Is Stress Avoidable?
Life can get complicated! Even when we do our best to simplify our schedules, plans, and appointments the stress of everyday existence manages to creep in and make our muscles tighten up, our throats go dry, and our minds buzz like so many cross wires.
Stress slows us down both physically and mentally and is a major contributor to heart disease and many other illnesses. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 43% of adults suffer from stress.The American Medical Associationsays that stress is a factor in more than 75% of sickness today and according to theWorld Health Organization, stress is one of the leading health problems in advanced cultures.
Stress comes in many distinctive varieties:physical stressfrom intense exertion, lack of sleep and travel;chemical stressfrom too many foreign drugs and chemicals in our bodies;mental stressfrom worry, anxiety, long hours of work and our desire to be better;emotional stressfrom anger, guilt, sadness and fear;traumatic stressfrom major injuries, illnesses and infections; andspiritual stressthat comes from troubled relationships.
It almost seems as if stress is unavoidable. Unless we seclude ourselves from any interactivity with society, sooner or later, we will come under the stresses that millions of others are dealing with every day.
A Cure with No Pill or Treatment
Millions of stressed out people have turned toYogaandMeditationpractices to relax, reduce stress, ease anxiety and find inner peace. Popular authorDeepak Choprarevealed actual testing that shows that levels ofcortisolandadrenalineare more often found to be lower in long-term mediators.
Meditation goes precisely to the source of anxiety by releasing the existing stresses that continue to trigger new tension. It's a solution that is centuries old with proven results. Meditation can help you break old habits, allow you to enjoy your friends and family more and best of all love yourself more.
Although it had been previously thought that it took years of practice to achieve a deep meditational state Chopra reports that meditation, for even new participants, can result in significant positive changes in breathing, heartbeat and lowered blood pressure. Meditation can often result in a stronger immune system and an increase in energy, focus and creativity.
Maximizing Your Meditation
Yoga has been at the core of proper meditation techniques for thousands of years. It seems only recently has it received such notoriety as a trendy cure for stressed out individuals when actually it has been the method of peace and happiness for cultures around the world for centuries.
There is an amusing saying among those who meditate with Yoga that says"Don't just do something—Sit There!"The humor relates to the most common meditation position is thelotusorhalf lotus. The key purpose for sitting (and not lying down, for example) is to keep the body alert and prepared, while the mind dives deep into an expanse of infinite silence. The proper seated position is perhaps the essence of meditation - complete presence, here and now, while calmly looking inward, without holding on, being involved or actively doing.
The traditional approach to meditation advocates complete stillness of the body as the way to calm the mind, but we now know that slight movement actually helps you breath more fully, relax tired muscles and take the load off your intervertal discs, and so can help the body relax and with it your mind. Gentle rhythmic movement seems inherent in our body's makeup and usually comes naturally when given the opportunity.
One such device that enhances Yoga and proper meditation is a nearly flat seat with rocking panels that still allows one to sit on the floor in the Lotus position but brings the rhythmic rocking movement to their meditation. One example of a device that enhances meditation is called theFreeChair. (freechair.net) This is a seat that brings a gentle movement to seated meditation by creating a middle ground between dynamic meditation and sitting meditation.
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For people new to meditation this type of device makes it easier to get used to sitting quietly and allows people to move between various dynamic and static situations while meditating. Typical meditation practices use no support or possibly a pillow which leaves little room for comfort adjustment. Since comfort is foremost to a relaxing meditation state it makes sense to sit on something that allows the person to makes light adjustments in the way the pelvis is tilted while sitting and thus realigning the spine. This is especially important for people with back or neck soreness.
"A good sitting position in yoga and meditation is reflected in stability and comfort," saysMadi Meshorer, Certified yoga teacher. "Based on my experience and that of my students theFreeChair(freechair.net) helps provide a stable meditative position and there are no feelings of pins & needles in their legs after long meditations."
To those who have practiced meditation for years, it is no surprise that more and more people are using it as a method for reducing stress and finding happiness and peace in their lives. What has been a surprise is that a technique used for thousands of years can still be improved with the proper support and positioning.
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
