Breathing Meditation for Stress

So last night, as I was evaluating all the stuff I have to in the near future, while sitting in my dorm room, I became stressed.

My first impulse was to heighten the experience, so that maybe I could feel a little more acknowledged in my stressed outedness! I sat on my chair and started to let the stress really manifest itself. The stress felt like annoyance. Annoyance that I have so many things to tackle. Annoyance that I had taken so many days off for the Jewish holidays. Annoyance in general! Shortly after that the thought of meditation came into my mind.

I thought "Hey, I've never really made an honest effort to meditate during the day to try and relieve my stress. Why not go on the net and see if we can find a how-to?"

So I ended up finding This Website which gave me some pretty concise instructions on an easy breathing meditation.

I read and followed the instructions carefully:

I found a place to sit: my bed with my back as straight as possible against the wall.

I focused on my breathing for around 5 - 10 minutes (it suggests 10 - 15 minutes actually). Any time your mind wanders, you are supposed to bring it back to paying attention to the sound of the air coming through your nostrils and into your lungs. Clearness of mind seems to be key.

I half closed my eyelids.

Sat there, enjoying the simple act of breathing, centering myself on an integral pillar of my existence.

It's great! On the instruction page it talks about how much it will affect your mood if you do it once every day for 10-15 minutes. I really did feel an elevation in mood after I finished my meditation. I was able to go back to my studying with an open heart and a calm mind.

I might try positioning the meditation exercise before bed every night, but who knows!

Anyone else have enlightening experiences with meditation?

Enlightenedly,

- Inkhorn