Meditation is the art of spending time in quiet thought and can be beneficial to many situations. Healing your mind and body, providing clarity to a problem and cultivating your intuition (also known as your inner voice) are some of the known benefits. Experts say that it can also improve your immune system, written and verbal communication, and productivity.

As Russel Simmons says “meditation can reintroduce you to the part that’s been missing”.  Once I started to meditate on a regular basis I found my decision making abilities improved, and I’m now able to quickly determine if a situation is right for me.

Many people like to meditate in silence by simply listening to their breath. My preference is to use background music which gives me something to focus on. When my mind is particularly     active, I use a guided meditation as it forces me to listen to the instructions. If it’s something you’d like to try there are many wonderful sites such as Brain Sync, Hay House or Youtube which offer both guided and “scratchy noise” music.

If you’re new to meditation you might find that thoughts pop up during what is meant to be a quiet minded session. I’m a task oriented person so I always have a mental list of what needs to be done each day. To calm my mind I find it helpful to imagine a box or container at the start of my meditation, and I use the box to collect any thoughts that pop up during the session.

If you don’t have time for meditation you might want to practice mindfulness during activities that require little concentration – in the shower, during a workout or a walk, while washing the dishes. Every little bit helps and when you assess your schedule you may find lots of little opportunities to fit more mindfulness into your life.