Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress

 If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace. Anyone can practice meditation. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment. And you can practice meditation wherever you are — whether you're out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.

Understanding meditation

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine.

Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process results in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.

Benefits of meditation

Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and can even improve certain medical conditions.

Meditation and emotional well-being

When you meditate, you clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress. The emotional benefits of meditation include:

• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations

• Building skills to manage your stress

• Increasing self-awareness

• Focusing on the present

• Reducing negative emotions

Meditation and illness

Meditation also might be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress. While a growing body of scientific research supports the health benefits of meditation, some researchers believe it's not yet possible to draw conclusions about the possible benefits of meditation. With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help such conditions as:

• Allergies

• Anxiety disorders

• Asthma

• Binge eating

• Cancer

• Depression

• Fatigue

• Heart disease

• High blood pressure

• Pain

• Sleep problems

• Substance abuse

Be sure to talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these conditions or other health problems. In some cases, meditation can worsen symptoms associated with certain mental health conditions. Meditation isn't a replacement for traditional medical treatment. But it may be a useful addition to your other treatment.

Types of meditation

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace. Ways to meditate can include:

• Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing. You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.

• Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.

• Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. You broaden your conscious awareness. You focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.

• Qi gong. This practice generally combines meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qi gong (CHEE-gung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.

• Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts. In tai chi (TIE-chee), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.

• Transcendental meditation. You use a mantra, such as a word, sound or phrase repeatedly silently, to narrow your conscious awareness and eliminate all thoughts from your mind. You focus exclusively on your mantra to achieve a state of perfect stillness and consciousness.

• Yoga. You perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you're encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.

Elements of meditation

Different types of meditation may include different features to help you meditate. These may vary depending on whose guidance you follow or who's teaching a class. Some of the most common features in meditation include:

• Focused attention. Focusing your attention is generally one of the most important elements of meditation. Focusing your attention is what helps free your mind from the many distractions that cause stress and worry. You can focus your attention on such things as a specific object, an image, a mantra, or even your breathing.

• Relaxed breathing. This technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm muscle to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe more efficiently.

• A quiet setting. If you're a beginner, practicing meditation may be easier if you're in a quiet spot with few distractions — no television, radios or cell phones. As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere, especially in high-stress situations where you benefit the most from meditation, such as a traffic jam, a stressful work meeting or a long line at the grocery store.

• A comfortable position. You can practice meditation whether you're sitting, lying down, walking or in other positions or activities. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation.

Everyday ways to practice meditation

Don't let the thought of meditating the "right" way add to your stress. Sure, you can attend special meditation centers or group classes led by trained instructors. But you also can practice meditation easily on your own.

And you can make meditation as formal or informal as you like — whatever suits your lifestyle and situation. Some people build meditation into their daily routine. For example, they may start and end each day with an hour of meditation. But all you really need is a few minutes of quality time for meditation.

Here are some ways you can practice meditation on your own, whenever you choose:

• Breathe deeply. This technique is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function. Focus all attention on your breathing. Concentrate on feeling and listening as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Breathe deeply and slowly. When your attention wanders, gently return your focus to your breathing.

• Scan your body. When using this technique, focus attention on different parts of your body. Become aware of your body's various sensations, whether that's pain, tension, warmth or relaxation. Combine body scanning with breathing exercises and imagine breathing heat or relaxation into and out of different parts of your body.

• Repeat a mantra. You can create your own mantra, whether it's religious or secular. Examples of religious mantras include the Jesus Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the om mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.

Walk and meditate. Combining a walk with meditation is an efficient and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere you're walking — in a tranquil forest, on a city sidewalk or at the mall. When you use this method, slow down the pace of walking so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don't focus on a particular destination. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind such as lifting, moving and placing as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground.

• Engage in prayer. Prayer is the best known and most widely practiced example of meditation. Spoken and written prayers are found in most faith traditions. You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others. Check the self-help or 12-step-recovery section of your local bookstore for examples. Talk with your rabbi, priest, pastor or other spiritual leader about resources.

• Read and reflect. Many people report that they benefit from reading poems or sacred texts, and taking a few moments to quietly reflect on their meaning. You also can listen to sacred music, spoken words or any music you find relaxing or inspiring. You may want to write your reflections in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.

