Mindfulness Meditation Techniques for Handling Stress – Part #3
Published February 21, 2011As I described in Part 1, there is much more going on with us when we experience stress than the obvious event and resulting distress reaction that we observe. We all think thoughts about the events we experience and those thoughts are determined largely by conditioning and beliefs that we acquire over time. The thoughts we think then trigger our emotional reaction or emotional state. Part 2 of this series offered a Mindfulness Meditation Technique to manage our thoughts.
Unless you have gained some skill at Mindfulness, you may not know immediately what thoughts you are thinking. To access your thought process it is often more useful to start with noticing your feelings.
When you are aware of feeling badly or stressed, take a moment to reflect on what you have been thinking about. Chances are you have just had a series of distressing thoughts that have triggered negative feelings. Feelings of fear, frustration, tension, overwhelm, panic, annoyance, apathy, and so on are triggered by your thoughts that define what the event means to you. Once you identify the thoughts that define the situation for you, you can apply Technique #2 to let those thoughts go and replace them with neutral or more positive outlook.
What if you are not aware of all the feelings you have about the situation? This may be the case if you aren’t comfortable experiencing and expressing feelings. Many people react to stress by pushing down or numbing out their feelings believing that this will relieve stress. This couldn’t be further from the truth!
Feelings cannot be eliminated, they can only be delayed! Your emotions are an important part of your stress-handling mechanism. Your emotions, and any physical sensations are your body’s reactions to your thoughts. Entertain thoughts or a belief you are under attack – your body will react with feelings of fear – whether the threat is real or not.
To use your emotions to identify when you are having negative thoughts about an event, you must sharpen your awareness and listen! Ironically, listening to your body and acknowledging emotions can give immediate relief all by itself. Awareness of your emotional state is the first step to shifting your mind set.
To deal with stress effectively, get busy reflecting on your body sensations, feelings and the thoughts that are triggering those sensations Meditation Technique #2). The adage, “Don’t just do something, stand there!” applies here. Rather than trying to change what you can’t control in your environment, change what you can control – your perspective on the situation.
Mindfulness Meditation Technique #3:
Do this often. Focus on your body and notice any sensations. By sensations I mean where in your body you feel tension, stress, or pain.
Then focus on noticing your sensations. When I say noticing I also mean observing it and accepting it.
Often when we notice a tension or ache we generally are bothered that it is there. Therefore we tend to reject it or resist it. If we resist it, it will continue. What we resist…persists. Here is a good tip: accept whatever you feel as it is.
Our bodies are talking to us through feelings and sensations. By acknowledging that you accept that the pain, or tension is there, it will have permission to leave you. Give it a try!
Be mindful of your inner world of sensations. Mindfulness Meditation will transform your stress to peacefulness and even joy. Practice, practice, practice and let me know how it’s going for you.
Make your daily practice easy with Donna Marie’s Relaxations for Inner Peace audio program of guided meditations, soothing music and sounds of nature. Go now to our De-Stress Store.
Posted in Coming Soon- Mindfulness Meditation Instructions, deal with stress, mindfulness meditation | 
Annoyance, Apathy, Belief, Distressing Thoughts, Emotional Reaction, Emotional State, Emotions, Expressing Feelings, Feelings Of Fear, Frustration, Handling Stress, Meditation Technique, Meditation Techniques, mindfulness meditation, Negative Feelings, Physical Sensations, Positive Outlook, Relieve Stress, Tension, Thought Process | 
Leave a commentMindfulness Meditation Techniques to Deal with Stress – Part 1
Published January 9, 2011I write frequently about how to deal with stress using mindfulness meditation. In this series of articles I’m going to go deeper into the practice of mindfulness meditation so you may more effectively include some part of the method I will describe in your daily practice for health and wellbeing. If you don’t already have a daily practice, please follow this series to learn three very simple techniques that will have you reducing your stress in no time at all.
I’ll be focusing on one technique at a time. Before I introduce the first technique, I’d like to give you a little insight into how we typically experience stress and especially how we learn to respond to stressful events in life.
When you are feeling stressed it is because you feel that you cannot control outcomes that you would like. Most of us aren’t really aware of the actual causes of stress. We experience all manner of negative feelings – stress, discomfort, anger, sadness, frustration – in response to events, situations and the behavior of others in our lives.
