De-stressing With Meditation not Medication

My doctor has “prescribed” meditation for me because my blood pressure runs a little high and I’m overweight. So after our daughter moved out I converted her old bedroom into my “Zen Room.” My husband and I hung a photo mural of a tropical sunrise on one wall. I took one of the sky colors from the mural—a periwinkle blue, and painted that on the other walls. Window treatments came next and there is a plan for an area rug—probably an imitation Oriental—as well as some mirrors for the wall.

After seeing a meditation garden in a magazine I thought I would like to create one in my yard! So for the past three summers I have been working on this relaxing outdoor space. It’s almost done—I’ve got stepping stones to put down for my pathways and some edging to install. All in good time…

Anyway, the result is two nice relaxing spaces to meditate and practice yoga. Now I start and end each day with “Five Good Minutes” and some relaxing yoga. I’m still overweight—oops, but I’m definitely less stressed and my doctor is very pleased with my healthy lifestyle efforts.

So…I thought: what effect would meditation have on my students? I did notice that when the physical education teacher was in the midst of the yoga unit the class was much calmer and nicer to one another. Could a daily dose of meditation help as well? 

After some “arm-chair research” on the Internet, I came up with some interesting information. Read my “Guidance for Grownups” and “Pointers” blogs to find out more. I plan to incorporate some meditation into my students’ daily school experience this year. I’ll let you know how it goes…

What do you do to de-stress? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!