I can assure you that if you are looking for a stress management activity the Dynamic Meditation is fantastic as a great cleanser to start with and once you have done it several times, you can then appreciate the ‘meditation’ aspect of this method.

So, going back to my meeting with the Dynamic Meditation…
After having made it clear in my mind that I needed an active method, just a few weeks later in Arundel, South of England, I met someone who handed me a small leaflet regarding a centre in London where Dynamic Meditation was happening.

The most astonishing thing was that I had not even mentioned this to him!

Anyhow, a few weeks later, I turned up at the centre at the earliest of times in the morning when it was scheduled. There was a roomful of people – well, how shall I say, letting go of their frustrations and emotions, expressing these in body movements and sounds (thankfully, not towards each other!). The intensity was quite amazing and the first time, amazed and impressed by what was going on around me, I just took it all in, not being able to follow the instructions.

In fact, one was advised to wear an eye mask in order to stay in touch with oneself and not be too surprised or influenced by the behaviour of other people.

But of course I did come back several times after that.

First, I learned to breathe just through the nose, expelling the air vigorously and letting the inhaling happen by itself, all done with no particular rhythm, but as ‘chaotically’ as possible! This lasted 10 minutes and the point was to reach part of our breathing mechanism that our day-to-day living does not allow us to reach, which stimulates our repressed emotions to come to the surface, to become conscious.

The second phase, also lasting 10 minutes, was about expressing those emotions, those repressions, to free us, the body and the psyche, from our conditioned behaviour, from fear, anger etc., which, hidden inside, can easily unconsciously control us from within.

Great stress management is this dynamic meditation! To be able to express whatever one has bottled up!

The third 10 minutes stage was to have our arms raised above our heads while jumping up and down, shouting the sound ‘hoo’, falling back on the soles of our feet, to help us reach the most profound centre of our energy, the sexual centre. The idea being to tap into that energy reservoir and enable it to rise and spread all over the body, creating a sense of enhanced vitality and well-being, even ‘bliss’ (especially in the next, ‘silent’ stage).

The fourth part was just standing still for 15 minutes in the position that the stopping of the music found us in.
This is the ‘watching’ part of this method, the most ‘meditative’ as we would call it, although in time one is advised to develop the ‘watcher’ in the previous phases as well.

A great stress management activity, I can assure you, this dynamic meditation! Not only to be able to express whatever one has bottled up, BUT also recycling it afterwards into finer energy!

Yes, before you seek professional help, you need to assess yourself first of what really bothers you. Check if your heart beat is normal, monitor your breathing and see if you sweat a lot. During panic attacks, these symptoms are usually present. If you are still anxious and your body temperature is normal, then your problem is psychological in nature.

To avoid mental stress or anxiety, you need to be physically active to revert your mind to something else. Exercise is a good example on how to relieve mental stress and anxiety. Exercise is not just your best partner in fighting anxiety, it is an all around health enhancement.

It is proven in most studies that anxiety attacks are cured effectively by just being active physically, emotionally and mentally. And the effects does not stop there, regular exercise can boost confidence because it makes you fit, slim and tones your muscles perfectly. Also, a physically active individuals can also help improve social interaction.

Anxiety treatment studies shows that exercise fuels the brain enabling it to fight stress. Also, physically active people are less prone to anxiety and depression compared to socially isolated people. Although these are not concrete medical evidence linking exercise as treatment to mental stress, most cases already shows otherwise that exercise has great effect on brain stimulation.

One explanation is that, exercise could make yourself comfortable and can make you feel healthy physically and mentally. Aside from cardiovascular health benefits, exercise can make your body in a heightened state of exertion like heavy breathing and rapid heart beat. This kind of state is not similar to the more unnatural anxiety symptoms. This makes our sensations much immune to a more anxious state because exercise helps your body’s over all health condition.

Furthermore, a regular exercise can make you calm and relaxed during and after an activity. You will not be threatened by panic attacks anymore because you are mentally confidence that you know you are healthy. In other terms, you are already aware of what is going on with your body and mind thus resulting to a less anxious state and less worries.

Below are some added explanations on how exercise can help treat anxiety and depression.

- Exercise can release the feel-good brain chemicals which aids anxiety and depression.

- Helps reduce immune system chemicals that can affect mental stress.

- Helps increase body temperature naturally.

So what kind of exercise is best to help you treat anxiety? If you think that running 5 kilometers is the only way to distract mental stress, you are wrong. As you know exercise is composed of wide range of activities and this includes sports, dancing and different body workouts. It really depends on what your hobby is. The most important is that you are satisfied and happy on what you do because it also contributes on how you fight mental stress.

The links between anxiety, depression and physical activities are not yet proven but based on unofficial reports, workout can definitely help you relax, calm and feel much better. Research also shows that exercise can help keep anxiety and depression from coming back so it can also be considered as a good alternative treatment.

The best way to keep yourself from having panic attacks is to have a healthy lifestyle. Do positive things to avoid mental disturbances, it is one of the natural strategy to avoid anxiety. Avoid alcohols and other unprescribed drugs because it can make anxiety symptoms much more worse. Remember to be healthy inside and out, that is the best way to fight mental stress.