Most of us believe that external events, situations and behaviors “cause” our distress, and therefore they must be controlled, managed or eliminated somehow in order to reduce our stress. We soon discover it’s not possible to manage all of the things in our lives that bother us. So, we become discouraged believing that we must either put up with ever increasing stress or numb out in some way (often with alcohol or food – also known as “Happy Hour.”)
Here’s a little model I use to show how stress really works. Instead of the external situation directly causing our stress there are two intervening steps to consider:
We often become aware of stress when we notice our actions or the reactions in our bodies.
We miss the whole intervening process of observation, thought and meaning making, and emotions. It’s not the event, itself that causes stress, it’s our take on it, which then tells us how to feel about it and ultimately how to respond.
Focusing on the negative, distressing aspects of an event or another person’s behavior, or interpret situations as threatening, causes the stress hormones to flow freely. On the other hand, if you manage your thoughts to be at least neutral or find positive aspects of the situation you will experience far less distress.
You have no control of the many situations going on around you that seem to be the cause of your stress.
However, the one thing that you do have control over is how you decide to think about those situations. That is the bottom line.
Managing your thoughts is tricky if you haven’t even been aware of having them. That’s where Mindfulness Meditation comes in. Mindfulness helps you to slow down long enough to become aware of what is happening in your mind, body and emotions where you have more control. Mindfulness meditation helps you to become aware of how your body responds to stress, the emotions you are having and of the thoughts that trigger your emotions.
Mindfulness Meditation Technique #1:
Sit down (right now) and take 5 deep breaths.
Now focus on your breath going in and out.
Notice it without identifying it as “Am I doing this right or wrong?” Many people stay in their heads when first doing this, so practice on noticing your breathing as is goes in and out, without judgment.
Simple? Easy? Yes it can be. Practice is the key. Do this throughout your day. Set an hourly timer if you want to remind you of this practice.
Doing frequent deep breathing sessions will help you focus in the moment and allow you to notice your thoughts, emotions and tension in your body.
In the next article I will discuss how long held beliefs shape our stress reactions and the second Mindfulness Meditation Technique.
Make your daily practice easy with Donna Marie’s Relaxations for Inner Peace audio program of guided meditations, soothing music and soundDe-Stress Store.
Check out Donna Marie’s upcoming experiential workshops at http://www.dealwithstresstoday.com/events-calendar/
Posted in Coming Soon- Mindfulness Meditation Instructions, Events, mindfulness meditation | Alcohol, Anger, Causes Of Stress, Discover, Emotions, Experience Stress, External Situation, Frustration, Happy Hour, Health And Wellbeing, How To Deal With Stress, Insight, Little Model, Meditation Techniques, mindfulness meditation, Negative Feelings, Observation, Reduce Stress, Reducing Stress, Sadness, Stressful Events | 1 CommentMindfulness: Two Powerful Techniques to Reduce Your Stress at Work
Published July 18, 2010Have you found yourself becoming more stressed out then usual? Stress, especially in the workplace, can occur for many reasons. Most people fly through life very quickly, not taking time to slow down and enjoy their lives, but simply push through one day to the next.
Moving through the workday at this speed does not allow you the time needed to process any of the daily ups and downs you might encounter during your workday. Dealing with stress at work is an important skill set to cultivate. The more you take the time to work through the minor stressors at work, the easier it will be for you to let each little work incident go, and the happier you will be overall with your job and work situation.
One important thing you can do when it comes to dealing with stress at work, is to give thanks as often as you can. This is a practice called Mindfulness Meditation.
Being aware, in your body, and living life moment to moment, gives you the ability to be thankful for what you have, and analyze the situation around you before responding. Mindfullness Meditation is a wonderful way to relax your mind and your body at the beginning and end of the day.
Another way you can deal with stress at work is to accept that there are certain things in your life that are not within your control. You can’t control assignments you are given, an individuals opinion of you, the hours you have to work every day- but you can make huge strides towards feeling stress free by accepting that there are some things that you personally cannot change.
Instead you can focus more specifically on things that are within your control. You can control how you react in a certain situation, how you communicate with your boss or co-workers, and how much time you give yourself daily to relax and reflect.
Thinking through the things that are within your power to control, gives you the ability to deal with stress at work in a proactive and productive way.
