FITNESS & BEAUTY · JANUARY 2019
MEDITATION
TECHNIQUES TO HELP
EASE ANXIETY
S
tress and anxiety are age-
old problems, but until fairly
recently, most doctors would
recommend a medication to
help treat the most crippling
forms of either. A combination of
conventional wisdom and years of
research have helped researchers and
medical professionals to consider another,
non-medicinal remedy to ease their
patients’ anxiety.
Mindfulness meditation is an anti-anxiety
technique many are flocking to. They’ve
found that it helps them manage many
other health issues as well. Its popularity
has spawned droves of classes and
studios across the globe. Classes are
being offered in school classrooms and
churches, and in synagogues, hospitals,
community centers, and gyms.
Stress Reduction (or MBSR). This is a non-
religious based practice, taught in eight
sessions to practitioners.
Insight meditation is another technique
that provides relief to those suffering
from anxiety. This technique incorporates
This practice incorporates mindfulness to
breathing techniques to help slow down
treat difficult conditions like anxiety. It does thoughts, shut off the world, and focus
so by helping the person to focus and put
on just the breathing. Some people who
things into perspective, which, in turn, helps find it difficult to focus on their breathing
the person to cope better with difficult
try to focus on a mantra instead. They’ll
situations. MBSR is a more long-term
repeat the same phrase over and over
solution than medication. Medication treats again until it becomes natural and
things in the immediate with temporary
rhythmic.
relief. Meditation,
however, can be
used to get
at the heart
Others have found promise in guided
of what
it is that
meditation in-person or online. Instructors
makes
the person
or gurus walk people through a meditation
anxious
or nervous. to help them feel more comfortable and
learn to fully embrace the practice.
Meditation works to relax the chaos that
anxiety creates. While anxiety steals our
peace, meditation has the opposite effect.
It works to quiet the chaos, subdue it, and
give us back our lives. Meditation reroutes
all the negative energy it takes to work us
into a frenzy and soothes it into calmness.
The heavy burden in our minds and our
bodies eases up in no time. If our bodies
don’t release that anxiety, the result can
be physical stress and pain.
Initially doctors were skeptical that this
ancient Eastern practice truly offered
any true health benefits, as the evidence
suggests. Fortunately for everyone, that is
proving to be the case.
Forty-seven studies analyzed by
JAMA Internal Medicine found that
meditation can help ease anxiety, pain,
and depression. Newer studies seem
to indicate that meditation may also
help with insomnia, nausea, weight
control, substance abuse, and other
health problems.
Meditation eases the tumult. It relieves
all the anxiety and anger and helps
us put it all into perspective. While
meditation won’t get rid of the anger
or solve all problems, it will help you
learn to cope better and, eventually,
will help you feel better with continued
practice.
One of the most helpful types of
mindfulness training that showed
great results in research studies
is called Mindfulness-Based
By Lauren Castañeda
24 HEALTHY MAGAZINE