Thursday, June 26, 2008

How To USe Yoga For Stress Reduction Meditation

Here in this article, you can take a look at how resorting to meditation and yoga can help you. What we need to assure you is that these are simple techniques which can be learned and practiced by anyone - they don't take up too much time either. Today, all over the world and amongst all cultures, this ancient healing and stress relieving discipline is becoming popular among all ages. The technique of meditation is designed to bring harmony and balance inside you so that there is no more tension, just calmness.

Different techniques are available and may be performed with chants, meditation music or in absolute silence. The focus of your concentration may be an object like a picture, the posture itself or even the rhythm of your breathing. No matter what approach you decide to use, you are going to need a really quiet environment and a certain period of time, in which you aren't going to be interrupted. Then select a word, object, or one's own breathing rhythm and find a comfortable position - to prevent falling asleep it is best not to be lying down. The main goal is to master a mindfulness state, where you are able to be completely aware of everything that is going on around you, but you are detached from all of your immediate surroundings, similar to a light state of trance. This Alpha state is a good one to achieve but for those who want more, there are deeper, more still states that can be achieved with practice.

Many of the world's religions have meditation as a part pf their religious rituals but it with Buddhism that the practice is most closely associated and linked. Among Buddhists, it is used as a means to get to the highest mental state - the state of enlightenment. While it can be done anywhere, anytime and in any position, what you will find is that the best way to do it is in the sitting position which is known as 'zazen'.

The benefits of meditation have been researched and put down in a study by Harvard professor, Herbert Benson. Just twenty minutes is enough to make a visible difference in controlling your blood pressure, your heart and breathing rate and you metabolism. The deeper states will very often bring about mental images like bursts of color and images and maybe even a still, small voice. There have been studies to show that meditation can relieve a whole lot of problems that arise from stress and tension as well as other health and pain problems. The good news is that with better self awareness, comes a better state of health and well-being for you both in mind as well as body and you find yourself functioning much better that you thought possible. Though traditional use of meditation was to be seen in spiritual well being, recent popularity is due to its ability to relieve stress and achieve relaxed tranquil state of mind in the midst of the rat-race. If you would like a stress free life today, you would do well to consider meditation combined with yoga exercises to make it possible.

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