How to Meditate (Without a Mother in Sight) (2026)

Go straight back Working into the new year can be tough, but learning how to meditate can help you stay focused. Feel free to move your eyes now, but several studies have shown that meditation can do just that Enhance creativity, Improve sleep qualityand Stress management.

“Meditation is the practice of calming the brain by focusing our attention, often on our breath,” he says. Mel mahMeditation trainer calm. “It gives us a chance to check in with ourselves and take a pause in our busy, overstimulated lives. In those few minutes, you’re giving your nervous system permission to settle down and reset itself.”

If your workspace doesn’t already have a dedicated relaxation area to decompress and reset, it’s likely only a matter of time. This ancient practice has become firmly ingrained in our modern lives, with both celebrities and business leaders making meditation an important part of their daily routine. For example, Opera supports The power of transcendental meditation To ground it and find the “silent voice of consciousness” for it, while Jeff WeinerThe CEO of LinkedIn recommends mindfulness to his team to increase productivity and focus.

Although there are no hard and fast rules for meditation, we asked experts for advice on how to get started on the path to pure Zen—or at least feel a little more relaxed for a few moments daily. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our health resources at Recovery modewhich includes Best workout apps and Best red light therapy masks.

What can you expect from meditation?

You can meditate anywhere – whether you’re in an empty conference room or at home in bed – and it’s free.

“Learning to meditate is a powerful tool because it can help you sleep better and reduce stress in the body,” says Michael James Wong, meditation teacher and founder of The Meditation Center. Just breathe. “Studies show up to a 30 percent reduction in cortisol levels after practicing sustained meditation, for example. It can also strengthen attention networks in the brain, and research using fMRI has shown that just eight weeks of mindfulness training increases activity and intensity in the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for focus and decision-making.”

There are many different types of meditation you can try, including movement-based meditation, audio-guided sessions or mantras. Each practice can use a number of techniques. You may have heard of body scanning, visualization, or loving kindness.

“With meditation and breathing training methods, we look at practice in three distinct categories,” says Wong. These meditations include focused attention, present moment, here and now practices, and mantra-based practices to help expand awareness.

Where to start

Courtesy of CALM App

There is no one right way to meditate! Although there are many types of meditation, the breathing-based practice is simple. Guided sessions using an app e.g Just breathe or calm Being guided through the meditation can be helpful but is not necessary. Many traditional forms of meditation are performed in silence, but if you’re feeling particularly anxious or anxious, soothing music can help.