My Favourite Meditation to Relieve Stress?

.... Dive-In Meditation

What's the best meditation to relieve stress?

Stress is not caused by the situation we're in. But by our reaction to it. It's not the over-bearing boss or traffic jam that makes us feel stressed. But the thoughts and emotions they trigger.

So you're in a traffic jam late for work. You start to think about getting in trouble with your manager. It's the third time you've been late this month.... You play out the scene in your head. The confrontation with your boss. Maybe you'll get fired! You feel scared. Maybe angry - but definitely stressed!

But these reactive thoughts and emotions don't help you. They make things seem far worse than they are.

What if you had a way to stop these reactions getting out of hand? What kind of meditation would help?

In my experience the best meditation to relieve stress deals directly with these thoughts and emotions. I like to call it the Diving-In Meditation.(Because you dive deep into your emotions to see what they're made of).

But what is an emotion?

How do you know you're anxious, angry, sad or happy?

Try this exercise....it'll just take a minute.

Think back to time when you felt anxious or sad. Try to recall it in as much detail as you a can. Do it for about 30 seconds.

What do you feel physically? In your body.

Where can you feel it?

Maybe there's a sensation in the pit of your stomach - a kind of contraction. Or a tightness in your chest or throat.

We feel emotions like this - physically. And if they're unpleasant emotions - like fear or sadness - we push them away. But this only makes them more intense.

What if we look more closely at these sensations - instead of reacting to them. If we Dive-In.

My Favourite Meditation to Relieve Stress

Diving-In to Emotion

Before you start....

Meditation Tip: There's no rush. So take your time - at least 5 minutes. And have an open relaxed attitude. No need to try too hard at this.

Sit comfortably in your chair. Upright but not stiff. Close enough to the computer to easily read the instructions

Again try to recall a time when you felt sad or anxious. Locate the physical sensation in your body that goes with that emotion.

Then ask these questions...

How big is it?

What shape is it?

Where are its edges?

Is its edge sharp or blurry? Or are you not sure where it ends?

What is its colour? Is it rough or smooth?

How far off the ground is it?

Now try focusing in on it. Dive deeper into it.....

Do you notice anything?

Is it still there? If not then what is there?

Just rest for a few moments with whatever you find....

Emotions have powerful effect on us. They can seem terrifying, exhilarating or full of despair.

But when you Dive-In - really have a look. You can be surprised they're not what you thought.

I find something different at their center.

A kind of space. Not really anxiety, fear anger or sadness anymore.

Just .... well it's difficult to describe...but here's one experience I had.

My Experience with Diving into Emotion

Several years ago I was experiencing quite of lot of stress. I had some big changes in my life - and some big decisions to make.

One day I noticed a pain in my chest - which seemed to be where the stress and anxiety were focused. Instead of my usual reaction at the time - to do nothing or distract myself - I decided to stay with the feeling. Just look at it. Examine it.

I noticed that the physical sensation became more intense at first. But I didn't feel any more stressed. I just stayed with it. Asking questions as I described above.

Over a few minutes the physical sensations became more and more separate from any sense of anxiety or stress.

After about 10 minutes there was a release - which is difficult to describe. Followed by a feeling of peace.

I'm not saying this happens all the time! Or that you should strive for this kind of outcome. But just as an example of how powerful this kind of meditation can be.

Let me know how you get on.

What a Buddhist Monk Thinks...

This is what the Buddhist Buddhist monk Mathieu Ricard says about emotion (in this case anger):

" When you see a great black cloud in a stormy sky it seems so solid you could sit on it. But when you approach it there's nothing to grab on to. It's only vapour and wind.

The more you look at anger. The more it evaporates under you gaze, like white frost under the sun's rays"

Enjoyed My Favourite Meditation To Relieve Stress?

then read...

• 5 Effective Ways to Deal With Stress
• 4 Ways Meditation Relieves Stress Signs and Symptoms
• Everday Easy Meditation Techniques for Stress Relief

And more on what causes stress....

• What is Stress - Part 1
• What is stress - Part 2
• What is stress - Part 3
• Stress Signs and Symptoms: How To Recognize Them

And Coming soon....

How to deal with work, family and time stress.

And more on meditation to relieve stress.

Return from Meditation To Relieve Stress to Easy Meditation Techniques

Meditation to Relieve Stress to Learning Modern Meditation

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