Meditation cheat sheet

1. Practise regularly

“Meditation training is just like physical training; the more regularly you do it, the stronger you’ll get.”

2. Create a routine
“Find a spot that fits well with your life and daily routine.” Plan ahead to make it work for you.

3. Commit
“Discipline is important, but remember, discipline does not mean you need to sit for an hour. Discipline means that if you choose to sit for 10 minutes, then you do indeed sit for 10 minutes.”

4. Suck it up
If you feel a bit uncomfortable, stick with it. “It’s important to accept that meditation won’t always feel good. Our ever-changing physical, emotional and mind states means that our meditation practice will be different every day,” Dr Watkins says. That said, if it’s physically intolerable, you may not have understood the technique correctly.

5.Just do it
Don’t think there’s no point meditating if you can’t spare 20 minutes. “It’s not an endurance test,” says Dr Watkins. Taylor agrees: “If you choose to meditate for less than 20 minutes, it’s unlikely you will experience the same physical benefits.

We’re not talking 10-day Vipassana retreats, but infusing simple activities with mindfulness. “The kind of daily momentary thing like making your food or doing the dishes and actually feeling the warmth of the water on your hand while you’re doing it…daily mindfulness activities of just noticing and being aware of your five senses,” 

7. Check KPIs
Done correctly, meditation will quickly yield tangible results – particularly if you’ve returned from a Vipassana course and are attempting to recreate the technique at home. “The practice starts to work immediately.