I was told if I learned how to meditate – I would reap all kinds of wonderful benefits! I would feel more centered – I would be more clear – I would have less stress -- I would have more focus...

OK I thought – let’s do it! So to the bookstore I went... Wow lots of books on meditation!

I ended up buying several of them and started to read. Some of this information sounded like it was for the gurus up on the mountain tops!

They were talking about how to position my body, how to position my eyes… Where my hands should be…Some said I should say a mantra – others said I should alternate breathing from each nostril…

This did not sound like it was going to be easy! I was not at all comfortable with these body positions. Now – I am aware some people like this and do these positions easily… but for me – I felt like I was twisting into a pretzel!

Remembering mantras and which nostril I was suppose to breathe with next – making sure my feet were on the floor and my back rigid and all the while I had a gazillion thoughts running around in my head.

None of this was relaxing to me – My head was even more full of thoughts – trying to remember what I was and wasn’t supposed to do. How was I ever going to find this meditative state of quieting the mind? I was ready to give up on meditation!

Then 2 things happened for me – I bought a tape program on meditating – I don’t even remember that name of it – but it said I should listen to this tape and I would reach a meditative state. It didn’t tell me how to sit or how to breathe – it just told me to get comfortable and listen.

At about the same time I read an article by Deepak Chopra. He was talking about meditation and he said that all of us will get thoughts that come into our heads while we meditate. Then he said – in between those thoughts are gaps – they are there whether we realize them or not – and those gaps are meditation. I liked what Deepak said – the message to me was that the gaps, the meditative state was/is there even if I was not aware of it. Then I popped in that tape I bought – and for the first time I actually had some relief – it only lasted a few minutes – but as Deepak said – it was there!

That is when I decided I did not need someone else’s techniques – I did not need to sit in a special position. What I needed to do was find what worked best for me… I wanted something simple and flexible. It’s now years later and I meditate on a fairly regular basis. When I say fairly regular – what I mean is I do not have a stringent schedule of meditation. Most mornings I do meditate but there are those days that I don’t. It isn’t a big deal.

I don’t have that tape anymore – but I do usually listen to a cd with soft music or nature sounds – I always sit in my comfortable reclining chair – and I do direct my attention to my breathing. So when I start having a thought – I gently redirect myself back to my breathing.

This simple way to meditate has brought me many benefits. I am calmer now – I do not have as many thoughts at one time running through my head – it is easier for me to quiet all of my thoughts. I feel that meditating has truly given me balance and the ability of focus. I am much more in tune with my own inner guidance. I feel clear and calm and balanced.

While I was very skeptical at first – after I realized I could find my own form of meditation – this whole process became easy and enjoyable.

If you want to learn how to meditate – I would highly recommend getting some information from others and trying some techniques that you learn. Then you can make a decision of what works for you – what feels comfortable for you.

When you find your own personal meditation practice – your rewards will be great as you tap into your own inner voice.

By: Ellie Walsh
Meditation is one of the Secrets of utilizing the Law of Attraction. Learn how to Deliberately Create Your Life - Visit Living the Law of Attraction ~~ http://LivingTheLawOfAttraction.com

Throughout the world people are experiencing stress. In effect, stress is not inherently bad. It can be viewed as a positive force in life because it helps you to work harder and better, and even to meet deadlines. Stress is inevitable. Unfortunately you can become overwhelmed with stress and then it affects your health.

Thousands of people suffer bad health from stress related problems. Stress is experienced everywhere: at home, the workplace and even school. Financial problems or conflict within your relationship with loved ones cause tension and stress. The demands and pressures that you face on a daily basis make you feel anxious and in the end stress can lead to heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes … and the list goes on and on and on.

Stress is part of life and cannot be avoided. Fortunately you can learn how to take control of stress and cope with it. Living in a fast paced world with very little time on hand makes it difficult to utilize the time you have properly. You’re constantly struggling to balance your priorities and responsibilities. So how do you cope?

1. Communication: Suffering in silence is not the answer. You need to learn to confront your problems and approach those who can help. Communication doesn’t come easy. It can be an enormous challenge. You can talk to your employer, teacher or parents and tell them there is a problem. Once they know of the problem, it can be solved. Whenever you are worried, talk to a friend or a family member. Spend time with your loved ones and learn to relax in their company.

2. Discernment: You will experience a lot less anxiety if you can learn to distinguish between what is important and what is not. Take financial stress for example. If you try to “conserve” your money and make less debt, you will have less to worry about. Having it all might just not be attainable. It’s also not necessary. You need to learn to be satisfied with what you have, instead of wanting more. Being content in life is realistic and practical. What you want isn’t necessarily what we need. Learn to be organized and know your own limitations. Never expect more from yourself than you can give.

3. Cooperation: Everyone has their daily load of responsibilities, worries, pressure and stress. Cooperating with those around you and taking them into consideration helps in building healthy relationships. This prevents serious stress.

4. Exercise and a Healthy Habits: Moderate exercise drives all the negative energy out. Good healthy food keeps your body and mind going. Eating the right food is important. It is also important not to over indulge. Drinking enough water and giving your body sufficient rest every day is just as important. Never underestimate the benefits of sleep. You should also remember to give yourself some timeout. Being alone and enjoying your own company can be very soothing. And once in a while, find the time to pamper and spoil yourself.

Yes! There is good stress and bad stress, and once you start thinking of challenges as opportunities and stress factors as temporary setbacks, you’ll find yourself coping on a more optimistic level. Let these four steps to coping with stress motivate you every day and make your future a living experience.

