Relaxation Through Meditation

Meditation in all forms is designed to make you more self-aware, more aware of your surroundings, more in tune with your environment, and ultimately more in control of your physical being and the things around you. In the process, Meditation is successful in helping to reduce anxiety and stress because it generates a sense of empowerment, placing you in control of your destiny.

There are many forms of Meditation, some more physically challenging and some relatively sedentary, but they all have strong points. Meditation is like a good stretching routine, which also allows you to get in touch with yourself positively.

Meditation is a process that leads to a state of consciousness that brings serenity, clarity, and bliss. During our typical mental state, we receive sensory stimuli and react completely uncontrolled (although we tell ourselves we have excellent control). We bounce from one thought to another and follow with our emotional and physical reactions. The same idea can bring about diametrically opposite responses at different times. For instance, we may see a dog and then start a thought process that reminisces about a pet dog we once had and loved. Emotionally, we start feeling warm and cuddly; physically, we feel very relaxed. Another time, we may see the same dog and fear it may attack us and start thinking paranoid thoughts, get fearful and uptight physically.

Concentration is the first step in Meditation and the start of gaining control over the mind and life.  The procedure is deceptively simple and seems straightforward to do, but there are a few tasks that are more difficult to master. The idea is to pick an object/subject to focus on and then focus exclusively on it without diversion. Once you choose your subject or object, relax your body, sit comfortably, calm your emotions, and repeat the word "love" repeatedly. If you find your mind wandering from your topic, bring yourself back into concentration on the original text and continue your session. Suppose you are successful in concentrating your thoughts away from other distractions. In that case, you will experience a very liberating feeling that helps you clear your mind of clutter and ease, followed by a sense of relaxation and calm, second only to fully sleeping.

We encourage you to investigate the various forms of Meditation, find one that best suits your needs, and perfect it for your total fitness and enjoyment. For additional resources on Meditation, please refer to the resources below.