Think you've got it? Let's review the essentials:

1. Sit down.
2. Get quiet and don't move for the chosen amount of time.

Now, it's time to take all of what you've learned and apply it to this concept: the actual practice of meditation. The practice is coming to meditation regularly, say, every single morning. Or every single night. When you're deciding frequency, I want you to keep this in mind: it's easier to do something every single day than it is to do it just a few days a week.

What? I know, sounds wild. But it's true! There's lots of studies you can see, but I'll refer you back to yourself. Have you ever decided to keep a workout routine, or a journal? Did you decide three or four days a week would be sufficient? And then did you find your first 2-day break turning into a week?

Stick with daily. Stick with times that you have to yourself, and set a reminder in your phone to bring you to your practice. The first year of my practice, I put "Meditation" on my Google calendar every single day at 7:00 am. Some days I'd do 6:30, or 8. Depending on when I needed to wake up that day!

But the fact that it was there kept me accountable to myself.

Another fancy thing I made myself was a star system. Like in fifth grade, when I studied to make sure I always got 100% on my spelling tests. Just so I could get the little gold star in the back of the room and actually have the stars fill up the whole row, not just here and there.

What I'm saying is, I WANT MY STAR FOR MEDITATING.

So in my Health tracker in my iPhone, I update my meditation progress that day. Then, I can look back at the week, the month, the year to see all my little vertical bars that signify my meditation time each day. Those bars are my stars!

If you're new, start with 5 minutes. If you're seasoned but not yet dedicated, start with 10. When it gets easy, increase it 5 more minutes.

How long should your meditation be? Honestly, it differs from person to person. But scientifically, a daily 20-minute practice maintained for one year will change your brain for the better- FOR LIFE. That's right! You'll be smarter, calmer, and better wired. You'll be wiser, and more in tune with the voice behind the voice.

So pick what you're starting with, and I recommend working up to that 20-minute practice.

But 10 will always do, and can still change your life.

Thanks for being open to learning more for yourself.

May your practice calm, heal, and ground you.

I love you!

xo Tara