To Americans, meditation can seem like a religious practice that takes years to perfect. In reality, meditation is merely the practice of concentrating the mind for a period of time on one object or thing.  It is not about religion, or incense, or even a particular way of meditating. It is simple to do.

Meditation started in ancient India as a spiritual practice. It is now also used as a complement to Western medicine.

You can meditate on your own or under the guidance of a trained therapist or other qualified health professional.

There are a variety of ways to meditate. The basic practice of meditation is to sit quietly while focusing the mind on a single object such as a word or an event such as breathing. Meditation can also be active. For instance, meditation includes "walking meditation" as well as an exercise such as Yoga.

Learning sitting meditation does not require any special skill or practice with a teacher. The easy-to-do steps are described in the next section of this document. Another section describes techniques for overcoming difficulties.

Using scientific methodology, it has been found that people who meditate regularly have:

• Decreased anxiety and depression. 
• Eased levels of chronic pain and sleeplessness.
• Benefits in the body such as a boost to the disease fighting immune system, lower blood pressure and a lower heart rate. 
• A decrease in the part of the brain that evidences stress.

An NIH group found that regular meditation can also help regulate cholesterol levels in the body, reduce substance abuse, increase longevity, and enhance quality of life.

People who meditate also report that they experience more enjoyment and appreciation of life.

The Zen masters say the key to meditation is just to do it. Do not worry about the result or whether you are doing it "right".

• Follow the guidelines to the best of your ability. 
• Consider starting just a few minutes at a time - say five or ten minutes. Then build up the amount of time you meditate to 20 or 30 minutes a day.
• Try it several times a day. 
• It gets easier.

See the other sections of this document for an easy-to-use method of meditation. 

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