Stress is part of every person's routine, whether it is because of work, school, your children, or your finances. Even though it sometimes has positive effects, repeated exposition to stressful situations can have a damaging effect on your body and mind. You might not be able to find the origin of your stress, but you can reduce its impact. This is the very role of meditation - helping you achieve a state of intense relaxation. This technique is practiced for centuries but research on the subject and its benefits are way more recent. It was found to have a positive impact on your nervous system, but also on the spiritual aspects of your life such as intuition and imagination.
There are many different types of meditation depending on what you wish to achieve. Here are some examples:
Concentration meditation - It helps you focus your mind and is one of the first appearances of meditation.
Heart-centered meditation - it helps you be more aware of the energy that your heart releases and calms your mind.
Mindfulness meditation - it helps you be more objective towards your negative feelings by pointing their movement in your mind, in order to achieve quietness.
Tai chi - this sort of meditation combines breathing exercises and physical movements to help you focus and release stress.
Transcendental Meditation - it helps you internalize a mantra by repeating it several times in order to silence your negative thoughts.
Walking meditation - it helps you concentrate on your body and your mind at the same time by synchronizing your breath and your footsteps.
It is highly recommended to try them all to point which one is better for you. As Lennihan says, "Meditating with a group of people is a much more powerful experience, and having a teacher talk you through the technique will make it much easier at first."
