“…Quiet peacefulness, absolute emptiness, the true qi follows. When essence and spirit are guarded internally, where could a disease come from?”

— HuangdiNeijing Suwen, Ch. 1 (Unschuld)

Although this quote is roughly 2000 years old, we would be wise to heed its wisdom. The stress of the modern lifestyle can easily push us out of balance and into illness. Here are a couple simple strategies to re-introduce stillness back into your life.

Basic Mindfulness Practices

Abdominal Breathing

Another simple yet very effective method for stress relief and general health maintenance:

Find a comfortable place to sit, either cross legged on a cushion or sitting on a chair
Close your eyes and place both palms over your abdomen below your belly button
Focus on your breath and feel it as it enters through your nostrils, all the way down to your abdomen
Breathing slowly through your nose, draw the breath downwards, past the chest and diaphragm; you should feel your abdomen press outwards against your hands
Continue breathing at a relaxed pace into your abdomen
Once you feel comfortable with abdominal breathing, experiment with breathing into the sides of abdomen, and then your back: this can be done in a similar fashion by placing your hands over those areas while breathing

In addition to being a helpful daily practice, this simple exercise is a great tool for instant stress relief.

Meditation

Before bedtime or in the morning or both:

Wear comfortable clothing and find a room where you won’t be distracted
Sit cross-legged or on a chair with your back straight
Close your eyes and listen to the silence
Breathe slowly and deeply through your nose
As soon as the silence sets in, thoughts and sensations are bound to arise– as each thought or sensation arises, observe it impartially and then return to listening to the silence
These thoughts or sensations will likely recur, sometimes only seconds after you release them.
Expect this as part of the process and simply release them continually
Soon the silence will become longer, and the mental chatter will become less

A daily practice of even as little as 10-15 minutes per morning or night will help with greater mental clarity, decreased stress, and can even help with insomnia if practiced before bedtime.