Did you know? 90% of your happiness does not depend on the external circumstances but on the way our brain processes whatever is going on in our life at any given moment. Mind-boggling, isn't it? In today's stressful world, people are under a lot of pressure. Meditation has a calming effect and is said to clear our minds and advocate a feeling of inner peace. Amazingly, it's also one of the simplest habits— you can do it anywhere, any time, and it will always have immediate benefits. Spending even a few minutes a day in meditation can bring you calm and inner peace.

Meditation has a lot of health benefits like lowering blood pressure, relieving pain, improving focus and sleep quality, reducing stress, and much more. Both exercise and meditation are great ways to reduce anxiety and improve health, but together, these two might just be the best combination since bread and butter. With Stronglife, get your body transformed by the best online fitness trainers in Australia. Meditating for 10 minutes a day is better than meditating for 70 minutes a week in a single sitting. Try to meditate every day, even if that just means sitting for 5 minutes.

Start small

If you try to meditate for 30 minutes on the first day, you might get frustrated and get discouraged. Start with 3 - 5 minutes and increase the time when you're comfortable. Even if you sit for five minutes, you will still receive incredible benefits from meditation. But this isn't a test of how strong you are at staying in meditation while we are trying to form a long-term habit.

Choose a quiet setting

If you're a beginner, practicing meditation may be easier if you're in a quiet spot with very few distractions, where there are no televisions, music, or smartphones.

Stay in a comfortable position

Aim to keep a good posture during meditation. You can practice meditation whether you're sitting, walking, lying down, or in other positions. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation.

Benefits of Mediation:

• Reduces stress and anxiety by switching the body to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest)
• Boosts your immune system
• Improves the body's response to insulin
• Reduces blood pressure
• Assists with insomnia
• Helps with "feel good" hormones
• Increases concentration and brain function
• Allows for a deeper understanding of self

So that's all well and good, but what do you do, exactly to meditate? We'll break it down to you in just five easy steps.

#1 Get comfortable - Sit or lie comfortably. Sitting and paying attention to your breath is a mindfulness practice. It's a way to train yourself to focus your attention.

#2 Start your timer - With a meditation timer, you can remove the stress of time altogether and maintain all of your focus inward.  It is natural to be curious about how long we are meditating for and also aim to meditate for longer periods. Having the timer frees our mind from the thought of time.

#3 Focus on your breath - Close your eyes. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally – inhale and exhale slowly. While many people think of meditation as something you might do with a teacher, it can be as simple as paying attention to your breath.

#4 Don't think – Along the way, throughout every session of meditation, your thoughts are going to keep zooming in and out trying to distract you. This happens all the time in the beginning, but it gets better as you keep practicing.

#5 Bring your mind back when it wanders – Let the thoughts pass through your mind without judgment. The trick with meditation isn't to eliminate those stray thoughts. It's to let them pass through your mind without you grabbing hold of them. It's easy to become frustrated when your mind wanders, but don't. Your meditations will be much more productive when you gently bring your attention back.

Exercise and Meditation

Add meditation to your fitness routine. It can help you get the most out of your online fitness program. Meditation doesn't have to be motionless. You could even do Walking Meditation – simply focus on walking while you walk and that's walking meditation. Meditating is supposed to quiet the mind, where you think about nothing in particular to allow that background noise to filter out and let you rest. That's why exercise can be meditative: at a certain point you're only able to think about the exercise. The best fitness trainers are here at Stronglife offering online fitness programs. For our members who have been looking to do mediation and don't know where to start, one of our fitness coach is running live online meditation sessions every week. For non-members who may be keen on trying, please comment below with your email or connect with us via email / phone.

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."