With finals week coming up I thought an appropriate topic would be anxiety and stress reduction. Though covered very briefly in the book, I felt that part on meditation was very important. Mostly known for its use in various forms of Eastern Philosophy, it has become accepted very slowly here in the West. If done correctly this technique has been related to reduction of stress and other sorts of anxiety problems. It has also been linked to enhanced performance in sports and physical activity (Bernstein and Nash 131). Meditation produces a very quiet and peaceful state in which the meditator tries to be in what some call "the present tense". Basically what this means is the meditator will clear their mind of all daily distractions and worries. This usually involves focusing their attention on music or even their own breathing for a certain length of time or until the meditation is complete. They are supposed to let go of any thoughts that some to mind and focus directly on the music or breath (Bernstein and Nash 131). According to the text meditation has been proven to relax muscles, and lower one's blood pressure and heart rate (Bernstein and Nash 131). Hopefully those students who have felt the finals week to be overbearing have use this technique.
I already knew a little bit about meditation before this class. However seeing and reading about it in the text book gave it a little credibility. As hard as it is to find time for meditation, I try to do it as much as possible. Anytime I feel like my head is about to explode, this is a great way to just relax and get my normal train of thought back. When I came across it in the text book it even inspired me to explore the subject. I have started to read and look at various books on it. I really didn't start doing it for the health reasons, but now that I know that meditation helps with that it encourages me even more. I do it just for some relaxation and stress reduction.