Are you looking for an easy, effective, and inexpensive tip that can reduce your stress? If yes, then you have landed on the right page. When you are stressed out or worried — consider trying mindfulness meditation. Spending just ten minutes practicing meditation will restore your inner peace. This simple technique can improve your cardiovascular health, decrease anxiety, and control stress.
When your body is exposed to sudden stress, it creates an “adrenaline rush” — a feeling I hate. As a result, hormones (like norepinephrine and epinephrine) are released from your adrenal glands. The secretion of these hormones increases your pulse rate and blood pressure. This is why you should learn to practice meditation.
Let's quickly check out seven ways mindfulness meditation can lower your stress levels.
Meditation can wipe away the day's stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how!Click To TweetHOW MINDFULNESS REDUCES STRESS
Breath Focus
Do you know that deep breathing is the primary cornerstone of breath focus? As you take slow, long, and deep breaths — it gently disengages your mind from perplexing thoughts and sensations.
The process fills your lungs with a butt load of oxygenated air. This slows down the heartbeat and stabilizes (or lowers) your blood pressure.
Mindfulness Meditation Improves Your Focus on Something
People that regularly practice mindfulness meditation can improve their mental focus. This is because meditation can change your brain patterns and improve your cognitive performance. As compared to non-meditators, people that meditate often do not experience the problem of mind-wandering.
When we meditate, we focus our attention on the present moment and still our thoughts. This allows us to connect with our inner voice and intuition. Crystals can help to amplify our meditation practice and intentions. For example, if you want to manifest more abundance in your life, you can use crystals for manifesting, such as citrine or green jade.
If you seek to release negative emotions, crystals such as amethyst or black tourmaline can be helpful. You can hold the crystals in your hands during meditation or place them nearby so that their energy can surround you. Experiment with different crystals to see which ones resonate with you. Incorporating crystals into your mindfulness meditation practice can help to deepen your connection with yourself and the Universe.
Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
Some benefits of mindfulness meditation are instant gratification and lasting transformation. In combination with doing thorough research on health boards, meditation not only can quickly change your mental and physical capacity — but it also prepares the body and mind for long-term health.
The regular practice of meditation allows you to find stillness in today's chaos-filled world. Thankfully, meditation can easily achieve peace, harmony, and tranquility through meditation.
Deep breathing fosters an inner shift from your to-do lists and life issues to a calm place. It declutters your mind, relieves stress, and helps you to improve your mental focus. And encourages you to lead an overall healthy lifestyle!
It Helps to Increase Self-awareness
Self-awareness can revolutionize your life as you learn to harness your inner power. Self-awareness is nothing but an inner exploration and self-reflection. It becomes a cumbersome task to unlock and unleash your hidden potential in this noisy, distracted, and over-stimulated world.
Lucky for you, mindfulness meditation can be the ultimate key to explore your keen self-awareness. Through a 20-minute regular meditation — your subconscious mind will find a beautiful silence and stillness.
Plus, the process will let you unleash your limitless potential and set your life path onto a whole new trajectory.
Meditation Declutters Your Mind
Do you know the four primary causes of your mental clutter? It is everyday stress, too many choices, too much stuff, and our brain's natural negative bias for most people. They lead to anxiety, indecision, sleep problems, and health issues.
So, how can you declutter your mind and enjoy a state of calmness, health, and happiness? Well, the regular practice of mindfulness meditation can quickly help your mind enter a state of repose and tranquillity.
Go ahead and find a quiet and relaxing place — sit on the floor and place your hands on your lap — close your eyes and take a few slow, deep, and long breaths. This will help you track/control the movements of your mind more easily — getting you to a peaceful state.
Engage in Prayer
Engaging in prayer is one of the most effective forms of mindfulness meditation. Many religions dedicate some time to chant a mantra or a prayer regularly.
Prayer impacts your spiritual practice at three different levels — thought, action, and attitude. It improves your spiritual practice, reduces the ego, and helps you find a feeling of eternal peace.
Reframe Stress into Relaxation
Reframing is a great process that encourages you to change how you look/believe/perceive something. Cognitive reframing is a psychologist-recommended and time-honored method — it allows you to view things in different ways. In short, this creates less stress & promotes more peace and control.
Regular mindfulness meditation can help you reframe stress into relaxation as you have better control over your mind and brain.
Mindfulness meditation can help you find a better and creative solution by transforming your negative thoughts into positive feelings when encountering potential stressors or when you're trapped in an undesired awkward situation.
