyes. Slowly begin to focus on your breath. Notice everything about it, does it make a little sound, is the out breath warmer and the in breath a little cooler, check the rhythm as well.

Now count on each out breath, from one to three and starting over again. After a few moments see if you can slow your breathing down a little bit more by adding the word ‘and’ in front of each breath.

As your breathing is slowing down, you might have already noticed that your whole body is beginning to slow down a little too and you can allow yourself to become more comfortable with each easy breath.

See if you can just think about your breath and not allow any negative thoughts to creep in, or indeed any concerns about what’s on your ‘to do’ list or whatever else you might be worried about. At first it might be a bit difficult, as your brain won’t be used to meditating. However, if you practise then you’ll get better and better at focusing your mind and soon you’ll begin to reap the benefits and feel calmer and more in control of your life.