Just Stress Relief

Meditation is a powerful stress relief tool. Essentially, when you meditate, you’re just sitting or lying down, and not doing anything at all, least of all thinking.

This can be difficult for us to understand, because we’re always busy doing. However, meditation asks you to let all of that busy-ness go.

Try it – it will only take a minute or two, and you’ll get the flavor of meditation. Ensure that you have a few minutes somewhere private for this exercise.

Set a time limit for your first meditation; five minutes is good.

Sit straight but relaxed in a chair, put both feet on the floor, and place your hands on your thighs, or fold them in your lap.

Take several deep breaths, exhaling deeply. Close your eyes if you wish. If you keep your eyes open, gaze at a spot on the floor or on the wall in front of you.

Just sit. You can follow your breathing if you wish; be aware of your inhalation, and then your exhalation… or just sit.

When thoughts come, as they will, fast and furiously at first, just let them go… Think of your thoughts as clouds floating across a clear blue sky. They come, and then they go.

When the five minutes are up, take another couple of deep breaths, and come back to your normal wakling consciousness slowly.

How do you feel?

[tags]stress, stress management, stress relief, meditation[/tags]

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When you’re stressed, spending just ten minutes in yoga meditation can bring you back to yourself.

In “Yoga and Meditation (Dhyana)” meditation teacher George Feuerstein presents this quote:

The Mahabharata (13.294.16) characterizes the meditating yogin in the following pertinent way: “He does not hear; he does not smell. Neither does he taste or see, or experience touch. Likewise his mind ceases to imagine. He desires nothing, and like a log he does not think. Then the sages call him ‘yoked’ (yukta), ‘one who has reached Nature’ (prakritim apannam).”

If you’ve ever tried yoga meditation, achieving such a state can seem impossible. The more you “try” to meditate, the more your mind jitters with a thousand thoughts a minute, your legs hurt, your nose itches – you’re much too aware to even believe that the yoga meditation state is possible for you.

However, even trying to still your mind – just trying to let go – puts you well on the path to this state.

If you approach your yoga meditation sessions without any preconceptions at all, and just let yourself be exactly as you are, you will achieve this state.

Long before you reach this state, the ten minutes you spend with yourself each day relieve stress, and will make a wonderful difference in your life.

Try it – and try yoga exercises too.

[tags]stress relief, yoga, meditation[/tags]

Finding a way to relieve stress is a problem that many people wrestle with at one time or another.  Those that succeed tend to find themselves more satisfied day in and day out, ready to face the challenges that each day throws at them.  To that end, many companies put out products for stress relief; it’s a good business.  What this means for you as a consumer is that there are plenty of stress relief products out there to serve your needs.  Let’s take a look at a few:

Aromatherapy Diffusers

Similar to the plug-in air fresheners that are sold in grocery stores, aromatherapy diffusers are stress relief products that put scents in the air to help with your stress relief efforts, whether you’re looking for a relaxing scent while meditating or just feel better when pleasant scents are in the air.  These stress relief products work by heating up essential oils so the scents carry to the air.  The great thing about using these products for stress relief is that since you pick the essential oils that go into them, you get to pick your favorite scents.

Music Products

Stress relief can come in the form of a CD as well, whether it’s a selection of relaxing music, motivational tapes, or the sounds of nature recorded for your listening pleasure.  Popular internet retailer Amazon.com lists dozens of CDs that are targeted for those searching for products for stress relief.  For instance, Natural Stress Relief: Dan Gibson’s Solitudes mixes natural sounds with music to provide stress relief that comes in through the ears. 

Massagers

Other stress relief products include massagers, which can be handheld or be built into an armchair.  These stress relief products use vibration, percussion, kneading motions, and even heat to help relax your muscles, helping the tension in them to drain from your body so you can relax.  Prices range from thousands for chair models to about $100 for a foot massager.

For those who don’t want to have electric massage done, there are always hand massagers such as small rollers, which can have little knobs that do the massaging for you as you run them over your body.  These smaller stress relief products often cost under $50 and are easy to tuck into a purse or a travel bag for stress relief on the road. But whether you’re looking for a massage, for music to relax you, or scents to aid in your quiet meditations, there is a wide range of stress relief products that can help you.

[tags]stress relief, products, aromatherapy, massagers, music[/tags]