The world is stressful. That’s especially true right now. Here are strategies to take just a few minutes every day to calm your mind and check in with yourself.

Sit comfortably on a cushion or a chair.
Try lying down, if sitting to meditate is unappealing.
Put on music, if that helps to calm you before beginning to meditate.
Set a digital (non-ticking) timer.
Breathe normally through your nose, with your mouth closed.


The practice appears to have an amazing variety of neurological benefits – from changes in grey matter volume to reduced activity in the “me” centers of the brain to enhanced connectivity between brain regions.

Most first-time meditators find it strange to sit in silence, to sit with their innermost thoughts and feelings, to sit and do nothing — the very things that, funnily enough, the mind tends to resist. To a beginner, meditation might initially feel a little alien, perhaps even daunting, but that’s okay. People have been meditating for around 3,000 years, and many have doubtless experienced the same reticence, trepidation, or wonder that first-time meditators often feel.