Impatience is just as likely to show up in your meditation practice as it is in everyday life – one simply reflecting the other. In fact, if you’re like most people you may well find yourself asking, ‘Why am I not experiencing results more quickly?’ But remember, meditation is not really about achievement and results – which is why it’s such a nice

your emotions means that, if anything, your experience of them will be heightened. It’s just that in being less caught up in them, you will no longer feel as though you’re at their mercy.

Balance – a sense of equanimity Life is not unlike the sea, ebbing and flowing throughout our lives. Sure, sometimes it’s calm and serene, but at other times the waves can be so big that they threaten to overwhelm us. These fluctuations are an inevitable part of life. But when you forget this simple fact, it’s easy to get swept away by strong waves

meditation has a strange way of bringing out the kindness in people – and practising kindness in everyday life will simply feed back into your meditation. Kindness makes the mind softer, more malleable and easier to work with in your practice. It creates a mindset that is less judgmental and more accepting. Clearly this has profound implications fo

be let go of. As so much of our mental activity is habitual, the implications of this are nothing short of life changing. The research also showed that it didn’t even matter whether the experience was perceived as positive or negative by the meditator, the same beneficial effects in the brain were still recorded. So even when it feels as though it

Neuroscientists investigating the benefits of meditation and mindfulness reiterate the importance of repetition in their findings. They say that the simple act of doing the exercise day after day is enough to stimulate positive change in the brain. In fact, they consider this vital in establishing new synaptic relationships and neural pathways. Wha

there’s one time to avoid if you can, and that’s straight after lunch.

It’s fine to use the chair’s back support if you need to, but try not to lean backwards against it – think upwards rather than backwards. 4 It’s best if your legs are uncrossed and your feet are flat on the floor, ideally about shoulder width apart. 5 The hands and the arms can just rest on the legs or in your lap, one on top of the other. There’s

There are a few general suggestions for sitting: 1 It’s best if the back is straight, but without forcing it. 2 You may find that the position of your pelvis dictates the position of your back, and often a small cushion under your backside will help to rectify any ‘hunching’.