Mindful meditation is the art of letting go of negative thoughts and focusing on the present moment. It helps one to feel calm and relaxed.
Psychologists recommend mindful meditation to those who deal with anger issues. This has proven to be quite an effective method for many. Today in this blog, we will discover in detail the art of meditation, and learn to let go of negative emotions such as anger.
History Of Meditation
Meditation has been in practice for thousands of years. Today, it has gained popularity in Western countries.
According to the National Institute Of Health, meditation originated in India. It can be traced back to Hinduism and Buddhism. A common term known as “Ayurveda” means the science of life. Ayurveda suggests numerous benefits of meditation.
While a lot of people believe that meditation is a way to increase one’s attention span and reflect on one’s thoughts, it’s more than that. Meditation is about aligning your chakras.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is believed that aligning your chakras to the 7 centers of your body brings spiritual power and helps your mind and body relax. However, it is not as easy as it sounds.
The human body has 7 chakras that are:
- Root Chakra
- Sacral Chakra
- Solar Plexus Chakra
- Heart Chakra
- Throat Chakra
- Third Eye Chakra,
- Crown Chakra
Suggested read: Good Vibrations: Your Complete Guide to Chakra Meditation
Meditation requires a lot of patience and practice. While meditating, one tends to get distracted by thoughts, making it difficult to master the art of meditation. Whereas, our attention should be focused on our third eye which is said to be located in the middle of our forehead.
Some chant “OM Shanti” (shanti stands for peace) or “Om Namah Shivay” (Hail Shiva) as they believe it provides energy while others rely on guided meditation. Overall, there are 9 types of meditation.
How Does Mindful Meditation Help With Controlling Anger?
When one gets angry, it’s never without a reason. Often, people who get angry have mixed feelings of irritation, confusion, sadness, and frustration which leads to anger outbursts in such situations, meditation is a highly effective solution for anger management.
Meditating has many benefits. The practice of meditation aims to achieve mindfulness. When someone is angry, they often do things in a fit of rage, and may not necessarily think of the consequences. However, when someone practices mindful meditation, they tend to be calm and composed.
Additionally, meditation helps to regulate emotions. Hence, when one meditates they feel calm and relaxed. In the self-help book by Michael Hershorn called “60 Second Anger Management: Quick Tips to Handle Explosive Feelings” one of the techniques known as the 5×5 rule, he suggests is that when you start to feel angry, take a deep breath and ask yourself “Is this still going to make me angry in 5 minutes?” if the answer is yes, then ask yourself “Is this still going to make me angry in 5 hours”? If so, will it affect you in 5 days? maybe, 5 weeks? 5 months? 5 years? If the answer is no, then there is no need to waste your energy on it.
While the technique mentioned above is useful, some people can still struggle with it. Sometimes one can’t control their actions while they are angry. For such instances, one should practice meditation daily as it helps one to feel calmer and relaxed. Nonetheless, the process takes time and one needs to be patient to be able to see the difference in their anger issues.
How To Practise Mindful Meditation
Mindfulness is the process of deeply focusing on your thoughts without judgement and letting them pass by. This helps in increasing self-awareness. While you meditate, you sit in an upright position with your legs folded, eyes closed, and hands on your knees with your palms facing upward. Then, you take slow and deep breaths. While doing this, you must pay attention to the flow of your breath. If you are starting your meditation journey, you can opt for guided meditation as it guides you through the journey of mindfulness.
Set aside a dedicated time to meditate. Mornings are the best time to meditate, as it is the most peaceful time of the day and your cortisol levels are highest at that time. You can start by meditating for 5 minutes and gradually increase the time. While meditating, try to focus on your breath. With time, try to eliminate thoughts and focus on your mind, and body.
Also read: 7 Benefits of Self-care
Benefits of Mindful Meditation
There are numerous benefits of meditation, some of which include:
- Improves Sleeps
- Reduces Negative Thoughts
- Helps With Stress Management
- Reduces Anxiety
- Increases Heart Health, and much more
Conclusion
Mindful Meditation is the art of focusing on the present moment while letting go of negative thoughts. Meditation has been proven to help with anger management and reduce stress.
The history of meditation can be traced back to Hinduism and Buddhism. It is believed that meditation helps align your chakras which allows you to enable spiritual powers, but it is hard to achieve it.
Meditation has several benefits including improved sleep, reduced stress, reduced negative thoughts and much more. However, it is highly beneficial to manage anger as it helps one to be self-aware and feel relaxed.