Stress basics (8)
- Stress: Win control over the stress in your life
- Stress management: Understand your sources of stress
- Stress management: How do you react during stressful situations?
- see all in Stress basics
Stress relief (20)
- Being assertive: Reduce stress, communicate better
- Positive thinking: Reduce stress, enjoy life more
- Social support: Tap this tool to reduce stress
- see all in Stress relief
Relaxation techniques (7)
- Relaxation techniques: Learn ways to reduce your stress
- Meditation: Take a stress-reduction break wherever you are
- Exercise: Rev up your routine to reduce stress
- see all in Relaxation techniques
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Meditation: Take a stress-reduction break wherever you are
Meditation can wipe away the day's stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how you can easily learn to practice meditation whenever you need it most.
By Mayo Clinic staffIf stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even just a few minutes in meditation can restore calm and inner peace.
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Anyone can practice meditation. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment. And you can practice meditation wherever you are — whether you're out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.
Understanding meditation
Meditation, considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine, produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process results in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.
Benefits of meditation
Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and improve certain medical conditions.
Meditation and emotional well-being
When you meditate, you clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.
The emotional benefits of meditation include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increased self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
Meditation and illness
Many healthy people use meditation as a way to relax the body and reduce stress. But meditation also might be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.
A growing body of scientific research is supporting the health benefits of meditation. But many of the studies aren't of high quality, and some researchers believe it's not yet possible to draw conclusions about the possible benefits of meditation.
With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help such conditions as:
- Allergies
- Anxiety disorders
- Asthma
- Binge eating
- Cancer
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Pain
- Sleep problems
- Substance abuse
Be sure to talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these or other medical conditions. Meditation isn't a replacement for traditional medical treatment. But it can be useful in addition to your other treatment.
Types of meditation
There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques with meditation components. But all share the same goal of inner peace.
Ways to meditate can include:
- Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing. You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.
- Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts. Transcendental meditation is a type of mantra meditation in which you achieve a deep state of relaxation to achieve pure awareness.
- Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. You focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.
- Qi gong. This practice generally combines meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qi gong (chee-kung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.
- Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts. In tai chi (TIE-chee), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.
- Yoga. You perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you're encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.
(1 of 2)
- Seaward BL. Meditation. In: Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. 6th ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2009:352.
- Meditation for health purposes. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/meditation.pdf. Accessed Feb. 4, 2009.
- Smith BW, et al. A pilot study comparing the effects of mindfulness-based and cognitive-behavioral stress reduction. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2008;14:251.
- Ludwig DS, et al. Mindfulness in medicine. JAMA. 2008;300:1350.
- Ospina MB, et al. Clinical trials of meditation practices in health care: Characteristics and quality. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2008;14:1199.
- Lane JD, et al. Brief meditation training can improve perceived stress and negative mood. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2007;13:38.
- Lee SH, et al. Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress management program as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in patients with anxiety disorder. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2007;62:189.
- Ospina MB, et al. Meditation practices for health: State of the research. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/meditation/medit.pdf. Accessed Feb. 3, 2009.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Chronic pain or illness: Relaxation skills. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2008.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Exploring complementary and integrative therapies. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2006.
