We all lead busy lives and it can feel hard to find any time and space for ourselves.  Meditation is a an easy way to help us relax and take timeout from the rat race. I have put together some easy steps to help you get started.

1. Choose a space where you won’t be disturbed and is free from distractions… like your mobile phone, pets, family and TV.
2. Try and make your meditation time part of your daily routine. I find for me, the best time is in the morning before I get ready for work. I just take 10-15 minutes each day and sit and meditate. To start with you could try 2-3 minutes and build up gradually to 10 minutes. Its entirely up to the individual. Its more about the quality of your meditation rather than how much or how long you meditate for.
3. Make your self comfortable sitting on a chair or on the floor whatever is best for you. Try to relax. There is no need to sit in the lotus position for hours on end on a cold hard floor and feeling miserable. Some like to use a timer or follow an MP3. Try to commit to practising the full time
   you have set aside.
4. Don’t go into meditation thinking that you’ll automatically start feeling blissful or enlightened over night. Expectations only lead to frustration. Get into the habit of simply experiencing meditation, and let it evolve as it will. You might start to notice small improvements in you abilities as the weeks pass. Such as feeling less anxious, calmer and happier.
5. The more you lighten up and allow yourself to experience meditation, the easier it will become. With that said, focusing your mind is not easy.
6. Its perfectly normal to have a mind that wanders and is busy with thoughts, you may feel fidgety and restless to begin with. Stick with it and try not to get stressed about it or frustrated.
7. Bring your attention to your breath. Take long slow deep breathes, try not to control it just feel it and hear it. Breath meditation teaches us to hold our focus. Slowly you may notice that small gaps start to form between your thoughts.

These are the first steps to a quieter and calmer mind.