By: Karin Steyn
http://www.blinc123.za.net.

Today, everyone you come across complains about being too busy. People are busy conforming to deadlines at work, hotfooting to class or running the kids from one activity to another. Our lives are ascertained by time sensitive, externally monitored, stress acquiring activities. Unfortunately many respond to stress by alleging, "I just don't have the time to alleviate it." You can have time to cut down stress. Here are a few quick to do, stress cutting activities.

30 minutes - 4 days a week:

Pick your favourite exercise and just do it. Even if you have to awaken 35 minutes sooner than usual to achieve it, just do it.

Examples of exercises:

You can walk around the block or maybe two blocks, timing yourself until you've been walking for half-hour. Take a dog, or an acquaintance with you and make it a leisurely walk. You can enjoy the neighbor’s back yard, a community park, or nature trail.

Take a relaxing swim in your pool or a residential area pool.

Join an aerobic exercise class.

Exercise releases endorphins that are natural healing and soothing chemicals.

Exercise aids us keeping physically and mentally healthy. Good health through exercise diminishes our risk for unwellness and can direct our attention away from issues that cause us stress.

15 minutes - 3 times daily

Bringing in the choice to eat 3 healthy meals including fruits and vegetable daily can encourage your body's natural defense against stress by catering for what your body needs to heal.

Foods that are copious in cholesterol, saturated fats, and sugar can induce headaches, digestive troubles, inability to concentrate, nervousness and irritability. Once we experience these symptoms we can feel stressed and uncomfortable. Consuming healthier foods and beverages like water (8 - 8oz glassfuls), fruits, veggies, grain, calcium products and protein (not necessarily meat, but nuts and seeds).

Inner calmness:

An additional way to bring down stress is to spend time on your inner peace of mind. Meditation, yoga and tai chi chuan are methods for everyone to become more well aware of our body and to unstrain our mind. As we concentrate on body motions, another object or a sound our mind blanks out other distractions and we therefore feel the tenseness release.

Whilst you have a poor diet or eat at irregular times this adds to strain.

Lie down on a couch with your shoes off. Lay a cool flannel over your eyes if you suffer from allergies. Listen to your favored music whilst you relax. Slowly and gently blow air out your mouth and slowly inhale through your nose.

Breathe Correctly:

Stress increases our heart rate and our breathing gets shallow and speedy. Whilst this comes about our body loses oxygen that it necessitates to function. Take deep breaths so that oxygen can flow into our stomach and into our lungs. Make deep breathing a part of your day-to-day routine and before long it will replace your shallow breathing. Your body will consume the oxygen it calls for and you'll feel better.

By: Ian Wilkins
Ian Wilkins writes for Your Health And Fitness We have articles and tips written by fully qualified doctors and nurses and give all the information free. If you are serious about looking after your health and fitness, then visit the number 1 resource for Your Health And Fitness.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle Resources portal.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes index and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.

Individuals who suffer from anxiety know how important it is to try to achieve anxiety self help. At its worst, anxiety can lead to very serious problems, such as complete avoidance of many everyday activities.

While we all worry and feel anxious from time to time it is important to distinguish that anxiety disorder is not the same as simply experiencing occasional worry. Anxiety disorder is a type of extreme worry and anxiety that goes on for prolonged periods of time. Individuals who suffer from anxiety disorder experience debilitating symptoms which can flare into a full fledged anxiety attack.

Common symptoms of an anxiety attack include:

• An unrealistic view of problems

• Excessive worry and tension

• Irritability

• Sweating

• Muscle tension

• Restlessness

• Feeling edgy

• Nausea

• Difficulty concentrating

• Headaches

• Tiredness, lethargy and fatigue

• Urinating frequently

• Sleep disturbances

• Trembling

• Easily startled

The effects of anxiety disorder can be quite serious, leading to other problems such as avoidance behavior, low self-esteem, depression, alcohol or drug abuse and interpersonal difficulties.

Taking the time to learn about anxiety is one positive step toward achieving self help. It is important to stress that anxiety is treatable. The pain and discomfort of this disorder can be relieved by taking positive steps toward recovery. Coping techniques can help to relieve anxiety so that you can begin to live a normal life.

Breathing exercises have been found to be especially helpful for individuals who feel as though they are about to experience an anxiety attack. Due to the fact that one of the most common symptoms is rapid breathing when anxiety sets in, it is important to take slow, shallow breaths. Focus on breathing deeply to help counteract the automatic reaction of rapid breathing that is often triggered by an anxiety attack.

Oddly enough, make a pointed effort to try to increase your anxiety symptoms can also have a reverse calming effect.

Speaking positively to yourself when you feel anxious can also have a tremendously calming effect. Tell yourself that your symptoms will diminish. Remind yourself that this will pass and you will make it through it. As you speak positively to yourself, you will likely find that your symptoms have already started to lessen.

If necessary, you may even find it helpful to write down some supportive statements on index cards and carry them with you. Then, when you are feeling anxious and cannot focus on speaking positively to yourself, you will have the positive statements to read. This is a great portable tool that can be used anywhere and anytime you feel anxious.

Finally, make a pointed effort to discuss your anxiety with someone you trust. This could be a family member or friend or you might think about joining an anxiety support group where you can discuss your anxiety with others who experience the same issues.

It is possible to overcome anxiety and the debilitating effects of anxiety with positive anxiety self help methods.

By: Paul Dylan
Got anxiety and panic attacks?
"I beat 10 years of chronic anxiety and panic attacks without medications or treatment, let me show you how I did it!"
http://www.selfsteps.com.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle Resources portal.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes index and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.