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"I have an online friend who believes quite firmly in the benefits of daily meditation, and she often posts about how helpful this has been both as a stress-relieving tool and in her own journey to wellness both physically and emotionally. I always think to myself, &amp;quot;I should try that sometime.&amp;quot; I never do, of course. My house is too chaotic, my days and evenings too busy, to hectic, I have too much going on...yadda yadda yadda. Except, it doesn&amp;#039;t have to take long. Studies have shown that regular meditation can reduce stress and boost positive emotions and overall life satisfaction. And since I spent the latter part of last week and early this week dealing with what I like to call &amp;quot;a confluence of annoyances,&amp;quot; I thought I&amp;#039;d give it a try. My meditating friend suggested I look into a this webpage from UCLA that features free guided meditations. You can play them on your computer or even download them via iTunes for your mobile device. Every day, I&amp;#039;ve been making time. And it&amp;#039;s been helping! Just having five or ten minutes of quiet repose is a gift in itself, but I find myself feeling much better, calmer, more energized after doing one of the meditations, and it stays with me most of the day. A couple of times, when stress started swirling around me, I thought back to one of my sessions and repeated some of it, paying attention to my breathing. It&amp;#039;s a good coping technique and it keeps me centered and grounded.  I doubt you&amp;#039;ll find me sitting in a half-lotus, thumbs touching fingertips, humming and meditating for hours, but taking just ten minutes to calm my mind on a daily basis has really, honestly been beneficial. And as a frequently stressed-out single Mom, I can really use all the help I can get. Have any of you tried meditation on a regular basis? Did it work for you? [Follow Ellie&amp;#039;s adventures at SingleMomtism.com or on Facebook and Twitter] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a48864/guided-meditation-for-stress-relief/>