Using Meditation to Relax and Manage Stress, Part III
[The following blog has four parts to it. This is Part III. Part IV will follow in the next blog. Refer to the last two blogs for Parts I and II].
What follows is a description of a series of simple breath meditation exercises that will help you to calm your emotions and be much more relaxed:
Emotional Distress: When you are under emotional stress, breath into your abdominal area and keep your focus of attention there. Let your belly comfortably expand on the inhalation and slightly contract on the exhalation. Breath in for a count of four, hold briefly, while you imagine any negativity being gathered into the breath, and then breath out all the negativity for a count of four or more.
Use this breath to help calm yourself when you are feeling anxious, overly excited, worried, while doing something new, etc.. Do at least ten of these breaths. It helps to calm you down and re-energize your adrenals, pancreas and digestive organs.
Feeling Overwhelmed: Breathe as above, but now into your heart area. Just notice the rise and fall of your breath in the heart area. It is more subtle than in the abdominal area, but still perceptible.
Use this breath when you feel overwhelmed, overworked, overloaded, suppressed, depressed, fearful, lacking in confidence, in a crisis, under pressures, etc. This energizes the heart and lungs.
Mental Tension: Breathe into your head, as above. Consciously take a deep breath high up into your nose and try to feel the energy circulating in your head, face, eyes, neck and throat. Breathe oxygen into your brain and head, neck, face, eyes, neck and throat. Feel energy flow into all these areas.
This breath is for headaches, dizziness, migraines, insomnia or when you feel mentally foggy and unclear.
To be continued...