Meditation for Stress Relief and More

Meditation is a great way to relieve stress. It is easy to do; it costs nothing; and it is always available. Best of all it works. On top of that, all the side effects are good. If you meditate regularly, you become more centered, generally calmer, and more focused. Your concentration improves and your creativity may also improve. I have tried many types of meditation and I always come back to a simple Zen breathing exercise. Although it is probably best to set aside a little time each day to practice, once you master the basic technique, you can do it any place and any time. The traditional Zen method is based on counting breaths and how you breathe is important.

The Ins and Outs of Correct Breathing

In America, most of us inhale by lifting our shoulders or expanding our chests. This technique fills only the upper part of the lungs and causes shallower, shorter breaths. In stressful situations, we have an added tendency to hold our breath or to take more shallow breaths and this adds to our stress.

The breathing for meditation is very different. The breath is drawn into the lungs from the diaphragm. This means that as you inhale, your stomach is distended. This fills the lungs from the bottom up. Your shoulders remain still. You exhale by slowly drawing your stomach in.

If you have trouble with this, try lying on your back and placing a book on your stomach. As you inhale, raise the book and as you exhale, let the book drop slowly. Once you get the idea, you can practice this breathing technique any time and any place.

And a Word about Sitting

The traditional way of meditating involves sitting in the cross legged style with the hands palm up in the lap and the thumbs touching gently at the tips. The traditional Zen sitting is called "seiza" and it involves sitting in a kneeling position with the weight back on your feet and ankles. Sometimes a bench or cushion is used to support either of these postures.

The good news is that all you really need to do is sit with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. Any firm, straight chair will do. I use a dining room chair because it is firm and I can sit up straight comfortably without leaning back.

If you tilt your pelvis slightly forward and lock the curve of your vertebrae, you can relieve most of the muscle strain from your back, neck, and shoulders. This is basically the way a baby who is just learning to sit up supports its upper body.

It may also be helpful to use a low foot rest to raise your feet and I sometimes use a pillow in my lap to raise my hands slightly.

Finally, Zen meditation is usually done facing a neutral colored wall and with the eyes open. The idea is to stay fully awake and alert through the meditation. A wall without pictures or patterns is best.

Counting Breaths:

Now that you have the basics of breathing and sitting, all you need to do is count your breaths from one to four and then start over. I prefer to say each number slowly as I exhale. On the inhale, I focus on drawing the air in slowly and on the feeling either of distending my stomach or of the air passing through my nasal passages.

The purpose of the counting is to give your conscious mind some small, repetitive task to focus on. Although counting from one to four sounds easy enough, thoughts intrude. If your mind wanders and you realize that your count is past four or you have stopped counting all together, simply inhale and return to One on the exhale.

About the Practice

Most teachers encourage students to set aside at least a few minutes at the beginning of each day to meditate with a goal increasing to 20 to 30 minutes a day.

If you can start with just five minutes each morning, you will get your day off to a calmer, more centered start and the more you practice the better your results will be

Once you are comfortable with the process, it is easy to practice your meditation at other times such as while you stand in line at the grocery store, wait for a doctor appointment, prepare dinner, or walk to a meeting.