Deep breathing for stress relief

by HelpGuide.org
(click on the link above to learn other techniques for stress relief)

With its focus on full, cleansing breaths, deep breathing is a simple, yet powerful, relaxation technique. It’s easy to learn, can be practiced almost anywhere, and provides a quick way to get your stress levels in check. Deep breathing is the cornerstone of many other relaxation practices, too, and can be combined with other relaxing elements such as aromatherapy and music. All you really need is a few minutes and a place to stretch out.

How to practice deep breathing

The key to deep breathing is to breathe deeply from the abdomen, getting as much fresh air as possible in your lungs. When you take deep breaths from the abdomen, rather than shallow breaths from your upper chest, you inhale more oxygen. The more oxygen you get, the less tense, short of breath, and anxious you feel. So the next time you feel stressed, take a minute to slow down and breathe deeply:

• Sit comfortably with your back straight. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
• Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little.
• Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles. The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little.
• Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale.

If you have a hard time breathing from your abdomen while sitting up, try lying on the floor.  Put a small book on your stomach, and try to breathe so that the book rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale.

Being able to focus the mind is one of the hardest things when learning to meditate.  Having a mantra helps.  Finding a mantra is one thing, but how about finding The Right Mantra for Your Type?  Click on the link to read a short article about finding the right mantra based on your Dosha.  You’ll need to take a short, fun quiz to find out what your Dosha is.  Take a few minutes to learn more about yourself, and then find the right mantra for you.

Now that your curiousity has been peaked and you want to learn more about Mantras, read this article on The Value of a Mantra by Deepak Chopra.

On our Store Website, we offer answers to Frequently Asked Questions such as “How to Set Up Your Meditation Cushion”. I wanted to share that information with you here, as well.

When sitting in meditation, you should try to sit so that your thighs are sloped from hips to knees in order to tilt the pelvis forward. This position will support the lower back.

Using a Zafu – whether it is round or crescent-shaped – will cushion your sitting bones and raise the height of your hips to create this desired angle of your thighs.

A Crescent Zafu on a Zabuton

A Round Zafu on a Zabuton

Placing a Zabuton cushion under the Zafu will cushion your knees, ankles and tops of your feet. This will help release your body of any physical discomforts.

When using a Zafu, a person would sit cross-legged. There are several cross-legged positions to choose from, depending upon your personal flexibility. You could sit in full Lotus (each ankle rests on the opposite thigh), half Lotus (one ankle rests on opposite thigh), or Burmese style (feet are crossed, resting on floor, with one shin in front of the other).

A kneeling position is an alternative to the cross-legged meditation position. This is sometimes referred to as “seiza”. For this position, a bench is recommended. Or one could use blankets, cushions, or a yoga bolster between the calves and thighs to gain the proper height and slope of thighs.

Sitting with Zafu & Zabuton or a Bench & Zabuton

You could also sit cross-legged with the meditation bench, if preferred.

A zabuton can be used with a meditation bench. Either folded in half (as seen in the picture above), or laid flat with bench on top.

Visit our Meditation Products Page to see our entire selection of zabutons, zafus, and meditation benches.

Want to read more on this topic?  See this article on How to Sit in Meditation by e-How.

The following article was found at Yoga Journal and teaches us a meditation to focus on peace and happiness:

Practice Enlightenment Meditation

Dhyana

This practice is adapted from the Vijana Bhairava, an ancient and very powerful Sanskrit meditation text.

Step by Step

Sitting quietly, begin to become aware of the part of you that is aware. Something in you knows that you’re alive, that you’re breathing, that you’re thinking. It’s subtle and hidden, but that witnessing part of you is the basis of everything you experience.

Next, think of a loved one. Bring to mind someone to whom you feel close and think to yourself, “With all of our differences of personality and history, we both share consciousness. At the most fundamental level, the level of awareness, we are one.” If that seems too abstract, consider, “Like me, this person seeks happiness. This person too feels pain.” The more you can identify yourself with awareness, and recognize the awareness in the other person, the more deeply you will feel kinship.

Now think of an acquaintance. Bring to mind someone about whom you feel neutral, and have the same recognition: that there is one consciousness in both of you.

Think of an enemy. Bring to mind someone you dislike, perhaps someone you regard as an enemy, or a public figure you hold in low esteem. Remind yourself, “Different as we may be, the same consciousness dwells in that person as in me. On the level of awareness, we are one.”

Feel the energy. Expand this idea to include the physical world, and allow yourself to contemplate the fact that a single energy underlies everything in the universe. On the level of subatomic particles, everything you see and feel is part of one great energy soup. With that in mind, look around and say to yourself, “All that I see, all that I touch, all that I imagine, is made of one single conscious energy.”

Hold that thought. Questions will come up—and they’re worth exploring. However, there is great power in simply holding the thought, “All this is one consciousness,” as a mantra, and then trying to see the world that way. See how the thought of oneness softens the edges of your judging mind. Find out whether it eases feelings of frustration, anxiety, and fear. Notice how it tends to bring up feelings of peace.

After you’ve practiced this contemplation a few times, try taking it into your world. Look at the angry driver in the lane next to you, or the sad woman on the bus, and think, “The same consciousness is in that person as in me.” Or see the person on TV whose politics you disagree with and think, “The same consciousness is in that person as in me.”

As these practices become part of your life, look for different ways to recognize that kinship of consciousness—be recognizing the light in the eyes of an animal, or the living sap in a tree. As you do, keep observing the effect it has on you. When you notice that you’re feeling more connected or more open, honor those feelings. Know that you are experiencing some of the qualities of the enlightened state of being.

This is an interesting article explaining What is Meditation and How to Be in Meditation.

Sitting quietly is something that many of us may find challenging.  Sitting comfortably is another.  We offer several products that will help you sit comfortably – such as, Zafus, Zabutons, and meditation benches.  Sitting quietly, on the other hand, will just take practice.

This is a good read for anyone who wants to understand the purpose for meditating and the beginning steps on how-to meditate.