March is for Mindfulness

I think most of us can relate to seeking more peace, calm and happiness in our lives, I know I would love a little more of these things. An inner peace that resonates to all aspects of daily life.

A daily meditation practice has been on my "to-do" list for some time now, but for some reason the idea of meditation is still fairly elusive to me. I would like to think I am making small gains in this area of my life and my goal for the month of March is to slowly increase the time spent meditating with the realistic goal of 15 minutes a day.

So I am gathering some top tips for the meditation beginner and these are three things that have got me started.

• Breath work - this has been the starting point for my meditation practice, focusing on my breath either by counting the inhale and exhale (equal counts) or by starting the practice with a pranayama (breathing exercise) which I have learnt through my yoga practice. This helps me to calm the racing mind and prepare for a deeper meditation.
• Meditation Apps - Three I have tried are Buddhify, Headspace and Insight timer. In the beginning it is good to have some guidance, even if it is just a set timer, a background sound or a full guided meditation.
• Routine - decide on a time of day and stick to it, build it into your daily routine like brushing your teeth or taking a shower, it is something you do at the same time every day.

I hope these tips are helpful to you.

Peace & Love
Sarah