Meditation, is it all its cracked up to be?  Well frankly, yes, it is. And now more than ever it’s a much-needed antidote for lifestyle fallout from the ongoing daily grind.

Increasingly, lives are becoming out of balance. Working, raising kids, caring for loved ones, catching up with friends, house maintenance, car maintenance, cooking, cleaning. There are just not enough hours in day to balance all the hectic activities. It’s no wonder the world is seeing an ever-increasing rise in anxiety and depression across all ages.

Meditation could be the perfect remedy for you. With practice, it can help you start the journey to becoming the person you want to be. Meditation is not so much about emptying your mind, but more about being present in the moment, being full aware of yourself at any given moment.

It is rare that we are in the moment. If we aren’t going over our past traumas or upsets, we are worrying about the future, rather than just experiencing the here and the now. It’s how the human mind works. But these days, more so than ever, we are very aware that we need to be in the moment for our mental, physical and emotional health.  It’s called Mindfulness, and if practised, could change your life.

So how do we start? You can simply start by closing your eyes and just observer your breathing. Let your mind follow the journey of your breath. Try the rhythm of inhaling for four seconds, feeling your chest expand, hold the breath for two seconds and then slowly release the breath for six seconds. Do this until you feel a rhythm happening. A calmness settling in. People with anxiety tend to be shallow breathers, so if you find it hard to deep breath just do what you can do. It’s all about the flow. Just remember to always make the outward breath longer, making sure you empty all the stale oxygen from your lungs.

Listening to calming meditation music works wonders, so does sitting in nature, listen to the wind in the trees and the twitter of birds.  There’s also plenty of meditation music featuring the hypnotic rhythm of waves rolling onto the beach. It’s great to get your breathing in sync with the ebb and flow of the waves. Just let your breath steadily flow in and out. Just allowing yourself to BE.  If you find your mind drifting back to reality, focus on your breathing again, it will you call your mind back.

If you find it hard being alone with your own thoughts, try a guided meditation. You just have to make sure you like the voice that is guiding you. There are plenty of free guided meditations online. One of my favourite meditation facilitators is Davidji. You can find his guided meditations on Youtube (or davidji.com). His deep smooth voice is comforting, like a warm soft blanket on a cold winters’ night.

Meditation isn’t some mystical secret. It’s a gentle way of coming back to your breath, to the present, and to the person you are beneath all the chaos. Like the stillness of a forest, its strength is found in calm. And in that stillness, life starts to make more sense.