I admit: my mom was my motivation in writing this article. (Hi, Mom!)

She’s been pretty stressed over the last couple years, what with the virus, family stuff, politics, and so on. (I’m sure most of you can relate.)

I’ve suggested mindfulness to her and she said she didn’t really know where to start and that she felt like she needed a simple, beginner’s guide to mindfulness. This is that guide. I hope it will help her — and you! — find your way to a less-stressful and happier life. 

I was fortunate enough to have a teacher and guide when I started my mindfulness journey. He had decades of experience in mindful practice and had studied overseas with experts in the subject. As a clinical psychologist, he was also a strong proponent of the health benefits of mindful meditation. I was skeptical at first but he won me over, and I’m very glad he did.

Because I learned from him, a lot of the advice I’m going to share with you is based on what he told me — tips, tricks, books, and so on. 

Read more

I was thinking about my hopes and goals for this year and how I plan to reach them.

I wanted to come up with a simple routine that I could do every day. But also something that would, over time, have a big impact. And something easy to remember!

I read a couple articles about “ten minutes a day of X” or “do Y three times every day,” and I liked the idea, but none of those fit quite right.

So I thought: let’s combine some of these.

Read more