National Stress Awareness Day

Many of us probably have quite a misconception about meditation and yet it is one of the few alternative therapies which will cost you nothing and which you can undertake at your own time and convenience.

Mary Pearson, founder of the British School of Meditation and author of Meditation; the stress solution, gives us her basic recipe for anyone wanting to begin meditation:

• Find a quiet time and a quiet space each day
• Sit in a comfortable position that you can maintain for 15 to 20 minutes – for most people this is sitting on a straight backed chair, with both feet placed firmly on the floor
• Relax into your position
• Begin to focus on an activity or an object, eg your breath, or a mantra (a word you repeat over and again)
• If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the object of your focus
• Let everything else go

Personally I've always been drawn to the idea of meditation but even in yoga classes have found it difficult to maintain a meditative state. Mary Pearson's book demystifies the process and offers plenty of examples of how meditation has helped her students. In fact meditation helped her turn her life around when she was going through a very stressful time and was drinking too much alcohol to help her through. Her attitude is neither preachy or judgmental.

In Meditation; the stress solution Mary gives the research to back up the health claims for meditation and writes about the various styles. If you want to get straight on with the practice, begin reading at page 50. The book comes with a CD of guided meditations which I found to be extremely helpful. Chapter 12 describes each track on the CD and explains how to use it plus each track is timed so you can mix and match to the amount of time you have.

So if you feel you are "running on empty", feel spent and exhausted or are just trying to do too much leaving little time for yourself, I'd recommend Mary Pearson's Meditation; the stress solution whole-heartedly.

PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Published by Hot Hive Books Meditation: The Stress Solution by Mary Pearson is available from Amazon.