Wondering how to start with meditation may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of “thinking nothing.” Yet meditation where you just “let your mind go blank” is something of an urban legend. Rather, meditation (like all effective mindfulness exercises) is about not allowing your thoughts to control you, keeping grounded, and focusing them on the present. 

When we meditate, we infuse our lives with far-reaching and long-lasting benefits. Some of the benefits are:

For example, about 15 minutes of meditation can:

• • Alleviate pain and digestive discomfort 

  • Help control PMS symptoms and acute pain 

  • Diminish feelings of fatigue and anxiety;

  • Improve visio-spacial processing (that’s the ability to tell how far away/apart things are; it’s part of problem-solving, reading, sports, etc.);

  • Enhance working memory function (that’s the short-term memory-making involved in everyday behavior); and

  • Promote better overall executive function (that’s the ability to plan, pay attention, remember instructions, and multi-task) 

Moreover, many of the benefits of meditation historically associated with long-term practice — thought to be accessible only to lifelong yogis and monks — accrue faster than expected.

For example, meditation can:

• • Improve your attention span and learning capacity within just four days of learning how.

  • Reduce the intensity of physical pain by as much as 40% in 5 days.

  • Measurably reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression after eight weeks of regular practice.

  • Improve sleep duration and quality so much that 91% of insomniacs stop taking or reduce the dosage of pharmaceutical sleep aids after several months.

As one of the most effective mindfulness exercises, meditation can have an immediate and long-lasting impact on how a person feels, processes information, and makes decisions. Research suggests that starting a meditation practice can have similar effects on taking a (good) vacation.

So let me walk you through creating and building a  meditation practice of your own.