Meditation isn't for everyone. Here are 4 other ways to destress
The traditional practice of meditation - seated, eyes closed, focused on your breathing - does not appeal to everyone. Some people may not have the patience, others may not have the necessary focus. But the health benefits of meditation are especially important now during the coronavirus pandemic, when there is widespread anxiety and uncertainty. Dr. Shefali Tsabary, a clinical psychologist and author, tells Yahoo Life, “Meditation brings us back into the present, makes us see the abundance of the present moment and immediately our heart rate slows down, our cortisol begins to come down, our dopamine goes up.” But for those who don’t like to meditate, there are ways to use mindful and meditative practices in other activities to achieve the same effect, as shown in the video above.
Video Transcript
SHEFALI TSABARY: People may resist traditional meditation of sitting down and focusing on their breath because they are just too distracted it's too scary to sit in silence. They are just too conditioned to be stimulated.
Meditation brings us back into the present, makes us see the abundance of the present moment, and immediately our heart rate slows down, our cortisol begins to come down, our dopamine goes up. We're now abundant in the present moment.
But there are many other things we can do if we can't sit still and meditate. Number one, taking a walk in nature but doing it silently-- listening to the sounds of the birds and the trees and the quiet. Nature is so powerful as a healing agent because we immediately realize that there is life, that things are OK, that nature will continue on even if the present moment is looking chaotic.
While they're listening to music or reading, they could do it in a slightly different way. They can pay attention to the music. They can read the words with presence. They can just take a few moments to acknowledge the present moment.
Start journal writing. Every day, spend five minutes just writing what's coming up for you, connecting to yourself, finding that bridge to your inner world so that you can build this robust inner landscape so that when the outer landscape looks messy, it's OK.
Touching our children's cheeks, putting on our shoes, taking a shower, breathing, going outside for fresh air-- when we realize that this could be taken away from us, especially in these times which are showing us our mortality like never before, now we should be surprised that we woke up and be grateful for it.
