BY HANNAH BROADBENT | The Statesman Two minutes of breathing. Focus on breathing in and breathing out. Hear the breath, feel it flowing through your nostrils.
Two minutes of no thoughts, or feelings. Just listen to your breathing.
Could you do this?
According to Communication professor Jacquelyn Harvey, attempting to focus on your breathing for two minutes is the best way to gradually start meditation practices.
“It helps you see really how much your mind wanders,” Harvey said. “I don’t think people realize how much their mind wanders, and that is really something that is known to contribute to stress.”
Mediation is the act of clearing your brain. Harvey said it’s simply anything that relaxes you. It’s practicing increasing your present moment awareness.
Mind-wandering, multi-tasking and other various distractions add to our daily stressors.
“All these things are running through our minds and our minds never really get a break,” Harvey said.
Harvey said the best thing you can do for yourself is to realize that you do have trouble focusing on one thing. Focusing on the sensation of breathing is how a lot of meditation teachers will start.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) 85 percent of adults who did engage in a type of mediation practice, like yoga, perceived reduced stress.
There are many forms of meditation: yoga, massage therapy and chiropractic treatments are a few examples. In some cases meditation may not seem so obviously relaxing either.
Senior Anna Johnson said Zumba is the best way for her to focus on the present moment.
“You’re only focusing on what you’re doing, it clears your body of all the weight that’s been on it,” Johnson said.
Johnson said it really does take her anxiety away if she’s stressed, where a quiet exercise may make it worse by actually providing more time to think.
‘It’s too quiet and too calm,” Johnson said. “For someone with a racing mind like mine it just makes me more stressed.”
Zumba makes her get up and focus on her body movements.
According to Harvey it can take a long time to be able to reach a clear mind. That’s why two minutes a day is a good starting point. Then you can work your way up to more time.
Meditation practices are proven to decrease stress, increase happiness, decrease verbal conflict and can even help your immune system, said Harvey.
The University of Minnesota TC has the Center for Spirituality and Healing. The whole center is dedicated to well-being and practicing Mindfulness, a branch of meditation.
The Duluth Community has one mediation center called Bodhicitta Sangha. It has 20 massage therapy centers and six yoga centers for anyone who wishes to try a new type of relaxation.
For those who don’t feel like traveling to de-stress, there are android and iPhone apps that can help.
The Insight Meditation app allows you to make meditation groups with your friends. An app like Stop, Breathe and Think asks you on a day-to-day basis how you are, allowing you to track your mental well-being.
“(Meditation is) anything that’s relaxing and anything that gets you focused on the present moment, even coloring,” Harvey said. “Meditation is about realizing how much your mind wanders, and just bringing it back to the present moment.”
In Spring 2016, Harvey is going to start a Special Topics class called “Mindfulness and Interpersonal communication.”