Summary:
This week on Mail on Sunday, Danny Penman looks at how mindfulness meditation can help you deal with stress and improve your health.

Full article:
By . Danny Penman . PUBLISHED: . 17:00 EST, 2 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:00 EST, 2 November 2013 . Nothing creates more stress than when you feel trapped by illness. Negative thoughts and worries leave you burnt-out and create tension in the body, aggravating illnesses and injuries. Stress dampens the immune system and  shuts down the body's self-repair mechanisms. Yet while it's impossible to prevent stress arising, mindfulness can teach you how to deal with it. After practice, you realise that stress (like pain) is a 'message' that melts away once it's 'delivered' or felt with full mindful awareness. When this occurs, happiness and peace fill the void. After practice, you realise that stress (like pain) is a 'message' that melts away once it's 'delivered' Such contentment  boosts the immune system, restarts repair mechanisms and improves quality of life. This week's meditation is the Tension Release, the final of three exercises taken from my book Mindfulness For Health:  A Practical Guide To Relieving Pain, Reducing Stress And Restoring Wellbeing (Piatkus). The aim is to move your awareness around the body, paying attention to areas of tension, and then to gently breathe 'into' them. Follow the instructions below or download an audio track at franticworld.com/mailonsunday.