• Focus your love and gratitude. In this type of meditation, you focus your attention on a sacred object or being, weaving feelings of love and gratitude into your thoughts. You can also close your eyes and use your imagination or gaze at representations of the object.

Building your meditation skills

Don't judge your meditation skills, which may only increase your stress. Meditation takes practice. Keep in mind, for instance, that it's common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you've been practicing meditation. If you're meditating to calm your mind and your attention wanders, slowly return to the object, sensation or movement you're focusing on.

Experiment, and you'll likely find out what types of meditation work best for you and what you enjoy doing. Adapt meditation to your needs at the moment. Remember, there's no right way or wrong way to meditate. What matters is that meditation helps you with stress reduction and feeling better overall.

What is Meditation?

 Meditation involves trying to train your thoughts to stay in the present

moment, because in the present moment there is true peace. Th oughts of the

future (what can/might/will happen, leading to fear or anxiety) or of the past

(what did or might have happened, leading to sadness, depression, anger, or

jealousy) prevent us from feeling the peace that is in the present moment. In

other words, being totally focused in the present moment means that you do

not think about the past or the future, and are freed (for as long as the meditation

session lasts) from the negative emotions (stress) that accompany those

thoughts.

EXAMPLES OF MEDITATION

Can you think of • an activity in which you totally lose track of time?

When your attention is so focused that you say, “I don’t know where

the time went?” Examples might be: painting or drawing, working in

the garden, staring at the ocean, playing with your pet, journaling,

teaching your child how to play a sport, dancing freely to your favorite

music, etc. I found that when I was in the operating room performing

surgery, I was so focused that my operations became true

meditations.

• All of these situations are meditative experiences because there are no

thoughts about the past or the future; the mind is thinking only of the

present moment.

• So as you refl ect on the experience(s) in your life where you lost track

of time, you will realize that you also lost track of whatever was in

your life that was causing you stress, whether it was a toxic relationship,

a chronic illness, or the sadness that comes with grief or loss.

CATEGORIES OF MEDITATION

If you are lucky enough to have a hobby or some sort of activity in which you

engage on a daily basis and that makes you lose track of time, consider yourself

one of the lucky people who have a regular meditation practice without knowing

it. However, the rest of us (the majority of people on the planet) need to

create dedicated time in our schedule to engage in a formal activity to quiet the

mind. As you can tell from the examples listed above, these experiences can be

placed into three main categories:

• Concentrative

• Movement

• Expressive

Th ese three forms of meditation have been used for centuries in diff erent

cultures and religious traditions. I will give examples of techniques for each

category, and I suggest you experiment with them all so that you have enough

experience to know what you like best (so it can become the start of your regular

meditation practice), as well as to know how to best explain them to your

patients.

How to Meditate

First, scheduling time to meditate • is of the utmost importance.

• We all lead busy lives and, despite the best of intentions, without a

dedicated time for an activity, life oft en gets in the way and the activity

never happens. (Th ink of the diffi culty most people have fi nding

the time to exercise unless they commit to a certain schedule.)

• Th erefore, a meditation practice starts with fi nding the time on a daily

basis. Th e good news here is that not a lot of time is required.

A beginner can start with just a few minutes a day, eventually getting to

20 to 30 minutes a day as the benefi ts to the meditator become so obvious that

it becomes the most important part of his or her day.

CONCENTRATIVE TECHNIQUES

• I will discuss concentrative techniques fi rst, because

they are ones that are most oft en described, taught

and practiced.

• Th ey all involve active concentration, consciously

focusing the mind on something specifi c. Examples

of this type of meditation include staring at the

dance of a candle fl ame, continuously repeating a

word to yourself (such as peace , love or God ) or

simply following your breath. Th e goal is to concentrate and try to

ignore the other thoughts that will unfortunately pop into your head.

• Th e secret is to allow those thoughts to come and to let them go by not

allowing the mind to get caught up in them.

Tips for Applying the Concentrative Techniques

• Don’t keep thinking of an unpleasant incident, start

getting worked up, begin feeling angry or hurt all over

again and begin to plan your revenge. Th at is not a

meditative experience, but serves as an illustration of

how a thought that arises, which is of a negative incident,

is given additional power by thoughts of the

emotions associated with it (how you feel) as well as

the thoughts of how to achieve retribution.

