Our brain is said to be the profound distinction between human and that of other living counterparts, the ability to reflect and reason is what sets us apart. Ironically though, this very advantage drives us to our weakness.

Stress, anxiety, depression, do all these sound familiar? Yes. They are the modern-day bogeyman. These are the things we force ourselves to endure in our day to day living. Among the three, "stress" is probably the common denominator of today's living, in fact, a survey done by the <a href="http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2015/impact-of-discrimination.pdf">American Psychological Association</a> revealed a significant percentage of American adults reported that stress greatly impacts their physical and mental health. But the strange thing is most of them say they are not doing anything about it.

Although a release of stress hormones is part of our body's natural physiologic response to a threat, which is, of course, useful in times of danger; however, chronic stress caused by our own thoughts and worries is linked to greater health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, stomach ulcer, obesity and many more.

So, how do we stop stress? The answer is simple, be mindful. Stress is a product of mental action and/or reaction. There's a saying that goes "it's all in the mind", tackle your mind head-on.

Meditation

Meditation is a practice of mindfulness, it teaches mental focus and clarity. Its roots go far back our time, which is linked to various religious practices, but you certainly do not need to be religious to be able to practice meditation. There are three main forms of meditation:
<ul>
 	<li>Physical posture</li>
 	<li>Mindfulness</li>
 	<li>Mental silence</li>
</ul>
There are many types of meditation and their teaching vary with respect to the practice of different techniques. In my personal view, meditation does not necessarily need to rely on a certain belief or religion, however knowing them may guide a person to finding the right path for you to practice meditation.

Types of Meditation
<ol>
 	<li>Buddhist Meditation</li>
</ol>
<ul>
 	<li>Zen (Zazen), Zazen a Japanese word which means "seated meditation". Its origin came from the Chinese Zen Buddhism tradition. It focuses on breathing while in a sitting position.
<ul>
 	<li>Learn more about <a href="http://www.openway.org.au/pdf/introzen.pdf">Zen Meditation</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
 	<li>Vipassana Meditation. The Pali (a language in India) word "Vipassana" means insight or visual clarity. The technique teaches the focus of breathing, recognizing movements and objects in the mind but merely noting them and not dwell on them, this is what they call "knowing and letting go". Unlike Zen, Vipassana includes moving exercises such meditative walking, hand gestures, and standing meditation.
<ul>
 	<li>Learn more about <a href="http://www.vipassanadhura.com/index.htm">Vipassana</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://www.quora.com/Meditation/In-meditation-what-are-the-different-types-of-Vipassana-What-are-the-big-differences-in-philosophy-or-practice">Types of Vipassana</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
 	<li>Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. It is mainly an adaption of the traditional Buddhist meditation like Vipassana, which gained popularity in the Western countries when it was developed in 1979 by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Kabat-Zinn">John Kabat-Zinn.</a>
<ul>
 	<li>Learn more about Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction or <a href="https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/abl0293">MBSR</a></li>
 	<li>Free online lesson on <a href="https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/abl0293">Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
 	<li>Metta Meditation. Metta a Pali word for "kindness". This type of meditation puts emphasis on compassion and to increase one's ability to empathize with others.
<ul>
 	<li>Learn more about <a href="http://www.mettainstitute.org/">Metta Meditation</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
2.

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