Posted in deal with stress at work | Boss, Co Workers, Dealing With Stress, Dealing With Stress At Work, Fly, Job, Life Moment, Meditation, mindfulness meditation, Moment To Moment, People, Reduce Stress, Stress At Work, Stress Free, Stressors, Strides, Taking Time, Ups, Ups And Downs, Wonderful Way, Work Situation, Workday | Leave a commentBegin the Day with Mindfulness Meditation to Calm Stress at Work
Published July 13, 2010The work climate is sometimes a difficult one, and many people may find it hard to cope with the pressure of dealing with stress while at their job. It makes sense. Most people spend the majority of their day at their job, and the stressors of co-workers, bosses, and looming projects and deadlines sometimes contribute to a difficult working environment.
It’s easy for a small issue at work to become a larger one very quickly, and if you don’t take time to deal with stress at work as it comes, you might find yourself feeling the pressure. While dealing with stress at work may seem like an insurmountable obstacle, it is one that can be easily overcome simply by adding a few simple steps to your day.
In the morning, when you wake up, think about your morning routine. Is there any time for you to stop and give thanks for the blessings you already have in your life? Most people jump from task to task to task throughout their day, and never have even ten minutes to stop and think about things they can be grateful for. Stopping and taking some time to ruminate and give thanks is called Mindfullness Meditation.
Simply reminding yourself of the good things will help you not focus your energy and attention on the negative aspects. Take ten minutes every morning to practice Mindfullness Meditation, and you will quickly see the benefit this practice can have on your day to day life.
You need to make it your goal to not sweat the little things. When confronted with a difficult or stressful situation while at your job, take time to think before you react. Think back to your morning practice of Mindfulness Meditation. By channeling the positive energy you brought with you from the morning, you will be able to deflate some of the mounting frustrations that may arise while on the job.
Remember that everyone deals with their own stressors in different ways, and sometimes their reactions may have nothing do with you. Mindfulness Meditation can be a good addition to your morning routine and can help you when dealing with stress at work.
Posted in mindfulness meditation | Benefit, Blessings, Co Workers, deal with stress at work, Dealing With Stress, Dealing With Stress At Work, Different Ways, Frustrations, Insurmountable Obstacle, Job, Many People, Mindful Meditation, Mindfulness, mindfulness meditation, Morning Routine, Negative Aspects, Positive Energy, Reduce Stress, Simple Steps, Stress At Work, Stressful Situation, Stressors, Ways To Deal With Stress, Work Climate, Working Environment | Leave a commentDe-Stress and De-Dramatize Now!
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Mindfulness Meditation Techniques to Deal with Stress – Part 2
In Part One of the series, I discussed one of three Mindfulness Meditation techniques for managing your stress; and the mechanism of stress. The stress mechanism is the process that occurs when an event is translated into a distress reaction.
I revealed that while most people are aware only of the event and their action or reaction to the event (that they interpret as stress,) in actuality, there is much more going on. In our experience of stress there are other intervening, often unconscious, steps of thought and emotions that come before the action we take, or our physicalresponse to a stressful event.
Mindfulness is the ongoing practice of bringing your focus to the present moment as much as possible throughout your day. It is the practice of awareness of your thoughts, emotions, your body and the surrounding environment.
The key is to practice this awareness without thoughts of judgment or criticism of self, others or situations. To manage your thoughts about your experience you must first be aware of them. Once you are aware of inner negative comments (we all have them), mindfulness meditation practice helps you to let them go and refocus on simply observing what is happening both in your body and around you at the moment.
Mindfulness Meditation Technique #1, described in Part I of this series, teaches you to refocus on your breathing. By refocusing on this simple activity, you begin to free your mind from distractions associated with Past thinking; i.e. thoughts of yesterday, last week, last year, etc., and with Future thinking; i.e. thoughts of what may happen; both negative and positive, especially worry.
Freeing your mind from Past and Future thinking is important because stress originates from fear-based thought patterns that we have been unconsciously conditioned to think. Fear thoughts are learned over our whole lives from those who are closest to us.
Recent studies also point to fetal experiences being formative too. As we were growing in the womb we experience the stress reactions of our mother as our own. If a mother experiences much stress during her pregnancy, chances are the child would have integrated that experience.
Mindfulness is a very effective means to experience calm, inner patience and confidence, and to access clarity. However, like other teachings we must become a student and practice daily.
Make your daily practice easy with Donna Marie’s Relaxations for Inner Peace audio program of guided meditations, soothing music and sounds of nature. Go now to our De-Stress Store.
Have you tried this exercise? What is your experience? Please share below.