Become fully alive to the present moment using the sensations of body and breathing as a method of cultivating mindful awareness.

Ultimately, meditation is something you can do anywhere and at any time, so getting comfortable meditating without guidance can be useful.

It’s about stripping away distractions and staying on track with individual, as well as organizational, goals. Take control of your own mindfulness: Test these tips for 14 days and see what they do for you.

Some people cultivate mindfulness in order to hone their attention and focus, while others see it as a tool for a kinder attitude and more intentional behavior. While seemingly simple, practicing mindfulness actually involves a variety of skills.

The best way to to set ourselves up to keep meditating is knowing our intention. Why do we want to meditate? Being clear about what we want to get out of our practice — whether it’s to feel happier, feel calmer, be more focused, or be less stressed — will be a big help in creating the right attitude going into it.

Mindfulness helps health care professionals cope with stress, connect with their patients, and improve their general quality of life. It also helps mental health professionals by reducing negative emotions and anxiety, and increasing their positive emotions and feelings of self-compassion.

’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good

Let go of any thoughts that arise. Attend to your breath. Doing so will allow you to let go of the stresses of the day so you can return home and be fully present with your family.

This can be accomplished by sitting on the edge of a chair or another seat, or by sitting on the floor with a support like a meditation cushion under your hips.

This exercise is intended to help you focus on the present moment, and can be tried with different foods.

As long as our back is 852 Hz chakras straight, our neck and shoulders are relaxed, and our chin is slightly tucked, we can sit wherever we feel comfortable for the length of the meditation. We can sit on our couch, a dining or office chair, propped up by pillows on the bed, or on a cushion.

In another study, people with heart disease were randomly assigned to either an online program to help them practice meditation or to a waitlist for the program while undergoing normal treatment for heart disease.

, researchers from Germany aimed to differentiate how specific components of mindfulness influenced people’s feelings in daily life. They found that when it comes to our emotions, not all mindfulness skills are created equal. Seventy students ages 20-30 received pings via smartphone six times a day over the course of nine days.

Mindfulness training for families may lead to less-stressed parents who pay more attention to their kids.