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Author:
Steven Gillman

Maybe learning to meditate intimidates you, and in any case it's tough to find the time for daily meditation. The solution to both problems is an easy meditation you can learn right now, that will only take a minute to do each day.

An Easy Meditation Technique

Breathing through your mouth expands your chest, but if you breath through your nose you'll notice how your abdomen extends. You see, nose-breathing causes the diaphram to pull air to the bottom of your lungs. This delivers a good dose of oxygen into your bloodstream and brain. It also tends to relax you.

Breathing through your nose is healthier, and it's the basis of this one-minute meditation. You simply close your eyes, let the tension go out of your muscles, let go of your thoughts (to the extent possible), and take four slow, deep breaths through your nose, paying attention to your breathing.

Is Meditation This Easy?

You're not likey to get you into a deep meditative state with this simple exercise. You will get benefits, though. These will almost certainly include a clearer mind and a reduction in stress.

Try to develop a "trigger" for your meditation. You can do your four breaths when you get into the car, for example, or right after lunch each day. A trigger is a place or time that reminds you, so your meditation becomes a habit.

Some may say this isn't "real" meditation, but there's nothing wrong with enjoying the relaxation you'll get from this technique. You can always pursue deeper meditation later, if you wish. In the meantime, remember that not everything has to be difficult to be of value. Why not do an easy one-minute meditation right now?

Steve Gillman writes on many self help topics including boosting brainpower, losing weight, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, learning gratitude, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. You'll find more at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Brainpower... Creative Problem-Solving: Following Your Stream of Consciousness Having trouble finding a solution to a nagging problem? Try a well-known journaling technique called stream of consciousness--you may be surprised at the creative messages you receive from your inner self. Take the case of Shana, an online journaler who had a problematic relationship with a co-worker. When Shana allowed herself the “scary” experience of stream of consciousness journaling, she quickly realized her intensely emotional reaction to the co-worker was, in fact, related to a similar situation with an ex-spouse. In both situations Shana felt like a doormat--but until her journaling, she didn’t realize the two were connected. Stream of consciousness is a style of writing that is uninterrupted, unedited, and unstructured. Typically, a journaler approaches the blank page without intention--then simply waits for something to come. However, when used as a problem-solving technique, approach your journaling with a specific intention, knowing that whatever comes out of your subconscious will contain clues to a solution. Once you begin writing, don’t try to make sense of it—just keep writing, ignoring any questions or comments coming from your mind. Remember, this isn’t a mental or literary exercise, but rather an opportunity to give voice to the inner you. No matter how silly the words seem, just keeping writing. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar. Set a 10 minute timer and write until the 10 minutes are up. If your mind goes blank, just write something like, my mind is blank, my mind is blank, and keep writing until something else comes into your consciousness. Wonder what another journaler’s stream of consciousness writing looks like? This is a sample from a writer dealing with guilt over infidelity in a relationship: broccoli,...