Throughout my life, meditation has always been there. You might be thinking, obviously, right? However, what I mean is that, there had always been someone in my life who was trying to get me to meditate.

My aunt used to recommend it to me while I was writing my final exams of high school. So, I tried it. And then never did it again for the next 7 years. Although, I did yoga very consistently, I refrained from meditation. *Yoga and meditation are not the same.Yoga is recommended to be supplemented by it. However, asana (postures) and meditation are separate.

I finally decided to give meditation a go again when I had developed stress knots in my shoulders and jaws from tension. A fellow teacher recommended that it would help ease it.

So, I began. I began with merely 2 minutes a day- which felt so long. However, three years later, my 20 minute morning meditations feel like a breeze.

This is how I developed a solid meditation practice:

1. Patience with my mind.

Meditation teaches you patience. If you can't be patient with your mind, you will get frustrated during your meditation and it will do the opposite affect. Your mind is meant to think, it will have to adjust to meditation so give it time.

2. Find a comfortable position.

Meditation is more difficult when your body is uncomfortable. Many recommend sitting upright; however, I say as long as your back is straight, it's okay. Whether you are lying down or sitting up, a straight spines allows for chakra alignment and optimizes your meditation experience.

3. Start with short meditations.

As I mentioned before, I began with short meditations. This is so that your mind can adapt. Just like with running, your first day of training, you wouldn't run a mile. Meditation is also training, you are training your mind. In order to build a daily meditation, start with a few minutes a day.

4. Use YouTube for meditations.

YouTube is great for finding meditations. I recommend searching YouTube to find meditations that will help you through whatever you are going through. For example, if you are feeling anxious, search Meditations for anxiety.

5. You can always start again tomorrow.

We have a tendency to do our best, which is great; however, when you begin meditation, you might not feel great as you still have to train your mind. You might feel as though you are disrupted a lot and, that is okay. Just know that tomorrow is another day for meditation and you don't have to NOT think about anything else to meditate. It's about bringing your mind back to where you are. Overtime, it will happen naturally. But, BE PATIENT.