Moving Towards a Stress-Free Life
Reducing stress and improving your mental health can be quite easy and rewarding. Here are a few helpful practices for stress relief that you can start doing now:
Practice Meditation
Although meditation might seem simple on the surface, it is a powerful practice that can have profound effects on our lives. In fact, having a regular meditation practice is proven to reduce anxiety, prevent depression, and ease stress.
Although many often think of meditation as this far-off, esoteric practice only meant for yogis, monks, or hippies, in fact, 18 million adults in the United States use meditation.
Starting a daily practice can be quite simple. All you need to do is sit in a comfortable position (preferably on the floor or in a sturdy chair where your back can be upright), close your eyes, and begin to observe your thoughts and clear your mind.
Don’t be dismayed if your mind isn’t perfectly clear at first. Just like anything, practice makes perfect. If you’re new, try to meditate for just five minutes per day at first. Then, gradually, you’ll find yourself naturally more able to sit for longer stints.
As you take the time to truly listen to yourself, you’ll likely gain a lot of clarity about the sources of stress in your life, thus empowering you to make the adjustments necessary to avoid those stressors in the future.