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Author:
Chris Impeterelli

Meditation is a form of alternative medicine that promotes relaxing and mental calmness through the use of controlling or suspending thoughts for a certain period of time. Since meditation involves physical and mental relaxation, it's a great way to relieve stress.

When some people hear about meditation as a way to relieve stress, they laugh and think it's a bunch of baloney. They think that meditation is not a viable solution to eliminating stress. But research has shown that meditation works and is a practical technique for stress management.

The most notable research on meditation's usefulness in relieving stress was done in 1968 by Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University. He conducted a series of experiments on popular meditation techniques and published his findings in the book "The Relaxation Response." He discovered that meditation has a "real effect on reducing stress and controlling the fight-or-flight response." Dr. Benson wrote that meditation increased the skin's resistance to damage or infections, slowed the heartbeat and breathing rate, and reduced oxygen consumption.

Meditation is all about consciously relaxing your mind and body for a period of time. Meditation means that you need to focus inwardly so that your mind is basically so busy concentrating on breathing and body form that there's no time to think about the events that are causing you stress.

The act of meditation is actually quite simple to do. Meditation does not require you to be a mystic or to be very spiritual. Meditation is something that anyone can do almost anywhere.

When you prepare yourself for meditation, be sure to set aside a certain amount of time where you're guaranteed not to be interrupted. Meditation doesn't require hours of practicing at a time for it to be effective in reducing stress. Practicing meditation is ten- or twenty-minute time slots is definitely good enough.

Effective meditation requires that you're in a comfortable, quiet environment. This means that when you practice meditation, you should make sure that you're wearing comfortable, unrestrictive clothing. The atmosphere temperature (whether you're indoors or outdoors) should also be comfortable for you in order to make your meditation session as stress fighting as possible.

Stress-relieving meditation is all about concentration. Once you're fully comfortable (you can sit or lie down) close your eyes. Focus your attention of your breathing throughout your entire meditation session. Count your breaths. You can even say the numbers out loud to discourage your mind from wandering to other thoughts.

Another way to control wandering thoughts when you're in a meditation session is to use imagery. Imagery is very popular in meditation. All you have to with imagery is focus on something you consider refreshing or pleasant. Music is also a popular way to help mind concentration during meditation. You can do a monologue hum. Or you can use some soothing music that features plenty of nature sounds.

The key to meditation is mind control. When you learn to control your mind, you can control your thoughts, and you'll be able to better control the functions of your muscles. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to learn not to let your mind wander to other thoughts while you're in a meditation session. But once you've mastered meditation, you'll discover you'll be able to do it almost anywhere to relax when you're feeling overwhelmed with stress.

About the Author :

Meditation Hub is an information site that contains articles, a directory and other Meditation Resources. It can be found at: http://www.meditationhub.com Source: www.isnare.com

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A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Meditation... Is Meditation for You? What Is Meditation? There are various types of meditation - such as TM (Transcendental Meditation), mindfulness meditation, and from the Eastern tradition, Zen meditation and Buddhist meditation. Meditation uses such diverse methods as: Formal sitting in which the body is held immobile and the attention controlled. Expressive practices , in which the body is let free and anything can happen. e.g., Siddha Yoga. The practice of "Intentional Living" meditation is doing all you do mindfully and without stress. Being in the moment and enjoying the process of "doing"! Meditation will enable one to focus on quieting the busy mind. The intention is not to remove stimulation but rather to direct your concentration to one healing element - one sound, one word, one image, or one's breath. When the mind is filled with the feeling of calm and peace, it cannot help but slow down, yet have a sense of calm and relaxation. According to Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of mind/body medicine, meditation can be broadly defined as any activity that keeps the attention pleasantly anchored in the present moment. When the mind is calm and focused in the present, it is neither reacting to memories from the past nor being preoccupied with plans for the future, two major sources of chronic stress known to impact health. "Meditation," says Dr. Borysenko, "helps to keep us from identifying with the 'movies of the mind." Meditation is life changing. You will be able to quiet your mind before sleeping, relieve intense stress, reduce chronic stress, free yourself from worry, keep calm during stressful times and relax whenever you want. Meditation is Alive! Visit ----------> http://www.yogaspiritcenter.com Meditation Supplies! Visit...