Places to Use Meditation to Help You in Your Daily Life

If you're looking for a way to learn how to reduce your stress, taking a meditation course can often be the answer. The advantage to learning how to meditate is that you can take this skill beyond the walls of the meditation studio and implement it in your daily life. While many people find it helpful to incorporate daily meditation first thing in the morning or right before bed for optimal relaxation, the reality is that you can perform some degree of meditation to help you relax and reduce your stress in a variety of different settings. Here are some that are useful to remember.

At the Doctor's Office

It can be stressful to wait at the doctor's office for your appointment, especially if you're concerned about the reason for the appointment. As a result, it's easy to allow your stress to escalate as you sit in the waiting room. However, you can greatly change how you feel about the situation by implementing the meditation practices that you learned in your course. Something as simple as a relaxing body scan or a focus on your breathing can promote relaxation that triumphs over the stress you've been experiencing.

At Work

One of the joys of meditation is that you don't have to devote long to the practice. If you have just a couple minutes and want to reduce some stress, you can perform a short meditation, whether it's focused breathing or the quiet repetition of a mantra to yourself. When your workday is particularly stressful -- perhaps you have a big deadline coming up or you're due for a performance review -- you can take just a few minutes of quiet time in your office to reduce your anxiety through meditation.

On the Bus

Public transportation can often be less than enjoyable, thanks to loud noises and heavy crowds. Whether you take the bus, train or subway to commute, use this time as an opportunity to meditate. No one will look at you funny for sitting with your eyes closed, although you can wear sunglasses if you're feeling self-conscious. Given that public transportation can make meditation a challenge, it's useful to use your MP3 player and ear buds to listen to either a guided meditation or simply enjoy some peaceful sounds of nature that will allow you to relax and remember your meditation training, despite the busy nature of your surroundings.