How Meditation Can Help with Stress Relief

Feeling anxious, nervous or stressed and just want to feel relaxed? By spending at least a few minutes a day meditating, you can feel at ease. Below are a few tips on how to find your inner peace.

Know how to meditate. Meditation is when you focus on being calm and erasing the thoughts of stress from your mind. To do that, you need to find a setting and position that makes you feel comfortable; focus on even-paced breathing; and close your eyes to fully listen to your breathing, envision your sense of calm and prevent distractions.

Figure out how to transition to meditation. Meditation is a tool to help you de-stress. You know yourself best, so find the type of meditation that suits you. A few examples of mediation are yoga, guided imagery or saying a mantra. If you need to think of a happy place or person when trying to wipe away your stressing thoughts, do it. If you need to repeat a word, phrase, song lyric or count as you breathe, do it. Everyone is different, and you just need to find the type of meditation that works for you and your lifestyle.

Find a time and place to meditate. Whether you’re at home, exercising, at work or are in your car, you may have multiple reasons as to why you are stressed. But, it’s important to realize, you don’t have to have a specific place to meditate. To help your stress levels, you could schedule a few minutes a day to meditate, so you can feel your sense of calm every day.

If you are stressed and want to talk to a professional, contact Mercy EAP at (319) 398-6694 to schedule a video, phone or in-person appointment.