What is meditation?

Meditation is a type of mind–body or relaxation therapy.

During meditation, you concentrate your mind on one particular thing, such as your breathing, sounds, body movements and feelings or a mantra (chant).

This helps train your mind to stay focused and peaceful during times of stress or anxiousness.

What are the health benefits of meditation?

Meditation has both physical and mental health benefits. It can help you manage the symptoms of many health conditions, including:

• anxiety
• depression
• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• pain
• sleep problems

Meditation can also have benefits for your mental health including helping to:

• manage stress
• increase self-awareness
• focus on the present moment

How to meditate

Even though many different meditation techniques exist, the general ideas are similar.

• Find yourself a quiet spot so that you don’t get easily distracted.
• Get settled into a comfortable position, such as sitting on a chair or lying on the floor.
• Close your eyes.
• Focus your attention on one thing, such as your breathing, the sounds around you or a specific object.

Meditation works best when it is done regularly, so it is best to keep practicing until you find a technique that suits you so that it can easily become a habit.

Tips to keep you going

Meditation can be done anywhere and you do not need much time. Try starting with one to 2 minutes each day, and then increasing the time gradually over weeks or months. It takes time, patience and practice to meditate.

If you need some help, try:

• doing a meditation course
• attending weekly meditation classes
• using a meditation DVD or YouTube video
• using a mental health app, such as Smiling Mind

You can find other digital mental health resources by visiting the Australian Government's Head to Health website.