Fast Meditations

Meditations for Quick Relaxation

Research has shown that in just 3 minutes meditation can help reduce stress and change the inner chemistry of the body to a healthier, more relaxed state.  So all those excuses regarding how busy you are and how little time you have can now be thrown out the window :-).  All you need in order to dissolve physical, emotional and mental tension is just 3 minutes of meditation.

Normally, I always suggest to meditate early in the morning, when the mind is fresh, or before going to sleep, after the day’s hustle and bustle is done, but in this case I suggest doing the 3 minute meditation right in the middle of the day or if you are facing a stressful situation.  This is so  the meditation can help immediately neutralize the harmful stress hormones and put you back in a relaxed, peaceful state of mind.

The 2 kinds of meditation I would suggest for this quick fix are below.  Try either one and see which suits you best.  They come from different schools of thought, and use different approaches, but are both pretty handy.

Be sure to check out the rest of the articles in this series below, which are also clever yoga, meditation and pranayama tips and techniques for busy people.

Each title is a link.  Click that title to visit the article for all the details about the technique.

Kundalini Yoga Meditation for Relaxation:

For this meditation.  Sit up straight and bring your hands into namaste pose, keeping a small gap between the thumbs and keep the palms slightly cupped.  Then inhale deeply and blow out gently aiming at the gap between your thumbs, thus allowing the cool air to fill the region between your palms and circulate there.  Keep your eyes 1/10th open looking down during this meditation and keep you mind on your breath and the cool sensation when blowing into your palms.

This meditation is sure to relax you rapidly.  Continue to do it for 3 minutes.  Here is a video demonstration of this technique as well…

Breath Awareness Meditation for Relaxation:

This is probably the most used technique for generating quick relaxation and this was the technique used in the studies which measured the reduction of stress hormones as well.  

For this meditation, simply sit up straight, close your eyes and bring your attention to your breathing.  If thoughts arise, just see them as thoughts only and let them go without getting involved, and return your attention to your breath.  Continue this simple method for 3  minutes.  It will greatly calm your mind and relax all your energies.

Here is a video of this technique, including a count, which is very helpful if you plan to do the technique for longer periods.