Take a Deep Breath: Mindfulness and Meditation Resources

You may have heard a friend talking about meditating and being mindful, and perhaps dismissed the topic, believing it to be some new-age stuff involving crystals and chanting and what-not. Mindfulness and meditation are about freeing your head of mindless chatter and becoming more focused and relaxed. If you’re having trouble sleeping, find yourself easily stressed, or are having problems getting your work done because you're easily distracted, meditation could help.

Meditation can take many forms, such as concentrating on emptying the mind completely. Mindfulness is simply a form of meditation. It means existing in the present. Many driving mishaps happen because we are thinking of other things, while being mindful means we are focused on the task at hand. Other thoughts may come into our head, but we let them go and concentrate on what we are doing.

There are many, many different ways to meditate. Want to give it a try?

Guided meditation. The easiest way to get started is to listen to some recorded guided meditations. Get comfortable and be prepared to fall asleep while listening (in other words, don't meditate and drive!).

Breathing exercises. Another way to relax ourselves naturally is to simply change the way we’re breathing. It's easy and it's free!

The Free Mindfulness Project has breathing exercises in text and audio files you can download.
This article from Style Craze features 10 breathing exercises you can try.

Practice mindfulness. Now that you understand how it can help you, put it to work for you.

Here are some assorted exercises you can try.
This page from the website Living Well has more strategies for mindfulness.
You can find more resources here, such as audio, video, worksheets, and eBooks.

Whether you are seeking spiritual enlightenment, or simply trying to sleep at night, try some meditation techniques for yourself.