Meditation

      Stressed. The minute you see the word your heart sank a bit didn’t it? I know mine did. It’s a word that you just see, and your mind goes to what’s stressing you out. Don’t worry we all do it. Careful thought it can be a real killer. There are plenty of ways to reduce stress in your day to day. Meditation is one of the most popular ways discovered to relieve stress, and relax the mind. 

      Meditation is the practice of focused concentration. As weird as it may seem it also addresses stress. There are seven main types of meditation:

1. Mindfulness: being fully present with your thoughts that can be done anywhere as long as it’s quiet. The popular idea of meditation is sitting and focusing on one's breathing. As well as being mindful of thoughts and emotions. 

2. Transcendental: a personal assigned mantra. A word, sound, or phrase that’s repeated in a specific way. It should be practiced twice a day for twenty minutes. 

3. Guided Meditation: meditation using a guide/teacher. They are used to help beginners with meditation. With the help of a guide one can use as many senses as possible. Such as taste, sound, and smell to induce calmness. 

4. Vipassana: began in ancient India with roots in mindfulness. The goal of this meditation is self transformation through self observation. In doing so you’ll find a deep connection between body and mind as well as a balance of mindfulness of love and compassion. This is normally a ten day course with strict guide lines one must follow such as: abstinence from sex, lying, and  stealing. 

5. Meta(Loving Kindness): while using this meditation you should be directing your well wishes to others. This helps encore warm hearted feelings. Meta meditation is similar to Vipassana. While meditating one should repeat the mantra, ‘May I be safe, may I be peaceful, and at ease.’ 

6. Chakra: is Sanskrit made up of relaxation techniques focused on bringing balance to all seven chakras. 

7. Yoga: also has roots leading back to ancient India. Yoga is a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises meant to promote flexibility and calm the mind. In order to do yoga one must possess balance and concentration staying in the moment. 

      Stress can cause not only emotional turmoil; but also physical aches and pains. A heart attack can be the cause of pushing yourself to your own breaking point. Consider meditating to help yourself. It can reduce anxiety, chronic pain, depression, heart disease, and high blood pressure. You never know just take a few minutes for yourself. It could change a lot. From the way you approach many of the problems in your life, to simply how you physically feel.