There are many meditation techniques for stress management. Try a few different ones to start with, so that you can find one that will work best for you. I like to add many simple mindful moments into my day – here is a simple way you can too.
Before we try the technique let’s briefly chat about meditation. Meditation is the beautiful practice of awareness where you bring yourself to the present moment and find the calm, which is always within you, hidden behind the stress, tension, noise and chaos of everyday life.
When practicing meditation you don’t need to be in a yoga pose or on a meditation cushion, you can do it anywhere and at anytime. There are times that I feel my stress warning signs going off at work, so I will pause, turn off the computer screen and take 10 minutes at my desk to meditate.
It is simply the practice of bringing your total awareness into the present moment where your worries and stress naturally dissolve.
You will notice when you meditate that you experience a lot more joy, peace, clarity, calmness, and energy in your life and everything you do. This is because your meditation practice moves you completely into the present moment and that can flow into your everyday life.
The ultimate goals of meditation is to enable you to bring mindfulness into everything you do and have your total awareness in the present moment.
So let’s try one of the meditation techniques for stress management for busy people – or a simple mindful moment, as I like to call it.
One Conscious Breath Meditation
This is a very simple meditation technique. It doesn’t take long or even much effort. All that is required is for you to take one conscious breath a few times per day. Not just a deep breath, but a conscious breath, where you bring your total awareness to your breath.
You feel and notice the air moving in, the small pause and then the air moving out; you feel every part of this breath and are present for every moment of it. This brings you into the present moment and that is the beauty of this simple meditation.
You can choose to take a conscious breath at different periods of the day including; when you have something to drink, when you check your email, as soon as you wake up and before going to sleep. Whatever works best for you. Try not to get caught in a routine. You can bring one conscious breath spontaneously into any moment you think about it.
I like to refer to one conscious breath as one of my Simple Mindful Moments. The more simple mindful moments that I can bring into my day, the better able I am to have ongoing awareness of my choices and my behaviors. This leads to better decisions, improved self-care, less stress and an overall better quality of life.
Deepening Your Practice
You may find that you like the one conscious breath meditation for stress management so much that you want to practice more. You can sit for a more formal meditation practice by taking conscious breaths for 10, 30 or even 60 minutes, however long you want. Essentially you should just go at a pace and duration which is most comfortably suited to you.
Alright, here’s your Stress-Less Challenge – pause right now, take one conscious breath, reflect on how it feels and leave a comment below to share with others.
Cheers,
Charlene
oxox