Meditation: A Simple, Fast Way To Reduce Stress
Stress is essentially a bodily reaction to perceived personal risk. The body automatically transforms into "fight or flight" mode when stressed because it believes it is being attacked. As a result, the body produces a complex mixture of hormones and substances that prime it for physical activity. This results in a multitude of reactions where blood is rerouted to muscles and unneeded body functions, like digestion, are shut down.
How Yoga helps reduce stress
With asanas for the body, pranayama for the breath, and meditation for the mind, yoga holds the solution to any stress-related condition. For improved control over your own body, mind, and soul, practise this straightforward yoga exercise on a regular basis.
Effect of meditation and pranayama on stress
You will experience mental calmness after doing yoga asanas since the logical brain has quieted the emotional function. Similar to how any type of breath awareness can help to calm and slow the mind, meditation is also a very effective tool in this regard. Effective breathing is substantially facilitated by pranayama. Stress makes us more likely to breathe quickly and shallowly, which can exacerbate anxiety. Yoga enables you to utilise your entire lung capacity and your diaphragm to its fullest extent.
Meditation Techniques for Stress
Beej Dhyan/Arambh Dhyan (Seed Meditation)
ARAMBH means “beginning. “Seed “needs to be of good quality and needs to be sown in a good environment .In this same way our thoughts need to be “sown” consciously
ARAMBH DHYAN helps to sow the right powerful and unshakable “seed” within you for you to grow and evolve
Formation
• Sitting up straight with Eyes closed in any of the above Asanas, Visualise 2 big circles in front of eyes, one circle above and the 2nd circle below.
• Circles are symbolic, the circle which is above is a white hole (for all the positive things to receive) and the circle which is below is a black hole (for all the negative things to be released) ( The black hole has Event horizon, which is the surface of a black hole : the boundary of a black hole beyond which nothing can escape from it )
• From the white Hole above to Ajnya Chakra to Black Hole below is forming a Triangle for the meditation
• With every inhalation, visualise receiving Light, abundance, power, strength and all the positivities through the White Hole at Ajnya Chakra and with the exhalation, releasing all the past, bitter thoughts, negative energies through the Black Hole
• With each inhale, you receive Prosperity and Positivities and with each Exhale, you release all darkness and Negativities.
Sthiti Dhyan (State Meditation)
Sthiti Dhyan builds the power of mindfulness teaching you to be present and aware of the present moment.
“Sthiti” means the state in which you are in .This technique heightens your observation powers, builds focus, memory and concentration and it trains you to be an impartial observer, thus helping you balance your emotions and respond to situations with calmness and clarity.
Formation
• Find a natural environment for this technique. Sit in any comfortable posture Look ahead for 5 seconds and observe very consciously, behind you for another five seconds and on Right and Left sides for five seconds each. Now close your eyes and recollect as many details that you observed as possible.
• Recollect everything you saw on your right side.
• Bring it to your mind’s eye, paint the same picture with all the small details.
• Repeat for all the directions as you recollect everything, bring these memories to your mind’s eye.
• Bring these situations, these circumstances to your memory.
• Now, envision everything you saw, all around you.
• Without adding any of your perceptions, your own thoughts, observe the memory by being a neutral witness.
• Focus on your breath and observe it.
• Now with your eyes closed, repeat the process of recollecting everything.
• Reinforce your memory.
Divyashakti Dhyan (Super Power Meditation)
This is a powerful meditation to make your “Shakthi” /energy, ”Divya “ /divine .It is a powerful technique of the “Ahavahan” or invocation of “Divya Shakthi” within you.
Super power meditation as the name mentions, it makes you super powerful. When you are preparing yourself for this meditation, you need to be in a happy state as the outcome will carry this energy.There are times when we become sad, here you need to pause, step back and practice superpower meditation.This meditation helps in any kind of mind and spiritual block you face in life.
Formation
• Sit preferable in Padmasana (if not, then Sukhasana) with back straight and aligned.
• Hands in Siddha mudra.
• First draw a perfect big triangle in a sheet of paper
• Now observe this triangle for a while
• Close eyes and now visualise a big mountain in the shape of a triangle
• Visualise yourself sitting on the tip of this mountain in Padamasan/sukhasan. Observe that your body has also turned into the shape of a triangular mountain.
Tratak Dhyan
Tratak is a powerful meditation technique which helps you to gain focus and acts like a divine tool or a foundation for more than 100 meditation techniques.
“TRATAK” which is “TRI” means “3” ; where we use both eyes and also involve and trigger our 3rd eye; if you are able to use your 2 eyes consciously and mindfully only then you will be able to use the power of your 3rd eye.
Tratak is to stimulate the Centre of forehead - the third eye centre, where the pineal gland is stimulated and it will function for you when required.
Swaas Dhyan
Formation
• Straighten your back and close your eyes. • Sit in a comfortable position (such as Sukhasana, Ardha Padmasana, or Padmasana). • Place your palms on your knees facing up (Prapthi Mudra). • The ratio of your breaths should be 6:6, meaning that if you inhale in six counts, you must exhale in six counts.
• Pay attention to the passage of your breath through and out of your nostrils.
Be an observer of your ideas by allowing them to flow at first without fighting them. Continue gradually turning your attention to your breathing until you are almost entirely free of ideas and completely focused on your inhalations and exhalations.
