The Art of Meditation: How to Manage Anxiety and Stress 

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Why I chose to manage my stress and anxiety

These past two years while living in a global pandemic have been stressful and a trying time for everyone around the world. From losing loved ones to COVID-19, losing jobs, losing faith and sometimes yourself. Not to mention the affordable housing crisis, gas prices increasing, and so much more. All of which can be the main cause of anxiety and stress. Today, I will be talking about meditation and how it has helped me. In hopes that is will help you too.

I’ve struggled with stress management and anxiety since seventeen years old. Now that I am 24, for seven years straight I have tried just about everything. I, like the rest of the world in 2020, was anxious, heartbroken, and stressed for many reasons. Two of the major reasons was (1), not being able to graduate college in person until the following year due to the virus, and (2) the fear of “what’s next?”.

My wake up call was when I started having severe chest pains and wasn’t sleeping well because my thoughts were constantly racing. Looking back, quarantine made me finally sit down and take care of myself. While in school it was ingrained into me to have the best grades, be involved, ”stay the course”,always be “on go”.

Now, I had all the time in the world, so I decided to Google “Best Ways to Manage Anxiety and Stress.” Of course, meditation, yoga, exercise, a good sleep schedule, and a balanced diet were all staring back at me. Everything seemed doable, so I began to do research on meditation because before I do anything I like to gain as much knowledge on the topic possible.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is an ancient practice that originated in India thousands of years ago. The goal of meditation is to focus your mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

At the beginning of my journey to meditation, I found it to be a little difficult. As I stated, I have a pretty busy mind therefore, sitting by myself not saying anything felt pointless because my mind would just race. I was so determined to get everything I was feeling under control, so I went back to Google.

My meditation style

With there being so many different ways to meditate I finally found the best one for me, which is mindfulness meditation. Which teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and be one with your mind, body and spirit. Moving forward I decided to give it another go, but this time I set the scene. I turned my phone off, lit candles, put lavender oil in my essential oil lamp, turned on a meditation playlist, and began.

I laid down on my floor, closed my eyes, and focused on my breaths. Inhale in …exhale out …Inhale in…exhale out. After focusing on my breaths and becoming one with my breathing, I mentally took myself to my favorite place to relax: the beach! I heard the waves, the sounds of the seagulls, the smell of the salt water. As I felt so relaxed, I didn’t realize 45 minutes had gone by. When I sat up and opened my eyes, I felt calm, loose, and my worries were in the wind.

Now, I know not everyone has the time to do a full meditation set up everyday, but in those moments where you feel the tightness in your chest, the lump in your throat, the pit in your stomach…take time to breathe and go to the place that brings you calmness. Especially before and after doing something that typically brings you stress.

Meditating on limited time

If you don’t always have the opportunity to do the full meditation setup, there are other ways to do so. Could be practicing your breathing on your commute to and from work, in between zoom calls, in between classes, before bed, when you wake up, or even after a workout. The options are endless; it’s whatever style works best for you. However, if you can make the time and space to do a full ritual, do it. We have one life, one body, and in my opinion, taking care of your mental, physical, and spiritual state is a must. Not managing anxiety and stress properly can eat away at your body little by little and we all deserve a calm and joyous life.
Here are some links to help start your journey to serenity:

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