Skills
over
Pills™
Breathing & Meditation
Breathe
In times of extreme stress, or even just constant stress in daily life, we forget that our most powerful tool is our own breath.
Slowing down your breath significantly reduces our stress levels and helps relax our mind and body.
There are many ways to “practice” breathing, by just focusing on your breath itself you are off to a great start! Below are a few suggestions on methods and apps that help aid our breathing and get us back into a state of relaxation:
Meditate
With technology, social lives, school, family, and life in general filling us with constant “to-dos”, stressors, and noise; learning to meditate will help you clear your mind and return to a state of calm.
There are many ways to meditate. You may want to start by sitting in a quiet place for a few minutes or use a guide to bring you to inner peace.
There are also many reasons to meditate – commonly we think of finding peace and calmness in ourselves. Other reasons to meditate may be to boost confidence/self-esteem, build resilience, and focus on your goals. You can find guided meditations that will help you with these specific things as well.
Here are a few ways to access meditations:
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Phone apps (Calm, Headspace, Ten Percent Happier Meditation, Buddhify, Insight Timer)
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Netflix – Headspace
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Youtube – personalize your search with time you’d like to spend meditating, goal of meditation, or other preferences
Remember that meditation is a practice. Finding your “zen” takes time, patience and repetition. Do not expect to be an expert going in. Start with short amounts of time and eventually you will work your way to longer, and more successful meditations.
Resources
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Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
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How to Train Your Mind: Exploring the Productivity Benefits of Meditation by Chris Bailey