Breathing Meditation: Try It!

INTRO

Every day in our lives we experience stress.  Whether it’s at work or at home, there are so many tasks to perform and individuals to take care of that sometimes we forget to slow down and take care of ourselves.

BENEFITS

Breathing meditation has immeasurable benefits, and is widely used to relieve the anxieties we face on an on-going basis.  It is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve the immune system, and has been used for trying to stop smoking as well as other bad habits.

Meditation promotes an inner balance, well-being, and revitalization of the mind and body.  The only requirement is that you find a quiet room and sit in a comfortable position.  There, you sit in a traditional cross-legged posture or in any other position that is comfortable. If you wish, you can sit in a chair. The most important thing is to keep your back straight to prevent your mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.

HOW IT’S DONE

Begin the relaxation process by sitting with our eyes partially closed. Breathe naturally, preferably through the nostrils and try to become aware of the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. This sensation is your object of meditation. You should try to concentrate on it to the exclusion of everything else.

At first, your mind will be very busy. It may even feel as if the act of meditating is making your mind busier; in reality you are just becoming more aware of how active your mind actually is. There will be a great temptation to follow the different thoughts as they arise, but you should resist this and remain focused on your breathing.

Once you are relaxed, you can actually hear your breathing and slow it down to the point where you are in a deep meditative state.  Afterward, you feel renewed and all the anxiety and stress dissipates.

Note that it will take a few sessions to get it down just right, but it is not only worth the effort but offers significant relief on those days when you are being pulled in twenty different directions.

DEDICATION

In order for breathing meditation to become a successful part of your life, it requires you to engage in this practice on a daily basis.  The more you practice, the better you will be able to reach the meditative state.

Whether you have practiced Yoga or other forms of meditation such as Tai Chi, breathing meditation has an immediate and positive effect on your entire body.  Moreover, you can utilize this breathing exercise at home, at work, in your car, or on a subway or bus. 

For example, let’s say you are driving home and come upon heavy traffic or an accident that leaves you idling for an hour or more.  Instead of getting all worked up, try breathing meditation.  Or, if you are sitting at your desk at work and the stress is beginning to build, find a quiet place where you can meditate – it does work.

CONCLUSION

No matter what you are doing during the course of the day, take ten minutes to meditate in order to relieve whatever stress or anxiety you are under.  Just as you take care of others’ needs, it is important to concentrate on your own health and wellbeing as well.

A Fitness Overview

What Is Fitness?
Fitness is good health or physical condition, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.  It also means having the energy and power to live well and feel as good as possible.  Taking steps to get more fit, even if little steps, can improve your level of fitness considerably.

Benefits of Fitness
Increasing ones fitness through physical activity is good for your heart, lungs, bones, and joints.  It lowers your risk for heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some cancers.  It can also help you sleep better, handle stress better, and keep your mind sharp.

When you stay fit, you burn more calories, even when you are at rest.  Plus, being fit gives you the energy to be more physically active and exercise harder and more efficiently.  It can also help maintain a proper weight.

The more obvious benefits, and in many cases the driving force behind one’s efforts to obtain a higher level of fitness are: increased muscle mass, toned legs, buttocks, arms, stomach and healthier looking skin. Along the way, the individual receives the added value of greater strength, improved balance, higher endurance and (often) a better frame of mind.

Types of Physical Activities
Different types of activities will emphasize one area more than another. Aerobic activities help the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, weight lifting focuses on building muscle tone and mass, yoga and Pilates helps balance, flexibility and muscular control. But each of these, and several more, help more than just the intended focus group. The body is an integrated system and improving one area almost always has beneficial consequences for others.

All those benefits, at least to a moderate degree, can be had for minimal daily effort. Moderate intensity activity for 30 minutes per day, at least five days per week, will go a long way toward optimizing fitness.

A brisk walk, taking the stairs up one or two flights, a short daily jog, jumping rope and many other simple activities can be carried out with no special equipment or training.

More intense activity, done properly, can raise that level even further. A vigorous tennis game, a few laps in the swimming pool, an hour on the treadmill or exercise bike, or any of a dozen others, can raise your fitness to a peak with only a moderate investment of time and money.

For the truly committed there are, of course, a thousand and one classes at the gym, and every conceivable kind of home fitness equipment to fit a variety of budgets. A daily routine consisting of using free weights, followed by a good jog around the park will keep all systems functioning well.

So find an activity that you enjoy, stay with it and begin living well.