Manage your Stress with Meditation
Learn a quick meditation technique to combat stress

For as few as ten minutes a day, a simple meditation technique can help you decrease anxiety, manage stress, improve your cardiovascular health, and enhance your ability to relax.
Harvard physician Herbert Benson pioneered the “relaxation response” in the 1970s. The relaxation response is a meditation technique that has since gained wide acceptance by therapists, physicians, and doctors worldwide to help treat a variety of health symptoms.
When exposed to a danger or a threat, our bodies respond with a “fight or flight” response, otherwise known as an adrenaline rush. Since adrenaline and other related hormones are released from the adrenal glands, it results in an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow. Although this is a basic survival strategy and is useful in certain situations, many people suffer from a surfeit of the symptoms associated with the “fight or flight” response in day-to-day situations.
Benson’s relaxation response is an exercise that elicits a reaction opposite to the “fight or flight” response. It induces a state of sustained and deep relaxation during which our heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism are decreased. Achieving this state of relaxation can help lead to improved moods, lower blood pressure, and reduction of stress.
This relaxation response technique requires you to silently repeat a word, phrase, or sound with eyes closed while sitting still for ten to fifteen minutes. Make a space for yourself in a quiet place that is free from distractions. Take care to sit, and not to lie down—lying down causes you to fall asleep. Relax your muscles, starting with your toes, and make your way up to your face. Take deep, long breaths through your nose.
Feel free to choose any word or phrase you’d prefer. Use a word like “one” or “peace,” or a word that has special meaning for you. Dismiss and ignore worries that intrude upon your meditation. Remind yourself that it will be there for you later to worry about. It’s okay to open your eyes to look at a clock to gauge the time. Focus on the repetition of your word or sound. Upon finishing, remain seated and gradually allow yourself to return back to your normal state.
Although the technique requires a little practice, anyone can learn to achieve a state of relaxation given a little time. Dr. Benson originally recommended practicing the technique one to two times a day. He also recommended waiting half an hour after eating to begin the meditation exercise to avoid the digestive process from interfering with the exercise. The relaxation response may also be induced through other related relaxation and meditation techniques. No matter how this response is induced, its benefits in reducing stress and anxiety are invaluable.