We all experience stress. It is the body’s natural response to perceived threats or challenges; our body releases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which prepare us to fight, fly or freeze – imagine a woolly mammoth or sabre toothed tiger racing towards you!
The real problems arise when the body stays on constant alert and we get stuck in a sympathetic nervous system response. And If we get stuck for too long, our ‘window of tolerance’ shrinks and then even an email can cause our stress response to spiral. This state of chronic stress may lead to anxiety, depression and all sorts of other related health issues over time.
This is where meditation comes in. Along with its other attributes, meditation can help as part of our toolbox for managing stress.
Meditation engages our parasympathetic nervous system response and also helps widen our ‘window of tolerance’. Meditation has been shown to lower our levels of cortisol, often referred to as the stress hormone. It helps in lowering our blood pressure and heart rate. It can promote relaxation and calm.
And there are various types of meditation that can help us in the moment when we feel overwhelmed by a stressful situation.
One way is simply to allow our attention to rest on our in breath and out breath without changing it in any way and gently returning our attention to our breath if we get caught up in thoughts. Belly breathing is another form of breath meditation which is very effective for reducing stress and anxiety.
Chanting meditations, with focus on the vibrations produced, stimulate the vagus nerve among other benefits. This type of meditation has long been practised in several cultures but is growing in popularity among therapists. A simple long ‘voo’ sound is often now promoted to help reduce anxiety. Or you can sing aaaaa or hum on a long breath out.
Mindfulness meditation, which is paying attention to the present moment and noticing thoughts, feelings and sensations as they arise without judgement, can be a brilliant tool – just taking a moment to be still and present before answering that email can work wonders. Or really listening to a conversation without judgement.
However, the real key is making meditation a regular practice and not just giving it a whirl when challenges come at us. It’s a bit like going to the gym. Its strength is in regularity and consistency. So I would encourage you to commit to a daily practice.
You can practise any of the types of meditation suggested above as a longer regular practice. Or you could use one of these suggestions:
Visualisation, body scans or guided meditations can really promote relaxation and feelings of safety in the body and help reduce sensations of stress for the period of meditation and beyond.
Studies have shown that mantra meditation, using either a mantra such as ‘calm’ or other specific mantras, can promote a state of deep rest and connection.
Practising meditation daily doesn’t mean that we won’t ever experience stress. But rather that we can navigate those times with more compassion, enjoy periods of rest, recharge and relaxation throughout the day, have the tools we need at hand to bring us back to feelings of safety and connection in our body, and maybe even access deeper understanding of ourselves.
Stress is a part of life; how we meet it can make all the difference. And meditation can certainly help counterbalance its physical, mental and emotional effects.
I wouldn’t be without it!
Catherine Thomlinson
April 2025