Great post. I really need to try this myself!
You should – meditation helps a lot of people!
I love practicing meditation once a week along with yoga. It helps my week get a whole lot better.
I think meditation and yoga go perfect together
This is so interesting, thanks for sharing! I have never meditated before, but I find yoga a good form of relaxation.
I bet you could combine meditation and yoga into a relaxing super event
Hello! I have a blog about anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. I write about meditating all of the time! Thank you for such great information. Meditating is something that has saved me so many times. I love doing it in the morning and before I go to bed. God bless everyone!
Sounds like you have a great blog there! I’m so glad to hear you write about meditating
i do not try to stress out thing
I’m glad you are able to keep things stress free!
Sounds very relaxing!
Meditation is a great way to relax and reduce stress.
Meditation has always been a great source of peace for me. it helps with my anxiety and depression in ways medicine can not.
Do you have anything specific you follow to meditate?
I need to learn how to relax. This sounds like it would help my anxiety.
I have anxiety too and meditation most def can help you relax.
This is so interesting, thanks for sharing! I have never meditated before, but I find yoga a good form of relaxation.
A lot of people find using meditation and yoga together very beneficial.
It’s important to have ways to deal with stress. I don’t do traditional meditation, but use some breathing and relaxation techniques—I used to be an obstetrical RN and was a certified childbirth educator. Prayer is helpful also. When I’m really stressed, cleaning house is the best thing for me.
Oh, being an ex-delivery nurse I bet you are great at breathing techniques!
I have 2 forms of stress reduction. I swim and float. I dive into a good book.
Water can be very relaxing!
I don’t really meditate really. I sometimes do yoga.
I want to try this thing my cousin does. It’s part yoga and part pilates.
No, I don’t do meditation. My way of reducing stress is to take my dog for a walk in the park. I get exercise and get to enjoy nature too.
That’s a great way to reduce stress and I’m sure your dog loves it too
Whenever you are completely in the present you are in meditation. When you are not in the past or the future but in the here and now you are in meditation. Exercise is one of the most important things I do to combat stress.
I hope to start exercising more here soon
I have never tried meditation before. Most the time I just go for a nice quite walk alone to try and relieve stress..
Walking is a great way to relieve stress!
I meditate everyday as we were taught to do this in my Catholic High school. To help me counter stress I do yoga, it helps relax my body and spirit.
That’s great your high school taught you how to meditate.
I always do basic square breathing/meditation when I fall asleep. Definitely interested to try more.
Does it help you fall asleep faster?
I have never tried meditation but I probably should look into it. To relax I usually take a hot bubble bath.
A nice bubble bath does sound relaxing!
I find reading the best form of relaxing.
For some reason, reading is too much thinking for me lol. So it doesn’t relax me but I enjoy it sometimes.
What a well-written blog post. I think one of the biggest benefits for me would be the detachment from over-thinking, I do it far too often. I love that you’ve included a guided meditation, I’m going to be trying it.
I over think a lot of things too! I hate that I do that.
I am very interested in meditation. I really don’t have a go-to method of eliminating stress. Meditation might be the answer.
I say it’s worth trying meditation if nothing currently works for you.
I have tried meditation to help with sleep but find it very difficult because I have a very active imagination.
I can’t do guided imagery myself when it comes to sleep but I have found listening to those CDs makes it easier. Plus I like their soothing voice.
Running is my form of meditation. It clears my head from all stress and it helps me to come up with solutions to all of the obstacles in my life. During my run, I also do breathing exercises – I do 5 deep breathes then after say, “I am grateful for the magical air that I breathe!” – taken from the book, The Magic.
Sounds like running is a great stress relief for you. I wish I could get better at that. I have no stamina.
I meditate for about 15 minutes every night before bed. I use a method taught in the Canadian Army
That sounds interesting. Do you mind sharing the method?
You lay on your back…legs straight out..arms extended straight out from shoulder…take 25 deep breathes(inhale to fill lungs through nose..hold for count of 10-exhale through mouth). then lay in exact same position, concentrating on the best thing that happened to you that day for 15 minutes
Thanks, Ronald! I will def have to try that 🙂
I love meditation, prayer, and deep breathing. Been practicing them for many years. I had to, for my sanity and chronic pain. I learned about Mindfulness, but find that it doesn’t fit with helping with my chronic pain. I’ve learned to compartmentalize it and distract myself from it. It is what’s worked for me. Than you for your suggestions and thoughts.
