The Beginners Guide to Meditation & Mindfulness

Imagine a pill that:

• Improves concentration
• Reduces anxiety
• Helps preserves the ageing brain
• Is as effective as an antidepressant in helping with depression
• Increases thickness in the part of the brain which governs learning and memory

It would be one of the best-selling medicines in the world.

Research has shown that meditation actually has all of these effects on the brain.

So why don't more people do it?

Because it's hard to get started and it's even harder to maintain the habit.

This book is designed to give you the foundations you need, and some basic exercises to get you started in the world of meditation and mindfulness. The idea is to cycle through all of these techniques and find a few you really like, that you can go back to and build up a meditation habit with.

If you are willing to accept that you'll have to put in some effort, this book is the perfect way to get started on your journey through the world of meditation. And science has proven that this is a journey which can change your life for the better.

If you would like a sample of a meditation you'll find in this book, here is one below:

This exercise, like many to follow, focuses on the breath and is perfect if you have only 5 to 10 minutes. Close your eyes, get comfortable and breathe in deeply through your nose. When you do, imagine you're breathing in fresh, clean air, that's bringing lightness and new energy into your body.

And as you exhale, imagine toxins or negative thoughts and emotions leaving the body.

It can help to assign colours to each breath. When I inhale, I like to imagine I'm breathing in clean, light blue air. And when I exhale, I use the colour green and imagine I'm breathing out hot, sticky, polluted air.

The reason I like this exercise is that enough is going on to keep your mind occupied. So it is less prone to wandering off, and you can focus for longer on your breath.

Source: As a burned-out banker I attended a class on meditation in Canary Wharf, London's financial district. Even though this technique has been around for centuries, the monk who led that session introduced me to it. To that person, I say both thanks, and sorry I couldn't properly give you the credit you deserve.