If you’re like a lot of people, you may have considered meditating but don’t feel you have the time. Or maybe you’ve tried meditating but you can’t seem to get it right … your mind wonders, you can’t sit still or you fall asleep. You just can’t do it! But meditating for short spurts of time can still have benefits.  If you have a minute, you can meditate. It can take just 45 seconds to de-stress and calm your mind.

Before you begin, try this little experiment.  Breathe through your mouth. Note the expansion of your chest and stomach and the speed of the breath.  Now breathe through your nose and notice the difference. As you breathe through your nose, the lungs and diaphragm expand, pulling the air to the bottom of your lungs. By breathing through your nose, the lungs fill more slowly and have more time to extract the oxygen from the air you pull in, so more oxygen is delivered into your bloodstream and into your brain.

Three Deep Breaths

Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths, pausing after the inhale and after the exhale. Be sure to exhale completely, but don’t force the breath. Let your diaphragm relax as you breathe in and gently contract as you breathe out. Think only of your breath.

Now open your eyes. Notice how your thoughts have slowed, your mind is calmer and your body, relaxed.

This is so easy and you can do it anywhere at anytime. If you find yourself in a situation that causes stress, pause for three deep breaths — when you’re standing in a long checkout line, or you’re on a deadline at work, or stuck in a traffic jam, (you can do this with your eyes open), or trying to get the kids off to school in the morning … any situation that causes your blood to boil!  Or try practicing Three Deep Breaths once every hour to keep you calm and focused throughout the day.

Of course, this isn’t going to take you into a deep meditative state. But it will give you a clearer, calmer mind. You may find that, as you discover the advantages of this brief mindful practice, you’ll want more! The benefits of meditation are many: improved concentration, deeper levels of relaxation, reduced anxiety, decreased muscle tension and headaches, reduced pre-menstrual syndrome, pain management and an enhanced immune system.

Why not try it right now?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Natural Health Remedies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.