Posts tagged Anxiety
Coping With a Serious Illness Through Meditation
Sep 25th
To be ill is one thing; to find out it’s life threatening is another. Yet millions of people are dying every day as diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders start to take charge of their lives.
There’s no doubt that being diagnosed with any serious illness can cause pain, trauma, depression, and anxiety. There’s always the question of whether you will get to live tomorrow or be with your loved ones for special occasions. This is also the time when you feel so hopeless and helpless. A lot of people who are deathly sick give up or even commit suicide than to wait for their moment to eventually die.
What you should learn is how to cope with your illness the best way you can. After all, what really matters is not the length of time you spend here on earth but how you get to spend it. In this case, when you are gravely ill, what you hope for is quality of life, one that is free from pain and depression and more of acceptance and even hope.
You can try meditation.
How Meditation Helps Patients
Meditation is an ancient mental exercise. It has been practiced for centuries. Certain religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism put so much importance to meditation, and they can spend hours doing nothing else but that.
Meditating is more than just a mystic process. It offers a lot of benefits. If it wasn’t so, the tradition would have not survived, and patients are some of the best people who can make the most out of it.
For one, meditation has the ability to clear and calm the mind. That means it can free you from worries and uncertainties. It also relaxes your body, mind, and soul, which is actually hard to achieve when something else is bothering you.
The process also provides quite a number of physical health benefits. It can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, making you less prone to heart attacks. It allows the proper flow of blood to different parts of the body. This means the cells can become nourished by the nutrients found in the blood. Meditation can boost the level of serotonin, which is a happy hormone. It improves your behavior and mood, as well as compels you to sleep well. Sleep is highly necessary for people who are sick. It also enhances the immune system.
Meditation works very well together with subliminal messages. Subliminal messages are often characterized as affirmations or auto suggestions. The main thrust of using subliminal messages is to change your present mind-set. Perhaps if you are currently in despair, meditation and the affirmations will change it to something of hope. For example,
I have the ability to rise above this physical ailment. I am not defined by my disease. There’s always tomorrow to provide me with hope. I am showered with a lot of love. I have the ability to accept this ailment with grace and fortitude. These subliminal messages are normally repeated during your meditation, allowing them to seep through your subconscious and form part of your new belief system.
Breath Meditation – Relax, Let Go The Easy Way
Sep 20th
Dan felt the sting of anger grow as he sat trapped in rush hour traffic. He yelled a profanity (with an accompanying gesture) at the fellow in a BMW who sped by in the commuter lane.
Then he caught himself as he noticed his heart pounding. He took in a deep breath and cleared his mind as he exhaled. He turned his attention inward and began breath meditation. After a few minutes of focusing on his breath, his heart rate slowed, his anger melted. He relaxed. Later Dan said, “Breath meditation is one of the most important things I learned after my heart attack. My doctor actually prescribed it.”
Breath meditation is a simple and easy way to gain greater self-awareness, peace, and health. It’s easy to learn and costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time. With breath meditation, you focus your attention on your breath, following its rhythmic movement as you inhale (breathe in air) and exhale (breathe out air).
Many major medical centers now consider meditation a valuable component of health management. You can use it to relax and gain mental clarity. You can use it to help relieve pain. You can use it during a painful or frightening procedure or an anxiety-provoking situation like public speaking or being stuck in traffic. You can use it to energize your body when you feel tired.
Here are two easy-to-do forms of breath meditation.
Breath Meditation
Start by dedicating about 5 minutes of uninterrupted time to your meditation. Always be kind and gentle with yourself. If your mind wanders, just bring your awareness back to your breath.
Sit relaxed with your back straight (not stiff) in a place that is comfortable for you. It can be on a chair with both feet on the floor or sitting with your legs folded up as in a modified lotus position (yoga style).Close you eyes or leave them partially open but unfocused.While breathing through your nose, bring your full awareness to your breath….not changing it in any way, just noticing it.
Form 1: Counting Breaths
As you focus on your breath, being aware of its sensation as it moves in and out of your body, simply count each breath in and each breath out.
Breathe in “one;” Breathe out “one.”Breathe in “two;” Breathe out “two.”And so on to ten.Continue repeating the counting breaths cycle (from 1 to 10) as often as you like.
Form 2: Counting Breaths Variation
Breathe in, bringing full awareness to the sensation of breathing. Feel the air as it moves through your nose and into your lungs. Feel the gentle rise of your abdomen. Breathe out, silently saying a word with deep meaning to you like “peace,” relax,” “joy,” “gratitude,” or another word that affirms you.Repeat ten times.Continue as often as you like.
When finished, take a few minutes to notice the effects of breath meditation. Did you notice more energy, peace, or relaxation?
Don’t worry if you got distracted or had difficulty concentrating. It’s expected in the beginning. Even those experienced in meditation get distracted some times. Meditation is a discipline. It takes practice and time to learn.
You can use breath meditation anytime and anywhere. Before meals, it helps you focus more on your eating. When focused on your eating, you enjoy food more, eat slower, and often eat less. Doing breath meditation before sleep releases your mind from the busyness of the day.
You may want to support your learning with a CD that provides instructions with peaceful music.
Breath meditation is a great way to begin meditating. It’s wonderful to become more aware of your breathing and its connection to the miracle of life. It costs you nothing. It is always with you, and helps you gain greater self-awareness, peace, and health. Enjoy breath meditation!
