Can You Meditate to Heal the COVID-19 Stress?

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all come in contact with stressors. Too many stressors, maybe. The past year has been one of loss, but the coming months bring hope as well. But how do you get to the point where you accept that hopefulness? How do you wash the tension from your tired bones?

Meditation offers a way for you to clear away those tensions and bring relief to your body, mind, and soul. And, in many ways, it’s especially important to practice now, in this stressful time.

Take time for your health

Stress manifests in the body in myriad ways, including harmful effects on your sleep cycle and blood pressure. In worse news, stress and anxiety can have a negative impact on your immune system, which you need now more than ever to help fight the coronavirus. It works like this: Anxiety sends signals to the body that it’s time to defend itself, which starts a process that produces hormones like cortisol. Too much cortisol can decrease white blood cell levels, which your immune system desperately needs. The good news, however, is that you can use meditative practices to stem some of the negative effects of stress.

Centering yourself, and grounding your experiences in the now rather than in the what-could-be, is an important tenet of meditation. Change has to first take place in your mind before it can be shown in your body. Meditation helps you shut out distractions and sharpen your mind.

Meditation has also been shown to improve memory, help you sleep, and help you avoid bad habits: all things you need to focus on even more now in 2021.

Put your own needs first

If you’re not familiar with meditation practices, it’s easy to get started. First, find a place to call your own -- that you can dedicate to nothing but this practice. After all, physical relaxation can come in the form of a physical space.

Transforming a room in your home -- or part of a room -- into a sanctuary or a “centered-ness zone” used solely for yoga or meditation is one way of carving out that room in your life so you can, in turn, carve out the room in your mind. Creating a fresh, vibrant space by decluttering, cleaning, and opening windows can help clean out those cobwebs and inject some positivity into your home.

Then, make sure you remember a key concept: Don’t push yourself too much, too soon. If you can only meditate for two or three minutes at a time, take that victory and then add to it slowly. Some suggest even just five minutes a day, building until you reach 30 or more, will have a positive impact.

Create space for yourself

Taking the time to center yourself and your emotions doesn’t just help with your mental stability. Physical manifestations of helping stress leave the body are also successful at relieving tension in your physical person. Exercises that focus on mindfulness, like yoga, can help you improve your bodily and mental health and have a positive impact on

Practicing yoga in the morning can be especially beneficial, especially if your centered-ness zone is filled with morning light. A morning exercise routine can help get you off on the right foot. In fact, spending 10 or 20 minutes with this kind of practice will help you feel rested, energized, and centered, particularly because you have started the process of creating the good kinds of hormones, which will lead to less stress.

Start feeling better

We are all being challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we could all use relief from the tensions it has created (and exacerbated). So, take a deep breath. Close your eyes. And feel the stress slip away.

Do you want to learn more about the benefits of meditation and how you can be happier, healthier, and whole in 2021? Book your free 30-minute consultation with Access Holistic Healing & Hypnosis today, and start the healing process.