Mindful Meditation For Anxiety And Stress Relief

Are you are a worrier – always anxious and fearful about the future?  Then perhaps it’s time to see if the growing amount of scientific research that suggests that mindful meditation for anxiety relief can help, will work for you.

With so many people these days leading hectic, over-stimulated, and sleep-deprived lives, it’s no wonder that worry and anxiety re at an all time high. In a way, our brains are hard wired to be on the lookout for threats and reasons to worry, despite whether they are real or imagined.

What this means is that even if we are totally safe and secure, because our brains are on the lookout for potential threats or problems it can still be difficult to let go of a sense of something’s not right.

Meditation Helps To Reduce Anxiety

There’s a growing number of scientific studies that are finding that mindful meditation is an effective way to reduce anxiety.  The way it works is that by practicing mindfulness meditation on a daily basis you effectively turn down the reactivity in a part of the brain that triggers fear.

There’s little doubt that if you are laying awake at night worrying about things that you can’t change or deal with right now, or  you are anxious around finances, relationships, body image, work, or anything at all, then mindful meditation may be one way that will help.

5 Simple Ways To Feel Calmer

Anxiety and worry can take a considerable toll on our mental and physical health. From being restless and having difficulty concentrating, to rapid heartbeat and  nausea, these are just a few of the symptoms that stress and anxiety has a strangle hold on your life.  Fortunately, there are some simple ways that we can help the mind and body to reduce the amount of worry and anxiety we are feeling and enjoy more calm.

Here are 5 practical techniques that you can do today to make you less anxious and fearful:

1. Just take a few slow, deep breaths: Just by breathing slowly and deeply right down to your belly will bring more energy and vitality to your body. At the same time it will help you to feel calmer and more centered. When we’re anxious, our breathing tends to stay shallow which means that we stay tense on the inside. Just by taking a few slow deep breaths through the day helps to overcome this.

2. Focus less on self by meditating: Practicing a simple mindful meditation like watching your breath come in through the nose and out through the nose helps to focus your attention in the present moment. Just by doing this technique with a non-judgmental attitude, will help to quiet the mind and take the focus away from your worries.

3.  Hang out with non-anxious people: This is not something that you’ll hear everyone talk about but nonetheless it’s well worth a mention. By spending more time with people who have mastered the art of managing stress and anxiety, you’ll soon start to absorb some of their qualities. Conversely, avoid hanging out with highly anxious people until you are in a stronger place yourself.

4. Get More Sleep: Developing good sleep habits is essential for being able to let your mind and body rest and recharge from the activities of the day. Our body is an amazing vehicle and sometimes all we need to do is treat it right and it’ll take better care of us. Aim for 7 to 8 hours sleep every night because each hour of sleep you miss out on puts additional stress and pressure on you every day.

5. Learn To Relax: Highly anxious people tend to find it hard to relax so taking the time to learn a form of relaxation would be a great investment in your health and happiness. This could mean doing a meditation course or learning how to progressively relax your muscles. The key here is to make your new relaxation routine a part of your daily habits.

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