How Meditation Can Heal Your Body of Stress by Carly Fierro
For many of us, stress is an everyday part of life. You may encounter stress from work, school, family problems or finances. What you may not realize is stress is more than just a feeling. Stress is an actual body process that can cause negative effects on your physical and mental health.
Fight or Flight
When you experience stress, your brain sends a signal to your body that triggers the “fight or flight” response. The muscles in your body become tense in anticipation of the perceived danger. While this response is essential in dangerous situations, when it happens during normal circumstances it causes actual physical and mental damage.
Meditation and Relaxation
Meditation is a method of stress relief that is easy, inexpensive and effective. When you use meditation as a relaxation technique, it counteracts the negative effects of stress. Meditation works against the “fight or flight” response to bring your body and mind to a point of complete peacefulness.
The benefits of meditation are significant and lasting. During meditation, you are able to clear your mind of stress and worries. Your entire body enters a state of healing relaxation. You are able to improve your overall mood and ability to handle stressful situations.
Through meditation you may also gain greater control over your body’s response to stressful situations. Over time, meditation can help you become a calmer, more peaceful and happier person.
How to Meditate
When you first begin meditating, there is no need to worry about using specific techniques. There is no right or wrong way to meditate. For an easy start, follow these simple steps to help you get more comfortable with the meditation process.
- Find a quiet place to meditate that is free from distractions. (If you choose to meditate outside, use insect protection like mosquito traps to avoid distracting bites.)
- Sit with your legs crossed.
- Take deep breaths in and out and focus on the sound of your breathing.
- Relax every muscle in your body starting with your toes and slowly moving up.
- Stay focused on your breathing and remain relaxed for as long as you feel comfortable.
You may only be able to meditate for 10 minutes at first, or you may find yourself getting lost in the peacefulness for an hour or more. Either way is fine.
When you become more comfortable with meditation, you may want to try new methods. There are several other time-tested meditation techniques from cultures all around the world. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different methods to decide which is best for you. For the best results, meditate on a regular basis to keep stress under control so your mind and body stay healthy.
Byline: Carly is an aspiring writer who is constantly looking to expand her portfolio by creating content on a plethora of subjects. She has a wide variety of interests and loves writing about anything and everything. She loves that blogging allows her to share her writing with people all over the world.