Instead of thinking that way, try y • our best to simply note that this is a

thought that is occurring, and do your best to refocus your attention

on the candle and not get stuck in the drama of the bad experience.

Th is may be diffi cult to do at fi rst, but with practice it certainly can be

done, although rarely to total perfection, except by yogis or monks.

• If you need proof of the usefulness of these techniques, just ask an

experienced meditator, who will likely be happy to share his or her

success stories as well as the challenges that never fully go away.

Positioning

• Before starting, it is important to position

yourself properly, which means that you

should be sitting comfortably, not lying down.

• Sitting in a chair is fi ne; just keep your feet on

the fl oor. Sitting on the fl oor works just as well,

with or without a cushion, but try to keep your

back as close to straight as you can without

pain or a lot of eff ort.

• You should not be distracted by tight clothing and your shoes should

be off .

• A quiet place is best for concentrative work, as is a comfortable

temperature.

• Many regular meditators like to create a special place to meditate

and feel they benefi t from sitting in front of things that have special

meaning, such as pictures of loved ones, sacred objects, or crystals

(amethyst is reported to enhance meditation).

• While it is appropriate to try to achieve these “ideal” conditions, one

of the wonders of meditation is that it can occur anywhere and everywhere,

even in the harshest of conditions, and that even true beginners

have had eff ective meditations sitting on the ground outdoors in

the noisy chaos of a United Nations refugee camp.

Quieting the Mind

• Th e fi nal step in preparing for a quiet,

concentrative meditation is to perform

a technique that will help quiet the

mind.

• Aft er getting comfortable (as described

above), simply take your right hand and

hold the center of your palm approximately 3 to 4 inches away from

the spot on your forehead that is above your nose at the level of and in

the middle of your eyebrows.

Close your eyes and rotate • your hand so that the center of your palm

makes the outline of a circle that is the size of a quarter. Move your

hand toward your left , such that if an observer were facing you, your

hand would be moving in a clockwise direction.

• If, as you move your hand, you gradually enlarge the size of the circle,

that is not a problem. People may experience diff erent sensations

from this, such as a feeling of heat coming from their hand to their

forehead, but almost everyone fi nds that it helps quiet the mind.

When you feel your mind has quieted down a little, meaning you are

not paying much attention to any thoughts that may be arising, it is

time to start focusing on the object of your concentrative meditation

(looking at a candle, repeating a prayer, word or phrase, or focusing

on the breath).

FOCUS ON THE BREATH

• Th e most popular concentrative meditation is to focus on the breath.

• Th is is extremely versatile, since no supplies (like a candle) are needed,

and it can be done wherever we are.

• Th e way this meditation is performed is to simply focus on your

breath as it comes in and out of your body.

• Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth

(don’t worry about doing this if your nose is stuff ed), being aware of

the air coming in and going out.

• By keeping your focus on the breath you prevent other thoughts from

coming in. If they do, simply let them go as best you can, and return

to concentrating on your breathing.

• Try to do this for a minute or two when you fi rst start, and continue

for longer when you feel you are able.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

• Th ere are many variations to this most basic

script. It can be done in silence or with music that

you fi nd relaxing.

• If you fi nd your focus drift ing from your breath

to the music, allow it to happen — it is just another

form of meditation.

You may feel you can co • ntrol your mind better by adding the mental

discipline of repeating in your mind a word or phrase in coordination

with your breathing. An example would be the phrase “soft belly,” thinking

of the word “soft ” on the in breath and “belly” on the out breath.

• Another way to structure the meditative process is, aft er getting comfortable

and performing the hand motions previously described, to go

through a prescribed pattern of thinking before starting the concentrative

part of the meditation (in this case, the focusing in the breath.

 An example of this is the pattern of thought that I personally use

every day, which I off er here for you to use as described, or to

modify to your liking.

 I share this with you not because I want you to think a certain way

but because you might fi nd it helpful.

 Th is pattern of thinking helps me quiet my mind before starting

my concentrative meditation by getting my negative thoughts out

of the way so that they are less likely to intrude during my meditation

time.

Expressing Gratitude

• Specifi cally, I begin each of my meditations by expressing gratitude

for all that I have in my life, both the pleasant and the unpleasant.

