While meditation is surrounded by religion, beliefs and superstitions, it is a valid body state like any other, such as arousal or sleep. By learning to meditate, you can reap the benefits of this body state which include relaxation, energy and perspective on your life. Meditation is being taken seriously by health researchers interested in stress reduction and methods to improve overall health.

Meditation is used by people interested addressing conditions such as anxiety, pain, depression, emotional problems, insomnia, and stress. Meditation is also the ultimate brain workout.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 20 minutes, everyday
Here's How:

1.Sit:Find a place where you can sit comfortably, uninterrupted for about 20 minutes. The most important thing is to sit with your back as straight as possible. Some people find that sitting on the edge of a cushion helps keep the back straight. You will hear about special meditation cushions, candles, incense, statues, bells, and so forth -- don't worry about any of that stuff. The important thing is to sit comfortably and to practice meditation often. You can add in accessories whenever you want.

2.Set a Timer:At times when you are meditating, you may secretly be looking for any excuse to get up and do something else. One of the most compelling excuses is to "check the time." Often during meditation your sense of timing is lost and that leads to the feeling that you have gone past the time you set for meditation. This will often happen after you have been sitting for 1 or 2 minutes. A timer helps to assure you that you have not meditated too long. If you do not have a timer, you will probably look at a clock or your watch every 30 seconds. So set a timer and then forget about time.

3.Breathe:Breathing is an unique bodily function. It is automatic, we take over 10 million breaths per year without noticing, but we can also control breathing voluntarily. Think of breathing as how we can communicate with our bodies. If we breathe slowly, our bodies relax. While you sit:

* bring your attention to your breathing
* notice everything about your breathing:
o the inhale
o the exhale
o the tiny pause between them
* breathe naturally, just be aware of your breath

This is your only task in meditation -- be aware of your breath. If your thoughts wander, just come back to breathing.

4.Label:The goal of meditation is not to have no thoughts (that is impossible) but to not interact with the thoughts that occur. If, while you are meditating, you start wondering when was the last time you changed the oil in your car, that is perfectly normal -- just come back to your breathing and try not to 'chase' the thought.

Some people find it helps to label the thoughts. When you notice yourself drifting, just place a neutral label on the thoughts -- if you are thinking about everything you have to do at work, label the thoughts 'work' and return to breathing.

5.Don't Judge:Meditation is hard and perfect meditation is impossible. Your thoughts will drift. You will find that on some days you spend your entire meditation time thinking about your kitchen sink. Your awareness will drift away and the time will disappear. That is fine. Whenever you drift, come back to being aware of sitting and breathing. Do not judge yourself. Do not create a train of thought about how you can't meditate, how you are no good at this. Just come back to your breath.

6.Don't Listen To Yourself:While you meditate, there is a little voice inside your head trying to get you to stop.

* This voice will come up with "great ideas" that you just have to write down immediately.
* The voice will read your to do list to you, leaving you feeling pressured to just stop and get something done.
* The voice will, at least once, utterly convince you that your timer has stopped and you have been meditating for hours and are late for something.

Don't listen to the voice. While you are mediating there is nothing more important for you to do. Just sit.

7.Watch the "Thought Clouds" Drift:Treat meditation as an experiment. Watch yourself thinking. Examine how thoughts emerge randomly and then begin to connect to other thoughts. Watch what happens to thought if you do not nourish them. How do trains of thought stop? Eventually you will see that most thoughts are random and not really worth your time. You will also begin to develop an awareness apart from your thoughts. Perhaps the greatest lesson of meditation is that you are not your thoughts.

8.Bring Meditation Into Your Daily Life:Many of the skills learned in meditation can be applied during your daily life. Meditate when:
* waiting in line

* doing the dishes
* feeling upset

Take a two-minute breathing break several times during the day. Watch as your thoughts and ideas turn up at work, in conversation, or while you are solving a problem. Use the same experimental mindset and watch how you behave and think throughout the day.

9.Repeat Daily:Meditation is a skill that needs practice and more practice. Set a daily time for meditation and stick to it. Your brain will benefit from the endlessly fascinating journey into your own mind. Your body will benefit from the deep relaxation and stress reduction.

