Yoga and meditation have been lifesavers for me. My anxiety and depression were not helped by medications particularly, but yoga, meditation, guided imagery, and mindfulness have helped me so much. I meditate every day and practice yoga 2-3 times a week. My adult daughter does more than I do with yoga, and my son meditates and does martial arts, which is his mindful activity.
There are wonderful meditations online, some with music, or guided by a voice, sometimes with images. There are good yoga classes online, too, but I think taking a few classes first is a good idea, so you get the poses right. (Lots of places give the first couple of classes free.)
I don't reommend the now trendy "hot yoga" at first; I felt like I couldn't take a breath; it was like a sauna. Some people love it, especially the young ones. I don't need hot flashes imposed upon me; I have my own!
I recommend highly that you start.
Here is a quick q&a about meditation. (Buddhist, but it isn't all religious or preachy.)
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"If I wanted to practice Mindfulness of Breathing, how would I do it?
You would follows these easy steps: the four Ps place, posture, practice and problems. First, find a suitable place, perhaps a room that is not too noisy and where you are not likely to do disturbed. Second, sit in a comfortable posture. A good posture is to sit with your legs folded, a pillow under your buttocks, your back straight, the hands nestled in the lap and the eyes closed. Alternatively, you can sit in a chair as long as you keep your back straight.
Next comes the actual practice itself. As you sit quietly with your eyes closed you focus your attention on the in and out movement of the breath. This can be done by counting the breaths or watching the rise and fall of the abdomen. When this is done, certain problems and difficulties will arise. You might experience irritating itches on the body or discomfort in the knees. If this happens, try to keep the body relaxed without moving and keep focusing on the breath.
You will probably have many intruding thoughts coming into your mind and distracting your attention from the breath. The only way you can deal with this problem is to patiently keep returning your attention to the breath. If you keep doing this, eventually thoughts will weaken, your concentration will become stronger and you will have moments of deep mental calm and inner peace.
How long should I meditate for?
It is good to do meditation for 15 minutes every day for a week and then extend the time by 5 minutes each week until you are meditating for 45 minutes. After a few weeks of regular daily meditation you will start to notice that your concentration gets better, there are less thoughts, and you have moments of real peace and stillness.
What about Loving Kindness Meditation? How is that practiced?
Once you are familiar with Mindfulness of Breathing and are practicing it regularly you can start practicing Loving Kindness Meditation. It should be done two or three times each week after you have done Mindfulness of Breathing. First, you turn your attention to yourself and say to yourself words like "May I be well and happy. May I be peaceful and calm. May I be protected from dangers. May my mind be free from hatred. May my heart be filled with love. May I be well and happy." Then one by one you think of a loved person, a neutral person, that is, someone you neither like nor dislike, and finally a disliked person, wishing each of them well as you do so.
What is the benefit of doing this type of meditation?
If you do Loving Kindness Meditation regularly and with the right attitude, you will find very positive changes taking place within yourself. You will find that you are able to be more accepting and forgiving towards yourself. You will find that the feelings you have towards your loved ones will increase. You will find yourself making friends with people you used to be indifferent and uncaring towards, and you will find the ill-will or resentment you have towards some people will lessen and eventually be dissolved. Sometimes if you know of someone who is sick, unhappy or encountering difficulties you can include them in your meditation and very often you will find their situation improving.
How is that possible?
The mind, when properly developed, is a very powerful instrument. If we can learn to focus our mental energy and project it towards others, it can have an effect upon them. You may have had an experience like this. Perhaps you are in a crowded room and you get this feeling that someone is watching you. You turn around and, sure enough, someone is staring at you. What has happened is that you have picked up that other person's mental energy. Loving Kindness Meditation is like this. We project positive mental energy towards others and it gradually transforms them."
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/qanda06.htm
Thanks Alice-Bee its been extremely tough. Being so far away ..They were very lucky. Not everyone get second changes, but so glad they are going to be fine I would not have been able to deal with anything else.
