Meditation and MP3s: the Portable Relaxation Coach that Contributes to Wellness, Stress Relief and Pain Management

There's an old wag about modern life that goes, "it's a rat race, and the rats are winning."

Sometimes life does indeed seem like a treadmill on which the speed setting is being constantly cranked up. Everyone experiences stress, and some people face high levels of stress chronically. According to WebMD, stress takes a familiar toll on both mind and body---aches and pains, sleeplessness, anxiety and even depression. Sometimes stress is manifested in, or exacerbates, physical reactions such as rashes and hives, increased inflammation, and various tummy troubles. Excessive stress is no fun. Moreover, it can be harmful to feel---consciously or unconsciously---under constant pressure.

Many times the answer seems to lie in changing externals. Clearly, it's often helpful to rearrange and remove pieces of one's external life "puzzle" that don't fit or are not working.

More and more, however, stress management, and other wellness strategies, focus on the internals. Roy Masters, meditation teacher at the Foundation of Human Understanding, states that "[s]tress does not come from external circumstances, but from our internal reactions to them." Masters, like a growing number of meditation experts, teaches that a person can train his mind to stop responding to negative emotions and stimuli. This results in a liberating sense of objectivity about life and all it brings.

Chances are, if being over-stressed---or depressed, ill or in pain----is a problem for you, that you instinctively realize that if you could just "turn down the volume" inside your head, you would experience, not only relief, but a greater sense of wellness. The question is how in the world to get to that calmer place from where you are now.

This is where using your MP3 player as a "portable relaxation coach" could be very helpful. While it's true that music alone can be relaxing---think: This Is Your Brain on Music, by neuroscientist Daniel Levitin---why not get straight to the point and use your MP3 player to bring guided meditative experiences into your life on a regular basis?

Guided meditation generally combines music and the spoken word. A guide may lead the listener through various mental states, breathing exercises or imaginations---the choices are endless (and easily customizable to your preferences over time). Just like musical genres, there are multiple styles and subjects of guided meditation available as MP3 downloads. Plenty of downloads are even free. Downloading a few of your favorite guided meditations allows you to tune in to a calmer place, for at least a few minutes, throughout the day.

The Foundation for Human Understanding, for example, offers a free MP3 copy of Roy Masters' "Be Still and Know," as well as many additional meditation downloads. Another place to try free guided meditation downloads is the Moment of Tranquility Journal, which features the work of Ananga Sivyer and has a MP3 download store.

A very nice site out of Australia is Download Meditation, a portal that includes MP3 downloads on guided meditation, audio classes and podcasts on meditation and visualization, and a section devoted to children's and group meditation. Most of the resources on Download Meditation are free. Another source for meditation audio book downloads is Breathworks-Mindfulness, a U.K. organization.

One style of meditation that is not only growing in popularity, but whose benefits are increasingly supported by scientific research is Mindful Awareness (also called Mindfulness). Basically, mindfulness involves practicing various methods of focusing closely on the moment, thus "taking time off" from whatever else is going on in your life or head. Cathy Wong, in About.com, describes mindfulness mediation as essentially "focusing your mind on the present."

Several academic institutes are devoted to research on and implementation of mindfulness techniques. The Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School was founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Kabat-Zinn, author and researcher, is a leader in mindfulness theory and practice. He created a eight-week course on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. He wrote Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness (Delta, 1991), and Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994).

The University of Vermont has a Mindfulness Practice Center. It offers many free MP3 downloads, including ten- and fifteen-minute sitting meditations, a body awareness exercise, and a lovingkindness meditation, described as "a traditional guided meditation" based on the principle that "we can increasingly expand and cultivate our ability to experience our kind heart."

One of the best places to start exploring mindfulness is the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), part of the Semel Institute in the University of California (Los Angeles) Health System. The MARC provides comprehensive and accessible information on this style of meditation, as well as a wonderful array of free MP3 meditation downloads. The site includes a "Complete Meditation Instructions" download, a 5-minute "Breathing Meditation," and a 3-minute "Body and Sound" meditation.

The MARC also offers a mindfulness clock. Once installed---on your computer, for example---it rings a bell or a traditional Westminster chime at the time of your choosing, such as every hour or every fifteen minutes. The idea is to use the mindfulness clock as a reminder to take a break inside your head. It nudges you to do a short meditation, practice a few breathing routines, focus on body and sound---all those helpful things that otherwise can get crowded out by the crush of daily life. It's even easier to spend those few minutes doing something truly beneficial when you can tune in to a guided meditation track right on your MP3 player.

MP3s are not just for music anymore. Explore the world of downloadable meditation guides and turn your MP3 player into the ultimate customized, portable relaxation coach.

Sources:

Healthwise, "Stress Management - Effects of Stress," WebMD.

Cathy Wong, "Mindfulness Meditation," About.

"Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction," Mindfulness-Meditation.

"Free Meditation Downloads," Foundation of Human Understanding.

Daniel Levitin, "This Is Your Brain on Music," Your Brain on Music.

"Welcome to the Moments of Tranquility Journal," Living By Design.

Download Meditation.

"Meditation for the child in all of us," Download Meditation.

"BreathWorks Guided Meditation Cds," BreathWorks-Mindfulness.

"Jon Kabat-Zinn," Wikipedia.

UVM Center for Health and Wellbeing, Mindfulness Practice Center, "Mindfulness/Meditation Exercises Audio," University of Vermont.

UCLA Semel Institute, Mindful Awareness Research Center, "Mindful Meditations," University of California (Los Angeles).