Mantra Meditation Can Reduce Caregiver Stress
Do you find yourself daydreaming at work or while performing a particular task? Is the stress of caregiving too much to handle for you?
Recent research suggests that mantra meditation can help reduce the stress associated with caregiving. It can make you more focused, increase self-awareness and bring a greater sense of calm.
The participants of this study included 31 older female dementia family caregivers. They were offered mindfulness and mantra meditation training for about 8 weeks.
Researchers concluded that mindfulness and mantra meditation can be effective interventions for distressed caregivers. It improved their quality of life and mental wellbeing.
What is mantra meditation?
Mantra meditation (also known as transcendental meditation) was invented by an Indian meditation guru named Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He came up with this unique meditation technique in the mid-1950s. When practiced twice a day, mantra meditation can reduce caregiver stress.
As you practice mantra meditation twice every day, your mind begins to settle down and you become a calm and collected person.
Caregivers are under constant stress, they may experience burnout every now and often. Dealing with family conflicts can be challenging. Mantra meditation can help them transcend their thoughts and experience an expanded state of awareness.
How to do mantra meditation?
The first thing you need to do is find a rhyming mantra. The mantra doesn’t necessarily have to be derived from religious or spiritual texts. You can create your own mantra in plain English.
Here are some of the popular mantras used in mantra meditation:
- I am brimming with energy and overflowing with joy.
- I am courageous and I stand up for myself.
- I radiate beauty, charm, and grace.
- My nature is Divine; I am a spiritual being.
Once you have picked your mantra, you need to find a comfortable place to sit. You can sit on a bed, but I would suggest sitting on a chair or on the floor. Make sure there are no distractions around you. Sounds like light chatter, a car passing by your house, or the ticking of the wall clock, etc is fine.
Next, you need a stopwatch. Set the timer for about 10 minutes. You can do more than 10 minutes if time permits— usually caregivers are busy people with a career, and other household chores to do.
Furthermore, you do not need to breathe in a pattern or in a rhythmic way. Continue to breathe normally as you recite the mantra in your head. Some folks prefer to say it out loud, which is fine as long as the other family member does not mind the chanting noise.
Mindfulness vs mantra meditation, are they the same thing?
Mantra meditation is a part of the mindfulness technique. Mindfulness involves being in the present moment and recognizing moments of unawareness throughout the day.
To practice mindfulness, you don’t have to recite a mantra. You don’t even have to sit in one place. You can be mindful throughout the day, even when doing household chores.
On the other hand, mantra meditation is a practice, it’s a consciously performed exercise. You sit in one place and recite a mantra. Your mind focuses on the mantra and as a result, transcends the thought process altogether.
Both mindfulness and mantra meditation teach us to accept the present moment as is. You get trained to become aware of the fact that your mind has wandered. You spend more time in the present moment.
Summary
Both mindfulness and mantra meditation practices are restorative. However, I must acknowledge that a caregiver’s life is not easy. They may find it incredibly challenging to become mindful on their own. Hence, they need practice. The mantra acts as a crutch, taking pressure off of your shoulders. They can perform the mediation like a chore and reap the benefits.
