Give meditation a try

Newsflash: stress isn't good for you. Luckily there are remedies to relieve some. Today I wanted to discuss one that might take a little more effort; meditation. However - you don't have to roll out your yoga mat for it. You don't have to sit still for hours. You do have to be patient and kind to yourself.

Basically meditating is tuning in with your body and mind, observing how you feel. Meditation can help reduce stress and anxiety, help with depression, and helps you to connect with your emotions and the here & now. Also it can boost thinking and creativity.

Before giving it a try I want to share my personal experience. To be honest, I haven't really given it a fair chance. But lately I'm trying to balance a lot of different things and this can be a little stressful. So that's why I started thinking about meditating. And started doing it more regularly - a few times a week, when I feel overwhelmed, I sit down and tune in for 5 minutes, and if it feels good, sometimes even longer. I noticed that it makes me feel more calm and in control, even when a million things happen at the same time.

So let's give meditation a try:

Get comfortable. You can either sit down on a pillow on the floor or just sit in a chair, as long as you feel good. Sit tall, straighten your spine, close your eyes and breathe. Relax your face, try to release tension in your body. Let your thoughts come, observe them, and then try to let them go. Don't panic as other, new thoughts flow in, accept them, and release. Focus on your breath. And just continue. That's it.

Try to get comfortable with the uncomfortable; sitting still can feel like forever, all those thoughts flowing through your mind can get overwhelming and you might feel uneasy sometimes. But that's part of the deal. It will get easier as you do it more often.

Don't start with an hour (unless you feel like it of course) - 5 minutes will do (you can set a timer if you like). Notice how you felt before and how you feel after; you can even write this down and start a journal.

So give it a try and let me know if meditation works for you. Just remember; it doesn't have to be perfect!