Meditation is a powerful and practical tool for living your life in more purposeful and healthy ways. It is also easy to get started and doesn’t require any special equipment other than your mind and a little patience.

To start with, make sure you’re not going to be disturbed while meditating. You don’t need to move out into the country or build a Zen inspired meditation chamber, but you should prepare a little. You can’t be worried about someone knocking on the door, or calling on the phone. If you are, it’s going to be much harder to fully concentrate. These little possibilities will come up in the back of your mind and keep you from focusing.

The best way to do this is to meditate either in the morning or later in the evening. However, don’t meditate when you’re tired. Meditation is about concentration and focus, and if you’re tired, sitting quietly in a room with your eyes closed is just going to put you to sleep.

When you first start out, it will take some effort. When your brain isn’t used to quite concentration, it will kick and scream at you to stop and do something else. The easiest way to get through this at the beginning is to give the mind something to concentrate on (rather than trying to concentrate on nothing, which is a technique you’ll learn to do as you advance.) I suggest focusing on your breathing. Breathe through your nose and count the breaths. Count to yourself from 1 to 10, and then start over again. You don’t want to be spending all that focus on counting to 1000! Placing your tongue against the top of your pallet will also help you from salivating while you practice.

Try and commit to meditate for a few minutes a day at first. Try small with 5 minutes at a time. It doesn’t sound like a long time, but for beginners 10 minutes can feel like an eternity! However, after a few sessions you’ll find it more relaxing, and easier to focus for longer and longer periods.

Formalizing some of your practice is also an important step. Ideally, you should set specific times of day to practice. If you use a coach or mentor, these sessions will be even more important. The only way you’ll get better and progress is to make it a habit (like everything!) It will get easier, I promise.

Finally, you need to commit to it. Meditation is exercise for the mind the way jogging is exercise for the body. Both will make you happier and healthier in the long run, but you have to keep it up. A mentor or coach can help you with this, but it will come down to your personal commitment.

Note: Specifically, with regards to medical issues, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Web site.

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