5 tips that can help improve your meditation practice include:  

1. Bringing it back to basics. Your mind is accustomed to constant stimulation through television, music, and your phone. Limiting technology may seem like torture, but throughout history people have not have cell phones and survived just fine. The simple, but not easy task of solely concentrating only on your breath and repeating 3 syllables may seem like an insult to your intelligent brain! You are too smart for your own good. 

2. Don’t take the bait. Once your mind starts to wander, as you know it will… and starts thinking about what’s on your to-do list, that incident at work last week, or your plans for your next vacation. Stop It! Stay present. Simply observe your thoughts, however don’t get involved with them. Thoughts have a tendency to go crazy, jumping from this topic to that topic. It’s entertaining to just watch the thoughts, like a soap opera. 

3. Practice in a comfortable environment. Your environment is important to cultivate a successful meditation practice. Physical comfort is important, with a straight spine, so the energy can flow freely throughout your body. Find a comfortable pillow or chair to sit on, otherwise, you’ll spend your meditation thinking about how uncomfortable you are. If you meditate in the same spot, your area develops a nice calm energy that you may be able to notice when you enter the room. 

4. Find the style of meditation that is a good fit for you. You could choose to do a silent meditation or a voice-guided meditation. A guided meditation is a good place to start. The important part is maintaining a consistent practice. Once you become more advanced, you can try silent meditation. The silence will most likely drive you crazy when you begin, however with practice you will improve.

5. Develop a routine. It is more beneficial to practice a few minutes a day, rather than a few times a week for a longer duration. Meditation trains your mind not to go crazy when something happens. Instead of reacting, these few seconds train your mind to respond instead.