How to Get Stress Relief By Not Meditating

Meditation is now an accepted method of stress relief. It slows the heart and relaxes the body. But what many people who have tried meditation will tell you- it doesn’t work when you’re really stressed!
I imagine that a lifetime of meditative practise would result in being able to go into the ‘Zone’ even when under massive levels of stress. But to the new or inexperienced practitioner, the more stress, the less likely the process is to work.
This is the experience I found – and I’d had years of practise meditating. But when my life fell apart I COULDN’T meditate, even though I knew I needed to- for the most important reason of all- to save my life.
Stress kills. Heart attacks are the most obvious examples of this. But Cancer is another. The more under stress your immune system is the harder it is for your body to fight cancer cells.
I’d been under stress for a long time, my ability to meditate becoming more and more limited. My health was running down and it was difficult to just keep functioning. Then I got the cancer diagnosis and the news of my son’s death - on the same day. Another big hit to my immune system.
But I found ways to get what I needed. I found I could get into a form of meditation by creative writing. I wrote a novel through the whole course of my diagnosis, surgery and chemo. Not only did the process of writing help me stay in the Zone, calming my body and mind, but it turned out I was actually processing a lot of my ‘stuff’ as I wrote, symbolically.
I also discovered Labyrinths. You may only know this word from Greek Mythology or from movies with that title. You may think of them as scary places to get lost in. You’d be wrong!
Labyrinths are not mazes. You can’t get lost in a Labyrinth because there is only one path to follow and there are no dead ends or wrong turns to take. You don’t have to THINK when you follow a labyrinth path. Nothing to analyse, no worries about doing something wrong. Once you set foot on a labyrinth path all you have to do is follow it to its end- to the very centre.
I found Labyrinths obsessively fascinating and I later found that I wasn’t the only one. People who are suffering massive levels of stress seem to be drawn to Labyrinth. They offer something that is lacking in our lives. They offer peace .
There are many types of Labyrinths and different people seem to be drawn to different varieties. I am drawn to the simplicity of the classical or Cretan model ( called this because it’s been found on coins from Ancient Crete where the Minotaur was supposed to be from). It’s very natural, very earthy, and is the easiest to draw.
In my next article I’ll explain how you can use the Labyrinth to help reduce the stress in your life without sitting cross-legged, contemplating your navel.