Breathing Exercises & Meditation Can Help You Stress Less And Keep Your Calm

Have you tried breathing exercises and meditation yet? They are great techniques to help you calm your mind, find your center, relax, and emerge focused and ready for anything. Both have a long tradition and are something that’s practiced all over the world. While it can take a long time to master these techniques, particularly when it comes to meditation, where the goal is to reach a state of thoughtless awareness, you can benefit from them right away. In other words, you don’t have to master the techniques to see results. All it takes is practice to start feeling less stressed.

How To Get Started With Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises are very simple to do. Start by breathing in, to a count of four through your nose. Hold your breath in for a count of three, then slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of six. Rinse and repeat several times.

This is just one very basic breathing exercise. There are all sorts of different ones that you can easily find online. Breathing exercises are quick and easy, and you can do them everywhere; give them a try.

There’s breath counting, alternate nostril breathing, abdominal breathing, and various breathing techniques that come out of the yoga tradition. Try them out and see what helps you relax.

How To Get Started With Meditation

 Meditation is another great way to calm your mind and relax your body. It can be a little tricky at first. It’s not easy to let go of everything you worry about. Emptying our minds can be quite the challenge. The good news, as I mentioned earlier, is that you don’t have to reach that elusive state of thoughtless awareness to benefit from meditation. Just trying and practicing will do you a lot of good.

 The best way to start your beginning meditations is with breathing exercises. Slowly breathe in and out, focusing your mind on just your breath. Let your body and mind relax. Next, start focusing on one part of your body at a time, starting at your toes and imagine the muscles relax and your body starting to warm up. Keep moving up from your toes to your feet, your ankles, your lower legs etc. Keep moving up until you get to the top of your head.

 Another great type of meditation to try is mantra meditation. Come up with a simple word or short sentence that you continue to say to yourself in your mind as you breathe slowly and relax. “At Peace” is a good mantra to use.

 Last but not least look into some guided meditations. Download them to your phone, stream them through a meditation app, or pop a CD in. Keep meditating, keep practicing, and you will benefit from these simple relaxation techniques. For more information, check out my Developing a Meditation Practice Masterclass here: https://www.lisamcgrath.me/offers/QFxnfcTq

These simple exercises can help transform your life...relieve stress, find clarity, and experience calm. Start your practice today!

Until next time...

Cheers!

Lisa