Many people who want to reduce their stress or improve their concentration are finding meditation can help them attain their goals.

Not too long ago, meditation was the sole province of Hollywood stars and a variety of counterculture searchers.

That was then. These days, meditation is just as likely to be practiced by managers and executives, business owners, doctors, and psychotherapists.

The basis for this wider acceptance has as much to do with its tangible benefits as with increased pressures and tensions in many people’s lives.

“People choose to meditate for a variety of reasons, but the primary objective is stress reduction,” says Jonathan C. Smith, Ph.D., founding director of Chicago’s Roosevelt University Stress Institute and author of 17 books on stress reduction. “The second is the ability of those who practice it to improve their concentration or ability to focus.”

Learn to Relax
“It’s not a panacea, but when faithfully practiced over time, meditation can help people cool the fight-orflight response that’s the essence of the physical response to stress,” Smith explains. “I recommend you begin meditating for short five- to 10-minute sessions and work your way up to 20 to 30 minutes.”

Some meditation methods include:

• Mindfulness meditation—in which you don’t pick a single thing to attend to, but simply pay attention to what comes to mind—can be done as follows:

  Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed.

  Relax and take note of the sensations around you—what you see, feel, and hear. Don’t analyze, reject, or cling. Calmly wait until you notice something. Name it in your mind and let it go, and then wait for something else to arise.

• Meditation of the body—focus on something simple, such as your breath entering and exiting your nostrils.
• Meditation of the mind—meditate on a word, sound, mantra, or visual image.
• Meditation of the senses—pay attention to what you hear, such as a waterfall or even the hum of a freeway or an air conditioner.

Talk It Out
Smith and other experts also believe combining talk therapy and practical approaches to stress management is an effective way to gain relief.

“Stress management has three parts—rethink it, solve it, and relax—which is where meditation comes in,” he says.

• A cognitive approach helps you “rethink it.” A skilled therapist can help you examine how you think about your stressors and teach you not to exaggerate your problems by turning trivial issues into devastating problems.
• A behavioral approach helps you “solve it.” A therapist teaches you how to make changes in your behavior to reduce your stress. For example, if you’re stressed because you’re getting pushed around at work, you can learn to be more assertive and stand up for yourself.

Pay Attention
Meditation also can increase your ability to concentrate, focus on what you’re doing, and resist the urge to take breaks or be distracted.

“Meditation gives the prefrontal cortex—the region of the brain where complex cognitive behaviors, decision making, and other executive functions are performed—a workout,” Smith explains. “Continued practice allows you to build your ability to focus on whatever it is you need to do—it helps you to just do it and get it done.”

Barbara Floria spoke with Jonathan C. Smith, Ph.D., founding director of Chicago’s Roosevelt University Stress Institute and author of 17 books on stress reduction. For more information, visit www.lulu.com/stress.

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