What if you do not have 5 minutes every day to sit on the ground and meditate? Are deep breathing exercises the only way to meditate? Are there meditation techniques that you can do whilst commuting or traveling to places?

Meditation is not supposed to be stress-inducing. If trying to cram a 5-minute meditation practice into your lifestyle is causing you even more stress than before, maybe you do not need to commit to a longer meditation practice. There are shorter, highly effective meditation practices that you can do without needing to cause a major interruption or disruption in your daily lifestyle. These are some of the most popular meditation practices that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine:

Focus On Your Feelings

If you are feeling stressed, do not let the stress affect you. Concentrate on that stress. Understand why you are feeling stressed. Express your feelings out loud. Talking about your feelings with others can actually calm you down. By doing this activity your brain is shifting from activation of the emotional center of the brain into the more cognitive parts of the brain.

Focus On an Activity with Mindful Attention

Focus on an activity that you do on a regular basis. Maybe it is talking with your coworker or washing the dishes. Instead of going through the motions pay special attention to them. Do not treat it as a chore that needs to get done, rather, focus your attention on the little details. For example, if you are typing something on your computer at your desk, you can feel the touch of the keyboard on your hand or the soft cushion of the chair on your butt. Noticing these little details in your everyday life can make you stay in the present moment.

Practice Your Senses

This is an activity that you can do anywhere you are or are going. Use your 4 senses of sight, touch, hearing and smell to sense the surrounding area. You may notice something that is usually overlooked or has never been seen before. You will start to appreciate the finer details of where you are.

Lip-Touching Exercises

This is unlike most deep breathing exercises. When you press two fingers against your lips slowly, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The Parasympathetic nervous system releases hormones that allow you to experience calm and relaxation. Obtaining bliss is as simple as touching your lips with two fingers, breathing slowly and reassuring yourself that everything will be alright.

Full Body Technique

This exercise is a little longer but it will do the job just fine. Inhale through your nose and let your stomach expand for 5 seconds. Then exhale out through your nose and let your stomach relax for 5 seconds. It may seem like a typical breathing exercise but here is where it actually diverges: as you exhale, focus on a specific region of your body and imagine yourself releasing all of the stress or tension from that space. 

It is best to start on the bottom and work your way up, so focus on relieving all stress from the ankles, then to your knees, then to your stomach and all the way up to your head. By continuing to release the stress from your body, eventually, you will feel a lot lighter and calmer from the experience.