by James Lyons

As the end of the school year approaches, stress levels are high. Balancing school work and a social life is at the heart of every student’s daily struggles. Luckily, we are hardwired with the ability to cope with stress, it just takes a little practice.

Meditation and mindfulness come from within and have proven to be effective in all kinds of ways. Relieving stress and self-motivation are only some of the benefits that can come out of meditation. Some of the earliest forms of meditation are documented in the Hindu Vedas.

Kevin Harrington, a sophomore astrophysics and neuroscience major, runs the UMass meditation group. He is experienced with helping people learn how to channel this energy. “You might meditate more than you think you do,” said Harrington, mentioning that playing sports, music and even having deep conversations are forms of meditating.

In order to meditate, you need to be conscious of several elements:

1 . Environment: For beginners, a quiet dark room is an ideal place to start. It’s important to have as few distractions as possible.  Turn off your cell phone and television, and get ready to become more acquainted with yourself.

2 . Posture: Be mindful of your posture. Sitting with your legs crossed and back straight up or standing up straight are good ways to start.

“You want to sit up in the beginning so you don’t fall asleep,” Harrington said.

3. The Foundation – your breath: An awareness of your breath is the key to meditation. After you’ve found your preferred environment and you’re in a position that will prevent you from falling asleep, you can begin to hone in on your breathing.

When you breathe in, mentally verbalize the word “in.” Do the same for when you are breathing “out.” Just this exercise alone will show how far a little mental discipline can go. If a thought like “what does he/she think about me?” comes into your mind, bring your mental monologue back to only the words “in “and “out. The stress will vanish.

“When you focus on your breathing, you’re developing your focus in general,” Harrington said.

Like developing a strong body, developing a strong mind takes discipline and time. According to Harrington, it takes time and practice to have a strong mind. “You can’t just do one pushup and call yourself strong,” said Harrington. “It’s easy to start, but not always easy to continue.”

When you focus on your breath, your brainwaves slow down and you naturally become more relaxed.  “You can change your whole mood by changing your breath,” said Harrington.  If you have been stressed out before, you can recall the erratic nature of your breathing. “Sometimes people say when you’re angry just count to ten, it’s just the same type of thing.”

4 . Body: Once you have zoned in on your breathing, you can begin focusing on your body. While breathing in and out, begin to relax your body. Look for tense spots and be mindful. Just by being aware of the tension, you make relaxing easier.

Another common technique is the “body scan.” Focus on a muscle in your body, tense it and then release it. You can do this from the top of your body to the bottom, or vice versa. You can also just do this in specific areas where you are feeling tension.

5. Mind: Once you have worked your way through meditating the body, you can move to the mind.

“If you think all that meditation is clearing your head, then you’re missing a large component… letting yourself embrace a thought,” Harrington said.

Meditation is commonly misconceived as only clearing the mind. Meditation can help transform “a problem into a project,” Harrington described.

By calming yourself and giving your mind breathing space, problems can be addressed with significantly less stress. As Harrington put it, meditation can help “iron out the wrinkles a little bit.”

6.  Heart: Meditating the heart involves thinking about people you love and care about. It is in this state of mind where you can feel their love and embrace it. Sometimes we can get lost in the business of day-to-day life, but it is always important to reflect on those who we continue to struggle for.

In addition to thinking of loved ones, meditating the heart can be used to reignite the passion in your life.

“If something’s really on your mind and you feel like you might not be able to do something, just recall for a quick moment sometime when you were successful at something and just breathe that in and feel the area surrounding your heart expand as you breath… remembering ‘I’ve done things before, I can do this,’” said Harrington

7. Committing: Meditation is really no different than anything else in life. If you want to become better at it, you have to keep doing it. Practice makes perfect.

“After a while you’ll begin to realize you’ve come so far you can meditate as a part of your daily life,” said Harrington. “No matter what, no matter where you are, no matter what noises are around, all those noises are just a part of your awareness. Meditation just becomes a part of your daily life.”

James Lyons can be reached via email at [email protected]