Relieve Stress With This 15 Minute Meditation
This article originally appeared on Yoganonymous.com.
It’s not about the stress—it’s about how you handle it.
Dealing with mental and physical stress in healthy ways is the most important tool you have in your belt. If you can handle any situation at your worst, then you will be the best of the best when your rough patch is over. It doesn’t matter if you are suffering from financial stress, emotional stress, work overload, or heartache. The symptoms are all the same.
So how to you constructively deal with stress and bring yourself back into a better state of reality? You close your eyes, drop excess mind chatter, drop the forehead tension, and breathe.
15 Minute Rejuvenating Meditation
1. Get in a comfy space
Get a pillow for your back, lay on your back, sit up against a wall – do whatever you want – just get comfortable. Take a deep breath, can you sit like this for 15 minutes? If the answer is no, change your position.
2. Set a timer
Set a timer for 15 minutes (you can use your phone). Now that you know exactly how long you will be here, you have no reason to open your eyes and keep checking the clock. You came to this space to drop you worries, so give yourself a moment, and open up the mental space to embrace your intention.
3. Allow external noises to be there
Getting into a place where there will be no excess background noise can be very difficult. So, instead of driving yourself (and those you live with) crazy, allow the noise. Drop that eyebrow twitch when you hear pots and pans disturbing your zen, and internally say, “I allow the noise to rage around me as I stay in my moment of peace.”
External factors should never affect your internal state of calm, this applies in your day-to-day life and your meditation time. So breathe deeply, and let it roll.
4. Let your mind drop into your heart
Now that you’re comfortable, have a timer on, and have established your intention to be in an unbreakable state of zen, do the following:
Close your eyes and envision all of the energy in your brain drop into you heart
Let that mental energy expand outward and leave your body in all directions
For one round: Breathe into your heart for a count of 8, hold for a count of 2, and breathe out for a count of 8
When you drop the energy in your mind, your thoughts drop, you are able to better focus on breathing, which increases your potential for feelings of relaxation and peacefulness.
5. Breathe in green light, breathe out gray dust
Envision a bright green, emerald light coming towards your body. It enters into your heart, and it spills out into areas of your body that are in need of emotional and physical healing. As this green light fills you, envision gray dust leaving your heart chakra. This gray dust represents all that no longer positively serves you, and it may start to fall out of places like your back, your hips, your spine, your neck, your forehead—allow your mind to flow with this meditation. There is no right or wrong visualization, just follow along with what your body is trying to release. Your subconscious knows best with this one.
For four rounds of breath: Breathe in green, emerald light into the heart, breathe out gray dust—leaving your body and energy field like a giant gray cloud.
6. Breathe into areas of stress, and let it go
Breathe deeply into your neck, your shoulders, your arms, your hands stomach, back, legs, and then shifting your focus into any area in your body that suffers from pain. This will help you bring fresh breath and fresh energy into those spaces so that the old, stagnant energy can finally leave. Continue to breathe into these areas of pain for a count of 8, holding for a count of two, and breathing out for a count of 8. Repeat this until your alarm goes off.
Still can’t let your stress go? Try this guided meditation.
Remember, meditation is great for clearing out heavy feelings, and can be done anytime. But, what if you need a moment mid-day and have no place to turn? Take a step outside, go into the bathroom, lock the door, and just breathe. It’s a great way to refresh your mind and come back into a state of calm.
