How to Meditate to Help Relieve Stress

Meditation is one of the best ways to relax and relieve all that stress that can 
accumulate from your everyday life. It also has a variety of health benefits, and of 
course, reducing stress is always good for you.

If you haven’t done much meditation before, it doesn’t take long to learn how and to 
start using it to your benefit. Here’s how you can meditate for stress relief.

Get Rid of Any Distractions

A big part of meditation is clearing your mind and staying in the present moment. It’s 
much more difficult to do that, especially for a beginner, when you have the TV on in the 
background or your cell phone starts ringing a few minutes in.

Before you start meditating, find a place where you won’t be distracted. Silence any 
electronic devices, and if possible, ask anyone who’s around not to disturb you.

Make Yourself Comfortable

When most people think of meditation, they envision a monk or yogi sitting cross-legged 
or in a double-lotus position. If you’re flexible enough, you can meditate like that, but it’s 
certainly not required. The most important thing about your position when you meditate 
is that you’re comfortable, which means it’s actually better not to get into any tough 
positions that stretch you to your limits.

You could meditate while sitting in a chair in your office or lying down on the floor. It’s 
entirely up to you, and all that matters is how you feel.

Focus on Your Breathing

Breathing is a major focus when you meditate. We often don’t think about our breathing 
much since it happens naturally, but doing it properly can make a huge difference in our 
quality of life.

As you meditate, make sure that you’re taking deep breaths with your diaphragm. Inhale 
and exhale slowly. By doing this, you’ll breathe more efficiently, which is good for your 
health and really melts stress away. Look at it like this – when someone is extremely 
stressed, they’ll often hyperventilate. To calm people down, we tell them to breathe.

Let Your Thoughts Pass By

When you meditate, it’s good to stay in the present moment and stop thinking about 
anything else, including any worries you have. This is obviously easier said than done, 
and you may be amazed at how difficult it is to clear your head.

It’s fine to have thoughts come to mind while you meditate. The key is to let them pass 
by without focusing on them. Allow them to come and go and you’ll be able to stay in 
the present much better.

The more you meditate, the better you’ll get at it. Eventually, you’ll reach the point 
where you can do mini meditation sessions just about anywhere and anytime you need 
to rid yourself of stress.

