Meditation is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Although meditation can still be a spiritual practice for some individuals, it is not necessarily religious in nature and anyone can practice meditation and experience many benefits.

Meditation is the practice of turning your attention inward and creating a heightened sense of self-awareness and focused attention. You do not need to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You are learning to observe them in a non-judgmental way. Learning to meditate is like learning any other skill. Think of it like exercising a muscle that you’ve never really worked out before. It takes consistent practice to get comfortable, and it requires consistency to experience beneficial personal changes. Remember, what you practice grows stronger. You don’t practice meditation to get good at meditating; you practice meditation to get better at life.

Yes, there are a variety of meditations. Some of them include: breath awareness, body scan, compassion, visualization, mindfulness, walking, chanting, and silent mantra meditation, and many others as well. Yoga, tai-chi and qi-gong are also forms of meditation in motion.

Meditation has many proven benefits and is well worth your efforts in establishing a regular practice. Consistency in your practice is key to seeing positive changes occur within. Learning to meditate without proper guidance can be frustrating so receiving instruction from a qualified teacher can create a great start.

Yes! Remember, just as the heart beats, your mind thinks. We have over 70,000 thoughts a day. Thoughts will arise during meditation and it’s about becoming the observer of those thoughts. Meditation is not about forcing your mind to be quiet. It is a process that allows one to rediscover the quietness that is already there and ever present.

A daily practice is highly encouraged and will produce the most benefit for you. Consistency is key! Once you build a solid practice, you will notice the amount of thoughts as well as the speed of your thoughts begin to slow.

Yes! Meditation is easy and beneficial to everyone! If you are taught correctly and understand the basic concepts, you can build your own practice. It simple takes a commitment on your part. Thousands of people meditate each and every day. This includes professional athletes, executives, lawyers, judges, retirees, physicians, educators, musicians, superstars, and even children. People from all walks of life have taken mindfulness and meditation trainings.

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness are endless. You will see many profound changes that become noticeable in your every day life. You will have less of a “monkey mind” and spend less time in your head and more time out in the real world.

Here is a list of some reasons people commit to integrating meditation into their daily life:

Become more self-aware

To find happiness

To reduce stress, anxiety and depression

To feel healthier

To improve sleep

To find a connection to God, a higher power or higher source

To transition through a difficult time in their life such as a job change, divorce, death of a loved one or serious challenge

To improve their ability to focus and make better decisions

To fill a missing void in life

To increase creativity

To cultivate compassion

To increase levels of relaxation and confidence

To treat a physical or emotional disease, which activates a healing response

To feel more connected to everyone and everything

To respond to the calling of their own spirit

To improve personal relationships