Guided Meditation: Six Simple Steps to Reduce Stress

blissed out meditator
blissed out meditator

Stress, Meet Meditation: Your Aussie Guide to Inner Peace

Stress has been part of everyday life since time immemorial. If the force is positive, stress can motivate someone to take action, leading to new insights and a refreshing perspective. However, if the influence is negative, stress can cause feelings of rejection, distrust, depression, and anger. Consequently, health issues can develop, such as an upset stomach, headaches, insomnia, rashes, heart disease, stroke, ulcers, and high blood pressure. People can experience stress during events like job promotions, new relationships, the birth of a child, or the death of someone close.
 
Stress can either hinder or help people, depending on their response to life’s circumstances. It doesn’t matter if all stresses are positive, as they add excitement and anticipation to life. However, competitions, deadlines, frustrations, sorrows, and confrontations also contribute richness and depth to life.
 
You don’t need to eliminate stress; you just need to manage it in a way that benefits you. Remember, insufficient stress can act as a depressant, making you feel dejected or bored, while excessive stress can leave you feeling overwhelmed.
To prevent stress from building up, you might try meditation. Besides being cool to do, you can achieve an immediate calming effect regardless of your meditation posture. Here’s how you can reduce your stress:
  1. Practise your breathwork: The first technique you should learn is breathing. If you notice stress starting to affect you, do some gentle breathing. Focus on the quality of your breath. Ensure it’s light and still. Then, slowly breathe deeper.
  2. Balance your posture: Next, balance your posture, keep your head up and your back straight. Many people under stress tend to slouch and frown.
  3. Clear your mind: Start to imagine you’re swimming in relaxing waves. Feel the waves flowing through your consciousness, washing away all your stress and tension. Ensure your body feels the consistent flow of these waves.
  4. Acknowledge your stress: Review its root causes. This is a crucial step. Denying stress during meditation isn’t right. Clearly communicate to your mind that the stress is real but you have the capability to handle it by thinking clearly and finding ways to deal with it immediately.
  5. Repeat affirmations: Throughout your meditation process, for at least ten minutes or more, repeat affirmations. Then, take control of your stress completely. Think of the person or situation that caused this stress and take control back by clearing your mind of stress.
  6. Declare your right to peace: Focus on the decision that you have a right to a peaceful and free mind, and no one can say or do anything against this right, as you finish the meditation process. Every time you meditate, just reaffirm this decision in your mind.
These steps can help change your perspective whenever stress bothers you. Don’t be afraid to try; just trust in the benefits it will bring you in the end.**