So, you wanna meditate?

Renee Singh

If you want to truly relax and feel less reactive towards stress then meditation is one of the best ways for you. Considered as one of the most powerful stress management techniques, it brings about a long lasting change.

Some people find even meditation is a stressful activity. But they need to realise that once the initial hurdles are crossed, a regular practice is good for physical as well as mental health.

When stress strikes we carry it in the form of tension in the body. Physical tension leads to increased emotional tension. We can meditate and discover tension in our body and then release it from the mind too. Many people don’t try meditation because they feel it is difficult to practise but we need to realise that only five minutes of meditation can actually bring us the quickest stress relief.

Clear your mind

This perhaps is the most difficult part as the human mind is like a monkey jumping from branch to branch. When we want to keep our mind clear, all sorts of thoughts will enter. As the thoughts enter your mind simply notice them and let them go. The key is to notice your thoughts and let them go.

How to meditate 

• Breathe deeply from the belly. Relax your shoulders. 
• Imagine that your mind is empty like a slate which is clean. Every time a thought occurs it is like a writing on your slate. Every time you need to wipe the slate clean. Empty the mind.
• Breathe, relax till the time you have set up for your meditation. 
• Basically a twenty minute meditation is ideal but even if you get started with five minutes if will be beneficial too. 

Benefits of meditation

All people who practice meditation get far reaching benefits. It is specially beneficial due to the following reasons:

• A sense of having a break from stress
• Release of physical tension
• A calmer mood
• Slowed heart rate

Types of meditation 

Many practitioners like to try any kinds of meditations. Researchers have found two main categories. 

• Concentrative meditation: This means you concentrate deeply on one focal point.
• Non-concentrative meditation: This involves deep non judgemental concentration. 
• Start slow: Perfectionists have lofty goals and then procrastinate. If they don’t achieve their perfect result they want to give up.
• Keep at it: Regularity of practice must be maintained. Setting standards and not being able to keep them is not good enough.  Do few short sessions more often if you can’t cope with long ones.

(Singh is a Chandigarh-based psychotherapist)