冥想总是被宗教、信仰和迷信包围着，但就如同“清醒”或“睡眠”一样，它就是一种有益的身体状态。通过学习冥想，你能获得许多好处，包括：放松、精力，甚至是对生活的新看法。一些致力于研究减轻压力、增进整体健康的专家，也越来越认真地看待冥想。

冥想被人们用于改善以下问题，包括焦虑、苦恼、抑郁、情绪化、失眠和压力。同时冥想也是一种极佳的头脑锻炼方式。

难度：中等
时间：每天20分钟

如何进行：

1.坐：找一个你可以舒服地坐着，在20分钟内不会被打扰的地方，最重要的是坐着的时候让你的背部尽可能地挺直。有些人认为坐在坐垫的边上可能帮助背部保持挺直，你很快就知道有一些特别的物品，例如冥想坐垫、蜡烛、香料、人像、钟等等，不用去理睬这些东西。重要的是坐得舒服并且不断练习冥想。你可以在需要的时候再添置这些物品。

2.设置计时器：当你进行冥想的时候，你可能会不自觉的找任何借口起来做其他事情，最具诱惑性的借口之一就是“查看时间”。通常在冥想的时候，你会失去时间感，导致你认为已经冥想了过长的时间，这通常发生在你坐下的一、两分钟后。计时器能够帮助你确认并没有冥想过久。如果你没有计时器，很可能每隔30秒钟就会看一次钟表。所以，设置一个计时器，然后忘掉时间吧。

3.呼吸：呼吸是一种独特的机体功能。它是自动进行的，我们每年都在没有察觉的情况下进行超过一千万次呼吸，但我们也可以主动控制呼吸。把呼吸看作是我们与身体的沟通方式，如果我们慢慢呼吸，身体则会放松。当你坐着的时候：

* 将注意力集中在呼吸上
* 注意呼吸的每一细节：
o 吸气
o 呼气
o 呼吸之间的细微停顿
* 自然地呼吸，保持对呼吸的意识

这是你在冥想时的唯一任务——留意你的呼吸。如果你的想法游离了，只需让它回到呼吸上面来。

4.标记：冥想的目的不是完全没有想法（这是不可能的），而是不被冒出来的想法所影响。如果在冥想的当中，你开始回想上一次给汽车换机油到底是什么时候，这是再正常不过的——只要把注意力重新回到呼吸上，不去追随这些想法。

一些人发现给这些想法进行标记是很有用的。当你意识到自己的注意力开始游离，只需想法加上一个中性的标记——如果你想到任何需要在工作中完成的事情，就给这些想法标记为“工作”，并且将注意力重回到呼吸上。

5.不做评判：冥想是件难事，完美的冥想是不可能的。你的想法会游离，你会发现某些日子，你的整个冥想时间都在想着厨房的水槽。你的意识会游离，时间将流逝，这不要紧。任何时候你开小差了，就重新注意自己的坐姿和呼吸。不要养成认为你无法冥想、做不好冥想的想法。只是重新注意你的呼吸就好。

6.不要听从自我：当你冥想的时候，在你脑海中总会有一个声音试图阻止你：

* 这个声音将会提及一个“重要的想法”，似乎是你必须马上记下来的
* 这个声音将为你读出代办事宜列表，使你感到一种压力要马上停止冥想去完成那些事情
* 至少会有一次，这个声音使你相信你的计时器已经停了，你已经冥想了好几个小时而耽误了其他事情

不要理会这些声音。当你冥想的时候，就没有其他更重要的事情了，坐着就好。

7.坐视“想法浮云”：可以把冥想看成一次试验，观察你自己的思维过程。留意那些想法是如何随意地冒出来，如何关联到其他想法。看看你不去关注那些想法的话会发生什么，你的想法链是如何结束的。最终你将发现绝大部分的想法都是随意的，不值得花费时间。你会逐渐从你的繁杂想法中挖掘出自我意识，也许冥想的最佳收获就是你可以不被想法所控制。

8.日常生活中的冥想：许多从冥想中学习到的技巧都能在日常生活中应用，你可以在以下时刻冥想：
* 排队的时候
* 洗碗的时候
* 烦恼的时候

一天当中，可以进行多次只需两分钟的冥想。当你工作的时候，交谈的时候或者解决问题的时候，留意你所涌现出来的各种想法和念头。用同样的试验心态观察你自己一天中的行为和思想。

9.每日练习：冥想需要不断地加强练习，计划每天冥想的时间并坚持下去。你的头脑将受益于这迈向自我内心的无尽迷人旅程；你的身体也将通过这种深度放松和压力消除而收益。