Interested in beginning meditation but don’t know where to start? The good news is that all you need is 5-10 minutes a day to get started.

Are you thinking to yourself, ‘Ten minutes, I don’t have an extra ten minutes a day! My life is already jam packed with work, family, social obligations, and I’m not even mentioning my growing to-do list”?

Well, what if I told you that the benefits of meditation include a reduction in stress, sharpened concentration, improved circulation – and as you get further into your practice you’ll experience a quieter mind, a more open and receptive heart, a sense of inner freedom – and perhaps even a streak of creativity that’ll help you make films like David Lynch. (Lynch has been practicing Transcendental Meditation for over thirty years.)

Sound good?

Here are six easy tips and meditation techniques for beginners that will help get you started. These tips worked for me when I began my practice – and although I’m a lot further along then I was a year ago when I first started, I still have a way to go – as it’s important to remember that meditation is a process.

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Let’s take a close look at how you can get the most out of your meditation practice. If you’re new to meditation, I suggest you read the informative post, “Powerful Reasons To Meditate And How To Get Started.”

Selecting A Meditation Technique

It’s essential to use a meditation technique that feels right and flows naturally. We all have individual preferences and this certainly holds true when it comes to meditation.

So, I recommend you try a few basic meditation techniques and stick to one that feels right for you. It’s much better to “master” one technique than to be familiar with a dozen.

Five popular meditation techniques:

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Are you worrying, hurrying or stressed? Stress comes with a long list of damaging effects of stress like heart disease, high blood pressure, accelerated aging, anxiety, depression, anger, forgetfulness, learning difficulty and sleep disorder. When we are stressed, we try to forget about stress by doing something else such as shopping, eating, watching a movie, listening to music, or even taking mind altering substances. By doing so, we might get a temporary relief from the stress but often end up more stressed. A good news is that scientists discovered very effective way of reducing stress with our mind. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was one of the first Western scientists who discovered and demonstrated the effectiveness of mindfulness in its clinical applications, especially stress reduction. Since he introduced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in 1979, University of Massachusetts Medical Center Research and other researchers elsewhere have found mindfulness is effective in reducing stress and provides other benefits. Mindfulness training is now becoming an essential stress reducing skills being offered growing number of hospitals, clinics, universities, psychiatrists and psychotherapists in US and other countries.

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Someone e-mailed me the other day with the following question, they said:

“I would love to start meditating daily, but I can never seem to find the time. After I get home from work, I have dinner, one thing leads to another, and I never get to meditate; any suggestions?”

I want to answer the above question in this particular article. However, let me begin by defining “meditation.” After I define meditation, I’ll explain the benefits of daily meditation as well as how you can easily form this very important habit.

What does it mean to meditate?

To meditate means to purposely engage in “thought” or “contemplation,” it means to think, especially in a calm and deliberate manner. My favorite definition of the word “meditate” is to plan in the mind, or to intend. I like that, to plan in the mind, or to intend something; to lay a blueprint in your imagination.

The Benefits of Meditation

“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.” – Buddha
Meditation is a way of clearing your mind; it offers you the ability to enter new levels of relaxation, it’s also a technique that can help you conceive new ideas.

I believe everyone should practice meditation daily in order to recharge their body and reignite their focus. Meditation is a way to get clear on what you really want from life, and if you meditate on your desires long enough, you will discover a way to manifest them.

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