Does meditation sound frightening to you too? A lot of beginners carry the image of sadhus and monks attaining inner peace while they sit on the tops of mount Kailash when they hear the word meditation. Our mental image of sadhus and nirvana are wrong ideas to carry around. Meditation, like any other activity, has a process attached to it. At the beginning of any new activity, do not think of reaching the absolute peak or becoming masters of the field. 

Instead of focusing on attaining nirvana, look forward to other meditation benefits. Not only can meditation reduce your anxiety and stress, but it also helps reduce weight and make you healthy. The first two benefits of meditation are well known. A study found that regular 3 days of continuous meditation helped reduce stress. The last two benefits are more indirect and require time to come into effect. With meditation one is able to execute more control on one's mental impulses. With the gained control, one is more likely to achieve their workout goal and follow strict diets.

The first step is often the clumsiest and hardest to fulfil. With these tips you can start your journey of meditation.

First find a comfortable place where you will be unlikely to get disturbed, preferably a window facing place.

Set an initial timer of 5 minutes on your phone. Gradually increase the time to 10, 15 and 20 minutes. 

While meditating, focus on your breathing. Inhale slowly. Exhale slowly. 

Your mind is likely to wander off and fill with random thoughts. This is normal. Try and bring your focus back on breathing. 

If you find breathing for this long uncomfortable, you can also try filling your head with thoughts of gratitude.

Meditation can be difficult and even uncomfortable at first. But with time the amazing results would show themselves to you. Try and be patient to let the outcomes reveal themselves. Once you experience the benefits first-hand, then you will fall in love with meditation.