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One of the best treatments I learned that made a huge change in my anxious life would be meditation. It is my quick fix and my natural shield from an incoming episode. There are different meditations techniques that you may make use to fight off your condition. However, you have to try the different tactics to find one that would suit you. Hence, allow me to share with you my easy meditation techniques that allow me to manage my anxiety.

Let me just tell you why there is a need for meditation in managing your anxiety. You might have noticed that when you are having condition, your breathing is the first thing that is affected. You usually find it difficult to breath due to palpitation or choking-like sensation. Once your breathing becomes a problem, the scenario starts to get pretty ugly.

There are numerous kinds of symptoms. You may feel palpitation, sweating, sensation similar to choking, dizziness, and nausea. All of these will subside once you have brought your breathing back to its normal state. Meditation would be the solution that you can quickly apply and see great results. Aside from this, the overall state of your body will improve.

The simplest kind of meditation tactic I utilize is the inhale-hold-exhale technique. Whenever I feel that an episode is coming, I find myself a silent spot in the house. Actually, I no longer find a spot because I have allotted a corner in my bedroom where I could meditate. I simply put a mat on the floor, put on the dim lights, and play a soothing music. The music and the dim lights are optional. You may use a lavender-scented candle instead. Lavender is known for its relaxing properties.

Now that I have controlled the environment, the next step would be the proper position. You have to sit up straight. You may opt to lean on a wall or not. Close your eyes and put your hands on your lap. Divert your attention from your worries and stress. Try to take note of your breathing. Be aware of your surroundings. Smell the scent of the lavender. Simply focus on the sensations around you. If you realize that you are over-stimulated, try to turn off the lights or the music.

Once you have freed your mind of the worries, you may proceed to breathing exercise. Inhale while you do mental four mental counts. Do this using your nose. Fill your lungs. You will feel that your chest will expand and your tummy too. Then, hold your breath for 7 counts. If this is too long, you may cut it short to 5. After that, exhale for 8 counts using your mouth. Don’t open your mouth too much. Just leave it slightly opened as you breathe out. I usually do this for 7 consecutive times. Then, I check my pulse and breathing if it has subsided.

Another meditation technique that I use is similar to the measured breathing exercise I mentioned awhile ago. Do the usual preparations. The changes would be on the breathing itself. Breath in sharply with your nose, one short and one long breathing. Hence, you will be having 2 consecutive inhalations. Hold your breath for five seconds. To exhale, you have to do one sharp and short breath out, then a long one. Again, you will be exhaling twice. I also do this for 7 consecutive times before I check my breathing.

Remember, as you inhale, fill your lungs. When you exhale, rid of the bad vibes, stress, and concerns. Flush them out of your body. These easy meditation techniques will definitely help your manage anxiety.

If you look in a dictionary to find out what the word “enlightenment” means, you’ll find diverse definitions ranging from having knowledge or understanding about a subject or situation to the state of having attained spiritual knowledge or insight. However, in most spiritual schools of thought and practice, enlightenment has a more specific meaning.

The origin of the word enlightenment is from the Old English, to make luminous, to shine or lighten. This is a little more to the point. We’ll see why further on.

There are some who believe that enlightenment is either all or nothing; you’re either enlightened or you’re not, there’s no in-between about it. Others say that enlightenment unfolds by degrees. Can they both be correct?

When one has had direct experience, or direct perception, of Truth, one has had an enlightenment experience. By direct, I mean that the mind is not involved; there is no via, or means, by which this event occurs. You could say that the mind has been bypassed.

It is tempting to assume that anyone who has had such an experience is therefore enlightened. In a way, this is true, but it is only true in a limited context. An enlightenment experience occurs in a fraction of a second and it is possible to lose the effect. Even so, one is changed to some degree by the experience.

When one has direct experience of Truth that continues long enough and often enough, it evolves until the term “enlightenment” becomes the obvious descriptor: in advanced stages, Truth shines of its own light. And I mean that quite literally – light is not shined upon something so that it becomes perceptible but consists solely of light. The dual situation of reflected light and the darkness of shadow does not exist.
Eventually there is absolute union with Truth in the sense that there is nothing (no-thing) to experience or perceive, directly or indirectly. There is no sense of yourself knowing, perceiving or experiencing anything – all there is is the rolling bliss of Truth. This is when you realize with certainty that Truth/God/the Absolute (use your own word here) is all there is.

So how do you become enlightened? Is there something you can do to have an enlightenment experience? Or does it just happen if you’re lucky or have enough good karma? Does enlightenment happen all at once or by degrees?

All of the above. There are no limits to the possibilities in this life. You can do techniques designed for the purpose, or you can meditate, or you can just sit under a tree and hope for the best. An enlightenment can be attained through your own efforts or it can happen when you least expect it.

You can always set the stage and make conditions more conducive to enlightenment. You can do this by learning enlightenment techniques or by establishing a meditation practice or both. When you’re not doing one of these, you can add knowledge and inspiration by reading the teachings of those who are enlightened or who have had enlightenment experiences.

However you choose to go about it, keep in mind that having an enlightenment experience is not the end of the line but the beginning of an amazing adventure into internal affairs, and keep going until you reach the Ultimate.

Relaxation is the key to good breathing and so is emotion, the more positive the emotion the better the breathing. Anxiety, fear, stress and tension all quicken breathing and make it shallower; pleasure, contentment and emotional and physical well being deepen and strengthen your breathing. Both conventional and complementary medicine understands the importance of good breathing.

But in some ancient systems it is the cornerstone of health, Indian holy men or yogis practice panorama, or deep breathing, to calm the mind and spirit. In traditional Chinese medicine, harmony comes when your inner life energy is at one with the life energy in the air around you. Shallow breathing is when you inhale an inadequate amount of air, largely because you have not exhaled enough air, is common and can have harmful effects on the body.

The key to avoiding shallow breathing is to concentrate on breathing out. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, sighing as you do so. Every time you sit down, breathe out long and slow. Aim for a count of five on every out breath. When you walk, count two on each in breath and two on each out breath. Gradually increase the count on each out breath to five.

Your doctor can keep symptoms at bay, but if you stop taking medication, they may return, often worst than before. Also many of these ailments may have a psychological origin, caused by difficulties at work or at home, poor housing conditions and so on, and they derive much benefit from the holistic approach. The healthy functioning of the lungs is, of course, a vital part of the body’s survival mechanism. When the tubes carrying air to the lungs become inflamed an asthma attack occurs.