Modern Meditation - New Ways To Switch Off

By Lee Heather

There are many, many forms of meditation today and as a practicing meditator myself I have researched and utilized many of the common methods in use. Now I originally started meditating as a stress reduction method, I was working as a nurse at the time and it was becoming obvious that my stress was increasing due to my workload and having to deal with various other departmental issues at that time. I can tell you I was not far off from experiencing burnout and it was a good thing I had the self-awareness to notice this.

Anyway I began to get interested in relaxation methods and noticed that the vast majority of them only really took you to a superficial level of calmness. You had to learn how to tense each muscle in the body and then relax it, the theory being that if you knew how to tense up it would be a kind of biofeedback to let your body know when it was time to relax.

Hey, these traditional methods work fairly well but I wanted something deeper, something I could use at any time to change my state of mind reasonably quickly. Now having a knowledge of anatomy and physiology I began to look at the brains structures and trace the beginnings of stress to the mind, after all doesn't everything start in the mind.

I quickly realized from my reading and study that we have essentially three parts to the brain, the oldest part or reptilian brain, then the limbic system and finally our most recent part, the frontal brain or neocortex to give it its correct name.

It appears that stress begins in the reptilian and limbic areas and then sends signals into the body affecting the adrenal glands which in turn secrete adrenalin and cortisol into the bloodstream which basically means that by then we are stressed in a big way. The structures responsible for all this are the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and a small gland at the rear of the head known as the locus ceruleus.

I found that by utilizing visualization it is possible to calm these structures right down to a point where they literally switch off and your whole body is deeply, deeply relaxed, in fact much more so then with the traditional techniques I mentioned earlier. People who actually watched me do this stated that they had never seen anyone appear so relaxed. I had totally zoned out. So I began teaching this to patients who were obviously stressed at times and they had the same effect once they had acquired the simple skill. Most of them told me they had never ever felt that relaxed in a long, long time. Real relaxation as an adult can be hard to remember cant it.

One of the reasons it is so relaxing is by turning off these stress circuits we enter into a brainwave state of mind known as theta. You may go into this quickly before you go to sleep but by prolonging it with this method you are utterly relaxed without actually going off to sleep.

Lee James Heather is now a therapist specializing in anxiety based problems and teaches clients stress management.

Anxiety Coach Relaxation Technique

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An Easy Guide To Meditation

By Scott Niekerk

Meditation is similar to progressive relaxation.

We use meditation during our bodywork - Myofascial Release sessions as well as guided CD's afterwards whilst lying on comfortable heat!

Like progressive relaxation, you use this method to focus on yourself. There are many ways to meditate. Some people use it in a religious way, where as some people use it solely for taking time for themselves to focus on the positive.

Meditations Relaxing Effects:

Reduces blood pressure

Helps muscles relax

Reduces anxiety

Helps you to learn to focus, clears your thinking

Reduces irritability

Reduces stress headaches

Slows breathing

Meditation is focusing your thoughts on one thing for a sustained period of time. Doing this on a regular basis helps you to control negative thought processes which can cause stress. It allows your body time to relax, and recuperate from the mental or physical stress the body has endured. Meditation is extremely useful when you have been under long or short term stress, when you have been worrying about problems or you have been physically active.

The idea of meditation is to sooth your thoughts by focusing completely on one thing. Meditation is an active process where the individual seeks to block outside thoughts by concentrating completely on one thing.

Techniques

Sit or lie in a position that you can comfortably sustain for a period of time. Start with ten minutes at a time and then gradually meditate as long as you can maintain your focus.

1) Breathing:

Concentrate on breathing in and out by counting your breaths using the numbers 0 to 9. Visualize images of the numbers changing with each breath.

Breathing as Meditation - In Buddhist and yogic traditions, people claim to have reached an enlightened state by doing nothing more than paying attention to the rising and falling of their breath. What easier way could there be to reach such a state? Especially since breathing - following the ebb and flow of your breath - is an intrinsic part of meditation. By paying attention to your breath, you will rapidly change your state of consciousness, begin to relax, and slowly detach from ordinary awareness. Try to focus on the dimensionless point between your in-breath and out-breath, and glimpse the elements of enlightenment in that space.

2) Focusing on an object:

Look at an object paying attention to detail for the entire meditation period. Examine the contours, colour, texture, temperature and movement of the object. Objects such as candle flames or flowing designs are often used.

3) Focusing on sounds:

Some people focus on sounds. This includes soothing music and sounds of nature.

4) Visualization:

Create a mental picture of a pleasant and relaxing place in your mind. Involve all your senses in the imagery, sight, sounds, smell, touch, temperature and movement.

Keep your attention focused. If external thoughts or distractions wander in allow them to drift out or even visualize attaching the thoughts to objects and then move the objects out of your mind.

This article is original material written by Scott van Niekerk, physical therapist and owner of Wholistic physical Therapy in Brewster, NY. We are a Holistic Treatment center, with physical therapists specialised in Myofascial Release, as taught by John Barnes. Please visit our website http://wholisticphysicaltherapy.com for more information on how we can help you be FREE of pain and stiffness, to have your life back!

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