I am so sorry to hear about your chronic pain. I’ve been wanting to learn how to compartmentalize. How did you learn to do that?
I try not to let things bother me so I don’t get stressed. On the rare occasion I do a glass of wine and a relaxing bath or a good book helps me relax.
Wine and a bath does sound very relaxing!
I don’t meditate. When I’m stressed, I watch a movie.
Watching movies is often relaxing and def a distraction from whatever is stressing you out.
No, I don’t do meditation, just haven’t got the patience for it. My way of reducing stress is to play with my two feline overlords; Fred and Ginger. Also, every morning I begin the day with a ten minute Tai Chi stretching routine, followed by a 6 lap walk at a local High School gym!
Tai Chi stretching and walking is a great way to reduce stress!
I meditate daily. I think it has helped me with my seizure disorder.
I’m glad to hear meditating has helped you!
Meditating is important to me. I’ve been doing it for almost 40 years. I sometimes use my meditation time to connect with the Lord, and sometimes I use guided imagery to simply quiet my mind. I encourage everyone to at least try it.
I need to start doing it more often. I think it would help me relax.
I don’t meditate or do yoga. The way I keep calm is I put it in the back of my mind. I just tell myself I will worry about this later.
Hmm, maybe I should try that method. Getting through the moment is the hardest part and this sounds like it would help with that.
I have tried various meditation methods. I should really make it a part of my daily routine. That and exercise provide stress relief for me.
What is your favorite kind of meditation?
I like the one where you sit in a quiet place and follow the breath.
Guided breathing is very relaxing!
I don’t meditate. I take a shower or get a massage for stress.
I wish I found a shower relaxing!! For some reason, my anxiety likes to follow me in the shower. Too much time to think I guess.
It may sound crazy to some, but I meditate when I run on the treadmill. I can’t do it outside, because I have to be too aware of my surroundings. On the treadmill, I am can get into the rhythm of my running, relax and release.
That’s a great idea! I may try that – we just got a treadmill.
You have to find peace & rest where you can find it. I never had time for much as a single parent but reading, listening to music & swimming help me a lot.
That’s so true, Nancy! Got to take what you can get.
I’m glad that you included prayer—it’s very successful for me. A method I use to decrease stress is slow deep breathing, like Lamaze.
Slow deep breathing is very helpful to calm down!
I try to never get involved in others business but I am a peacemaker. I deal with stress by distracting myself. I get busy start cleaning
Distraction can be a great stress reliever. At least for a little while.
Any time I have tried to meditate, I think too much. Lol! I can’t get my mind to shut down!
I hate when that happens. Busy brain is the worst.
I do yoga and in some poses I do meditate.
I also do some meditation as I walk outdoors as the weather is getting warmer.
I love the idea of meditating while walking! Kills two birds with one stone 🙂
Always good to find a distraction, or have methods of meditation to reduce anxiety, and stress.
Distraction is a great way to cope with stress!
I have found medatative prayer through the rosary to be huge stress buster and bringer of peace.
Also, I love the mug in the first pic. Where can I purchase some?
I’m so glad to hear meditative prayer has been helping you, Laura. The mug can be found on http://chaletsupply.com or you can make your own on Etsy (aff link) http://bit.ly/2NX86Il – there’s way my choices if you do it that way. Hope that helps!
Meditation is good. So many people now a days are full of stress and some depression too. Our world is not like is was . So anything we can do to help ourselves is a good thing.
I know what you mean Ann. Long gone are the simple, stress-free days but thankfully things like meditation can help.
Meditation really helps me calm my anxiety and stress. Even two minutes alone with my thoughts can go a long way in ensuring healthy mental health.
I’m glad you’ve found ways that help you deal with stress.
Thank you for including prayer in the article on meditation. It is my favorite form of finding peace and relaxation.
You are so very welcome, Tara 🙂
I love practicing meditation once a week along with yoga. It helps my week get a whole lot better.
Sounds very relaxing!
this is awesome
Thank you for sharing all these great ideas. I have ptsd and too much stress causes me to have seizures.
I’m sorry to hear about the seizures
i cant get into this. just dont like it
That’s okay. It’s not for everyone
its not for me. my meds help me
I’m so glad your medications help you
iam always stressed out
dont have time to do this. just stressed out
i never have the me time to do this. always someone around
You deserve me time. Make it a Priority!