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Meditation Tips for Beginners

May 31, 2016

Here are three simple tips for the beginning meditator:

1-Just as it’s the nature of the heart to beat, it’s the nature of the mind to think. Meditation isn’t about stopping thoughts; rather, it’s about becoming aware of thoughts so you can choose to respond to life’s events consciously instead of reacting unconsciously.

2-Start small. Rather than trying to meditate for 20 minutes a day, start with 5 minutes, or even a couple of minutes. You can find a free two minute audio mediation here: https://joyrains.com/meditation/guided-meditations/

3-Regularity is key. Try to meditate every day so it becomes a habit. If you can, meditate in the same place in your home or office, such as a favorite chair, or favorite room. You may want to include inspirational items in that space, such as candles, smooth stones, or books with readings for before or after your meditation time. Once you get used to meditating there, simply by entering that space your mind may begin to settle.

meditation for beginners

Retraining the Anxious Mind

May 24, 2016

Meditation may not make your anxiety disappear if you are wired to have anxiety. What it can do, however, is to allow you to make a conscious choice about how to respond to the anxiety so you can manage it. The practice of meditation can be completely transformative, as it can actually retrain your brain!

Imagine noticing an anxious thought, such as “My boss will be upset with me,” and then having the awareness to say “Wait a minute . . . I’m making up a story. I don’t even know if my boss will really be upset.” The awareness to discern thoughts (and release those that do not serve) often comes with a regular meditation practice.

Want to start meditating? You can find free guided meditations on https://joyrains.com/meditation/guided-meditations/

reducing stress

Change Your Awareness, Reduce Your Stress

May 17, 2016

Changing your awareness can reduce your stress. Consider this: your body doesn’t know the difference between stress you imagine and real stress. If you are watching a suspenseful movie, your heartbeat may quicken and you may even find that beads of sweat are forming on your forehead. Your body is reacting to your mind’s cues.

But by bringing awareness to the content of your mind through meditation, you may be able to release tension in your body. If a woman is at the dentist thinking “I hate being here,” her body may be tensed up as a result of her thoughts. But by bringing awareness to her thoughts and to her body’s tension, she may be able to untangle mental and physical stress and bring her body to a more relaxed state – even though she doesn’t like being where she is.

Just as pulling aside the curtain in “The Wizard of Oz” revealed that the Wizard wasn’t so powerful, pulling aside the curtain on what the mind is thinking can help reduce the power of thoughts, and the related physical stress.

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Reducing Stress with Ancient Practices

May 12, 2016

Want to reduce stress? Consider this: Stress is most often a response to the content of the mind. Imagine you’re watching a movie. When the heroine in the movie tries to escape from the villain, you may find that your heart beats faster and you begin to perspire. You are having a real physical stress response to a fictional story. The same phenomenon happens in “real life”. People tell themselves stories and then experience real life stress responses; responses which can wreak havoc upon mind and body.

A great way to reduce stress is with the ancient practice of meditation. It allows you to witness the stories you tell yourself and decide if they’re true. Mark Twain’s famous quote aptly describes the tendency to create stress through anxious thoughts. “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which never happened.”

Another ancient practice is the first of the “Five Tibetan Rites,” a series of five exercises similar to yoga. Here’s a modification:

Stand straight with feet hip distance apart. Lift your arms straight out to the sides at shoulder level, palms down, so your body is in the shape of a lower case “t”. Start turning very slowly to the right, keeping your focus at eye-level the as you turn. Make a complete circle and then continue circling anywhere from 3-10 times. Discontinue if you become dizzy or if you experience discomfort.

Why this works:
The mental content that cycles through the mind can be a significant cause of stress. This exercise engages the mind and keeps it busy by trying to keep focusing at eye-level, all while turning the body in a circle and trying to stay balanced. The effect of this is to quiet the mind. The beauty of this exercise is that it can be practiced most anywhere to help reduce stress, and best of all, it’s free!

guided meditation sitting

4 Simple Tips to Reduce Stress

May 3, 2016

Here are four simple tips to help reduce stress:

Tip #1: Create a Stress-Free Zone at Home
Have a “stress-free zone” in your home. You can learn to associate a dedicated place with quieting your mind, a place where you sit for a few minutes each day and focus on your breathing. You could devote an entire room to this practice, or just a corner of a room. Your “stress-free zone” should include a dedicated place to sit, such as a chair or meditation cushion, and could also include inspirational items, such as books of short readings (for before or after your practice), meditation beads, candles, or music.

Tip #2: Count with your breath. Sit in a comfortable position and count silently to yourself with each breath. For example, count 1 with your in-breath, and 1 with your out-breath. Then count 2 with your in-breath and 2 with your out-breath. Then on to 3 and so on until you get to 10. When you get to 10 start again at one. Or, if you lose your place start again at one, without any judgement for losing your place. This process of counting with each breath helps divert your attention from your anxious thoughts and bring your attention to the here and now.

Tip #3: Say the word “peace” silently to yourself with each inhale and “release” with each exhale. As you say the word, imagine the feeling of peace filling your whole body. Say the word “release” silently to yourself with each exhale. As you say the word imagine releasing tension and anxious thoughts. Continue this practice. “Peace” with each inhale, “release” with each exhale.

Tip #4: Weave Mindful Moments Into Your Day
Consider weaving “mindful moments” into your day-times when you quiet the chatter in your mind, and bring your focus into the present moment. For example, when you walk to the coffee machine in the office, bring all your attention to the soles of your feet as they touch the ground. Anytime your mind wanders, gently bring your awareness back to your feet. Or when you eat lunch, bring all your awareness to the process of eating lunch: the pace of your eating, the taste of the food, the colors of the food on your plate. When your attention wanders, gently bring it back. This process of bringing all your attention to what is happening in the present moment can also go a long way towards managing stress.

The above tips are simple to practice, and best of all, they are free! They don’t require any expensive equipment or training. All they requiring is remembering to stop and pause-if only for a few minutes.

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