5 Minute Meditation For Stress Relief

   The 5 Minute Stress Reduction Meditation

 

Meditation has many wonderful benefits for stress management.  One of the most valuable aspects of meditation is that it can build resilience over time, but it can also help one feel less stressed in minutes, responding from a more relaxed, mindful place rather than reacting to life's challenges out of fear.  

Despite the many benefits of meditation, it can be an intimidating practice to begin.

Perhaps surprisingly, many people don’t try meditation because they believe it’s difficult to practice or only effective with regular, lengthy sessions. Not true! Meditation can be practiced in many ways, so there is bound to be a collection of techniques that resonate with each individual, and with each person's situation.  (For example, if you are a bath person, this tub meditation may be the perfect thing for your next bath; chocolate lovers may greatly enjoy this chocolate meditation.  Those who like to move may prefer a walking meditation.)  And while you can receive the biggest gains from meditation with frequent practice, just 5 minutes of meditation actually can bring quick stress relief. So if you only have 5 minutes for meditation, here’s how to make them count: 

Here's How:

1.Set aside time.  Set a timer for five minutes, so you can relax and not worry about staying in meditation for ‘too long’, missing appointments. (If you have an iPhone, the Healing Music application can be used as a timer, though the regular timer that comes with most phones can also be useful.)

2.Relax your body.  Just close your eyes and relax. Take a few deep breaths from your diaphragm and release the tension in your body. Try to visualize the tension leaving your body from your head to your feet, either as imagining that the stress is literally draining from you through your toes, escaping your body with every breath, or simply melting away.

3.Clear your mind.  When you work on clearing your mind of thoughts, rather than focusing on ‘thinking of nothing’, focus on ‘being’, and when thoughts enter your mind, gently acknowledge them and let them go, returning your focus to the present moment again.  If you focus on how well you are doing this, that becomes the focus.  If you accept that constantly bringing your mind back to the present moment is the meditation, it will be much easier to keep your mind still.

4.Keep going.  Continue this for five minutes, and return to your day feeling more relaxed and refreshed. Simply focus on the sensations you are feeling in your body, focus on your breath, or focus on letting go. Try this meditation regularly, and you should feel less stressed overall.