Have you ever felt anger welling in you to the point you felt you were going to explode? Maybe a series of events at work got you worked up or maybe fed up and you felt your blood pressure spike? Worry not because I have a magic pill that will cure your sizzling temper and bring peace back into your life. By taking a few of these pills each day you will feel relaxed, focused and more determined to resolve issues that would otherwise put you in the mental ward. For two easy payments of $39.95…ok, I don’t have a magic pill. But there is a solution for dealing with anxiety, stress and anger and it’s called meditation. I try to use meditation as much as possible throughout my day.

Most environments have some elements that cultivate anxiety, stress and anger. The stressor could be a child, spouse, co-worker, a piece of software, a boss or a client. Some environments put you in the firing line of multiple stressors at one time. The best thing for you to do before you choose to get violent or blow a blood vessel is to take a breath….take a couple of them.

I use a method of meditation where you focus almost solely on your breathing. When I started using this method I really didn’t know how to meditate. One evening I got home from work, I was fired up about something that happened and needed a way to calm down. I sat in my living room on a pillow and just started breathing and counting between breaths. After about 20 minutes I felt my stress leave and a new peace come over me. Meditation is not the cure-all. Sometimes sitting down and breathing is not going to cut it and that is why I bought a heavy bag. Maybe I’ll explain that stress relieving method at a later date. Most of the time though a good mediation will clear your mind and get you on the path of relaxation.

Where to meditate… When in a bind you can mediate anywhere. Optimally, you should find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted. If you are at the office go out into your courtyard, if you are at home go to a bedroom or your basement…if you don’t have kids running around you can sit in your living room. I prefer to sit on something soft on the floor regardless of the room I am in. Usually a throw pillow or a folded blanket will work fine for keeping your rump from getting sore. If you can sit “Indian style” do so otherwise sit however you feel comfortable. The sitting position and the placement of your hands is not really important. In a bind you could mediate at a stop light in your car or in line at a supermarket.

How to meditate… While sitting comfortably, close your eyes and breath normally. First start listening to your environment to recognize any sounds that are around you. Become familiar with those sounds and your place among them. When you feel you are ready, start breathing in through your nose and out of your mouth at about 3/4 breaths. If you breath in and out too deeply you could get uncomfortable very fast and start coughing or black out. As you exhale count to yourself. You will count to four (four exhales) then start over from one again (1,2,3,4…1,2,3,4…). Each breathing cycle (in and out) should last about three or four seconds so a complete count to four could take around 12 to 16 seconds. Early on you may want to watch the second hand of a clock to see if you are comfortable with the pace and adjust accordingly. The duration of this mediation technique could be thirty seconds to an hour. It depends on the time you have and the amount you need.

The main goal of this technique is to eventually focus on nothing but the breath. I was taught that “perfect practice makes permanent” and it is no different with mediation. There will be times you plop down to get some meditating in but you just can not focus on your breathing. There might be too many things running through your head. See if you can tame some of what is stealing your focus and try to meditate later. It may take some time to meditate effectively but with a little practice you will have a powerful tool in your bag to deal with stress, anxiety and anger.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 2:32 am and is filed under Success. 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.