• Th is forces me to try to fi nd positives in the challenges I face, helping

me to diminish, sometimes just ever so slightly, the drama with which

the circumstances are associated.

• I then try to get to a place of surrender, where I work on making myself

believe that I can’t consciously understand or control the events of my

life. I have found that no longer lamenting “why me?” when life gets

rough forces me to accept the situation at hand and frees up a lot of my

mental energy, enabling me to focus forward on fi nding solutions.

• Th is ritual, which I perform every morning before starting the concentrative

piece, clears my mind and prepares me for a more eff ective,

deep and powerful meditation experience.

SETTLING INTO THE MEDITATIVE MOMENT

• If sitting and thinking seems quite diffi cult for

you, then you might be best served by fi rst

trying a movement meditation, where there

are no instructions other than to move! Th at’s

correct: all you have to do is just move.

Th at means y • ou can shake your body wildly, or dance (modern or

ballroom or tribal or ethnic) around the room to loud music that you

really like. Th is is probably best done with no one else around (one

might be self-conscious, as this could look quite silly to an observer).

See how you feel aft er 5 minutes . . . if you want to continue, do so.

• Aft erwards, try to keep still for a few minutes, paying attention to

your breath. Don’t be surprised if emotions come up while you are

shaking or dancing. Th is is not an uncommon occurrence, especially

if you have emotions just below the surface that have not yet been

addressed.

• Becoming emotional during vigorous movement is a healthy way to

move through and clear emotions. Of course, if this technique brings

up powerful emotions that aff ect you throughout the day, working

things through with a professional is far better than hoping that you

can just shake the discomfort away.

• Finally, movement meditations are a wonderful choice for those who

feel stuck, either emotionally or elsewhere in their lives.

Movement Meditation through Martial Arts

• A discussion of movement meditation would be incomplete without

mentioning yoga, tai chi, qigong and other martial arts, which, in

their pure form, are not only a meditation but also a way of life.

• All are ancient disciplines that blend controlling thought (primarily

by focusing on breath) with movement (through postures or detailed

choreographed routines) in order to achieve harmony between mind

and body.

• I strongly encourage all practitioners to take an introductory class in

a few of these techniques to decide if one feels right for you, and to

help you explain them to your patients.

Th e editor regularly engages in tai chi, which incorporates breath work with

choreographed movements (please see Chapter 22). My signifi cant other is a

yoga instructor. Her practice is to cleanse the mind of negative thoughts and

through proper breathing, putting the mind in a relaxed and tranquil state in

concert with body movements (see Chapter 35).

EXPRESSIVE MEDICATION: CREATING AN OUTLET FOR MEDITATING

Th e last category of meditation, exp • ressive meditation, involves creating

an outlet for your creative side, which neuroscientists believe lies

in the right cerebral hemisphere.

• Examples are journaling, drawing, or even working with sand, sticks

and small stones, allowing your hands to create whatever they desire

while you listen to relaxing music and fully concentrate on the task at

hand.

• Th e way to journal is to fi nd some private time to just write down

truthfully and honestly how you think and feel about whatever topic

comes up.

• Some structure this by writing about the important events of the day

and their associated thoughts and feelings. Others write about a particular

topic, such as writing daily about all the issues surrounding a

chronic illness.

• Many people fi nd that when they write exactly what they think or feel

without letting their mind get in the way (by judging their grammar

or deciding if a topic is off limits) they gain important insights into

their situation, in addition to feeling less stressed and more relaxed.

Conclusions

An important fi nal note is that this discussion, as stated in the title, was

designed to deliver information on how to meditate at an introductory level. It

was important to take information that was previously held secret and

explained in complicated ways, and to package it to be readily understandable.

I wanted to teach meditation in a way that could be embraced and understood

by all, without the religious or cultural overtones that can serve as a block for

some, or a source of deep meaning for others. While this approach has necessitated

making arbitrary classifi cations and eliminating discussion of the spiritual

aspects of a meditation practice, I know, through my own personal

journey and professional experience, that practicing meditation in this religiously

neutral, simple, and practical way has helped transform the lives of

thousands of people. It is my fi rm belief that those that wish to learn and experience

the esoteric and spiritual benefi ts of meditation will be led to, and will

fi nd, that which they sincerely seek.