We all experience stress as we experience the ups and downs of life. Learning to manage stress in a healthful manner is key to improving both your emotional and physical well-being. The connection between stress and meditation is well established; meditating has been shown to reduce stress levels and is encouraged by many health professionals as a cost-effective way to handle stress, depression, anger and anxiety.

What is stress?
Stress is the impact of life experiences on your emotional and physical well-being, brought on by extra activities, demands, involvement or concerns. Stress is the natural result of the changes that happen in our lives; stress can be the result of either good or bad external or internal pressures. Whether stress is from a positive event, such as getting married, or a negative event, such a losing your job or feeling insecure about speaking at a meeting, it affects you emotionally and physically.

What are the telltale signs of stress?
Stress affects you physically through faster heart rate, higher blood pressure, desires to eat more or less, difficulty sleeping and increased hormone levels that give you short term bursts of energy to handle the additional pressures you are experiencing. Stress affects you emotionally in a variety of ways. If you are experiencing a lot of stress, you may feel spurts of manic energy or periods of fatigue. You probably feel tired, hungry, irritated, agitated and anxious or depressed.

What is meditation and how is the practice of meditation related to stress?
When you meditate, you focus on breathing or a mantra such as word, phrase or sound in an effort to relax and calm your mind. You will want to assume a relaxing position when you meditate such as sitting in a yoga position, lying down or even taking a walk. There are many methods of mediation, including but not limited to visualization techniques, which involve visualizing a desired outcome or a peaceful scene, to chanting to pranayama.

By relaxing the body, focusing on a mantra, or immersing yourself in the pleasure of your own breathing, you allow your body to recover from the impact of stress-related symptoms. The body responds to the relaxation techniques by lowering your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, reducing the production of certain fight-or-flight-related hormones, and triggering natural self-healing processes.

What practical meditation practices can you use to counteract the effects of stress?
The next time you are aware of stress damaging your emotional or physical well-being, try one of the following meditation techniques. Each technique only requires fifteen minutes of your time.

· Go for a walk. As you walk, listen to your footsteps. Feel the stretch in your legs. Raise your arms over your head and stretch, releasing the tension through your fingertips. Roll your shoulders both forwards and backwards. Listen to your breathing and allow yourself to enjoy the physical pleasure of your walk.

· Light a candle. Sit in a quiet, comfortable place. Light a candle and focus on the flame as you let the tension and stress leave you. Think only about the flame. Set a timer so you don’t have to think about the time, and spend fifteen minutes noticing nothing but how the flame dances. Listen to your breathing and try to keep your breaths slow and even.

· Repeat a mantra. In a quiet place, lie down or sit in a comfortable position. Set a timer so you don’t have to worry about the time. Repeat to yourself (verbally or in your mind) a word or phrase you find reassuring or inspiring. Think of nothing but the mantra. Clear your mind of other thoughts besides the positive mantra for the endurance of your meditation.

· Visualize positive results. Find a comfortable, quiet place to lie down or sit in a comfortable position. Imagine your self succeeding, overcoming an obstacle, achieving a goal, or simply being content. Hold onto that image and let everything else go.