It’s common knowledge that stress is everywhere in our everyday lives. From being late to work, trying to reply to all our emails, keeping in touch with friends and trying to deal with our every day (and bigger) problems, there are so many factors that cause stress.
While stress and anxiety are on the up, being called an ‘epidemic’ by some experts, there is little being done to reduce the issues. While medication is available to many people, this is still not a permanent solution, which is why many people are turning to meditation.
We all know the ins and outs of stress and that chronic stress are seriously unhealthy to our well-being, but that doesn’t mean that we can flick a switch and it can all go away.
Or can it?
While there have been numerous studies that show that the benefits of meditation when it comes to reducing stress and anxiety, that doesn’t stop us feeling like it from time to time. If only there was a way that you could return to the feeling of meditating, so you could stop stress before it becomes a problem.
Everywhere & Anywhere
The trick is that you can actually meditate anywhere. Whether you’re on a bus, on your sofa, sitting next to a snoring partner, at work, on the toilet or just sitting on your kitchen floor, it’s possible to meditate anywhere and everywhere.
We all live very busy lives, so it’s understandable to believe that we simply don’t have the time to find a quiet space to close our eyes, but this doesn’t have to be the case.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to meditate every time you try to do so, you’ll find that you’re only meditation here and there, rather than forming a dedicated habit.
While the practice of meditation makes us think of Buddhas sitting cross-legged in a cave or forest with nothing but nature for miles around, for many of us, this is an impossible vision.
Even when you feel stress coming on in your mind, simply closing your eyes, taking several deep long breaths and returning to the present moment can be more than enough to wash that stress away.
Simply close your eyes, take three deep inhales and three deep exhales. Try feeling your lungs all the way to the top with air and emptying every bit of air you have inside you. Focus on every second and movement that your breath takes.
Try it now.
How did it feel? Do you feel a lot calmer? Did you feel your shoulders drop? To feel less tense and less stressed out? If you didn’t, try doing another three breaths and then see how you feel.
Did you feel the stress just wash away from you?
Once you’ve opened your eyes again, did you notice that everything seemed a little bit brighter?
Did you feel more focused? Readier than before to return to what you were doing?
That’s because it doesn’t matter whether you meditate for a minute or an hour. While, of course, meditating for a prolonged amount of time can provide greater benefits (the optimal being around a half an hour for an average person), even a minute can be enough to snap you back into that zen moment of the Now.