Are you a type A personality living a workaholic lifestyle? Most of us to some degree are burning the candle at both ends, which certainly increases our odds that our lifestyle includes unhealthy habits. But the research is in and the message is clear. It’s time to add a healthy and fun habit to your daily routine – meditation.

Eastern philosophies have recognized the health benefits of meditation for thousands of years. Meditation lowers blood pressure, strengthens the immune system and delivers an overall improvement in your ability to concentrate. And the best part about meditation, is you don’t need to be a Buddhist monk to experience the many health benefits of meditation.
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Step 1: Choose a quiet place where you won’t be distracted or disturbed. Often when you are new to meditation, it is easy to get distracted, so consider putting ear plugs in your ears or even your iPod ear buds in your ears…but forgo playing your Hit List for now.

Step 2: Sit on the floor or in a chair. If you choose to sit on the floor, you may want to put a blanket under you for some extra padding. Once you have some meditation time under your belt, you might want to consider purchasing a zafu and/or a zabuton. A zafu is a round traditional mediation cushion, measuring about 35cm and stuffed with buckwheat hull. A zafu is positioned under a person practicing meditation in a cross legged seated position for extra comfort. A zabaton is a cushion traditionally used in Japanese homes for seating. When meditating, a zabuton or yoga blanket is often set on the floor and then a zafu is placed on top of the zabaton or yoga blanket for added comfort. Using a zabuton, yoga blanket and/or zafu when meditating is more comfortable than sitting directly on the floor. The zafu also helps to maintain proper posture for the health and comfort of your back. These meditation accessories can help define that special place you have created for meditation.

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The benefits of meditation are many-fold, providing a way to get in touch with what’s going on in our lives as well as our bodies. The use of biofeedback has shown the medical community how the mind can control our physical reactions to pain and other stimuli. Yoga, through the practice of the asanas (poses) and pranayama (controlled breathing), offer its students a window into their interior thoughts and well-being by way of meditation.

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Learning how to meditate may be just the coping mechanism you need in a stress-filled life without having to resort to prescription medications or destructive practices, such as drinking or over-eating. Meditation doesn’t involve special workout wear, a specific place or time; it just involves your active participation in a mindful practice that can offer a myriad of benefits, including better mental focus and clarity, decreased heart rate and blood pressure, and spiritual growth.

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On the eightfold branches of Classical yoga, meditation, or dhyana, is the penultimate step to achieve samadhi, or self-realization. The practice of yoga ultimately allows the student to access the atman, or self, and in that manner come to know the brahman, or absolute reality. The word “yoga” literally means “union” in Sanskrit, and its practice joins the individual with the universal. By knowing yourself, you understand how the world relates to you, and meditation mediates this interaction.