Meditation for Stress
Meditation is exercise for the mind. It helps us become aware of the types of thoughts we replay over and over in our mind and gives us the ability to reduce the this thinking about the past and future. By doing this, we are able to live more freely in the present moment and free ourselves from suffering of the mind and the heart. The present moment is the only reality. Thoughts about the past are only what we remember of the past. Thoughts about the future are our fears or excitement for what may or may not actually happen. Living in the present allows us to enjoy each moment of our lives.
Not only does meditation allow us to function in the present moment, it has been proven to reduce blood pressure*, heart disease*, stroke* and pain***. The American Journal of Hypertension reported that psychological distress and blood pressure was lowered while coping abilities were increased in students who meditated 20 minutes once or twice per day for a period of three months. With a regular meditation practice the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which usually shrinks with age, retains plasticity which allows for stronger focus, emotional processing and well-being.** (studies performed at *Medical College of Wisconsin, **Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, ***University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
Jacqueline has a Meditation CD available for purchase which leads the listener through two guided meditations and one seated Shamatha practice. Click here for more information or to order.
How to Do the Shamatha Meditation Practice (also available on CD) Shamatha is one specific meditation practice. Cyndi Lee, founder of OM Yoga Center, NYC, who taught me this meditation practice, says, "Meditation helps us put a buffer between stumuli and our reaction."
Shamatha (pronounced sha-ma-ta) is a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice. I suggest doing this simple meditation practice for 10 minutes first thing in the morning. Here's what to do:
*Sit in a comfortable position, on a pillow, with your ribs lifted up and away from your hips. Hands, palms down, resting on your thighs with your elbows next to your body.
*Gently gaze at the floor, four feet in front of you. You will blink during meditation as you would if you were having a conversation.
*Notice the breath in your body. When you notice that you are thinking, simply think to yourself (in a kind tone), "thinking" and come back to noticing your breath.
*That's it! You are successful no matter how many times you said 'thinking' to yourself. This practice is exercise, for the mind, to practice being awake in every moment. We go back to noticing our breath, when we find ourselves thinking, because our breath is always in the present moment and it quickly brings our minds back to the present.
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