Meditation

[suki43]

I've read some posts about people who meditate in order to cope with anxiety. I have a notion of what it is but have no idea how to do it effectively.

Please can someone tell me how to meditate, what you are supposed to do, think of etc, for it to effective?

Thank you.

Suki

[miika]

I`m not meditation expert or anything, and I don`t even know if what I do is meditation. I have downloaded a lots of different relaxation/self hypnosis/meditation mp3`s. I think those work pretty good for me. I just lay down, put my headphones on, and listen. then I usually just fall asleep. lol.

[sanderella]

Hi Suki
I attended an NHS course in mindfulness meditation a while back. It's all about being completely in the present moment, using your breathing as an "anchor" for your awareness - just experiencing the breath going in and out without judgment, and letting go of any thoughts that come up. Your mind wanders all over the place naturally but you just have to notice that when it happens, without even judging yourself, and then purposely bring your mind back to the breath. Over time you recognise that your thoughts are just "events" that you can be aware of and choose to let go of; that you are not bound to your thoughts nor do you need to be ruled by them.
It was hard for me because at the time I was having a lot of anxiety around body sensations, every twinge and ache I associated with swollen lymph nodes, and during meditation this would be a constant distraction and a constant effort was required to accept the sensations and let go of the thoughts. Unfortunately I don't practise daily now. But I believe it's very beneficial and would like to start again. Ideally one should aim for around 45 minutes a day. Which is a long time to sit doing nothing!!
A fantastic teacher/writer on this practice is Jon Kabat-Zinn, you could maybe pick up one of his books at the library if you're interested. They explain it better than me. 

[pippip]

I try and meditate a couple of times a week, I dont even know if i do it correcty (probaby not) but this is what i do. I usually lay down because i'm most relaxed then, I put on my white noise machine and just try and think the same though over and over again. I'm like incapable of not thinking of anything so I usually say something positive or relaxing in my head. I decide what words to sayon the inhale, when i hold my breath and when i exhale, and just totally focus on that. I  read a magazine article a little while ago about people doing meditation while doing daily activies or excercise where you just totally focus on running or cleaning or whatever you doing and not let inside thoughts come in. Sorry if this is confusing, I hope it helps you a bit. It can be really relaxing