When meditating, if we notice our attention wandering, we gently bring our focus back to the meditation object again and again. This approach works fine, but there is another layer to the practice that can help you to stay focused and mindful for longer and far more effectively.

In order to get the best out of our formal meditation sessions, we need to ensure that our internal and external environments are optimized.

To be clear, mindfulness is not the act of meditating. It is the state that arises from our meditation practice. Therefore, mindfulness is not dependent on the use of the breath as a meditation object. Anything can be used: sounds, sights, physical sensations, thoughts, and even awareness itself. In fact, if we want to integrate the benefits into our everyday life, it is vital that we explore mindfulness across a broad spectrum of meditation objects. That way, we will have the tools of mindfulness readily available to employ, wherever and whenever we need them. What is the point of our practice if the benefits do not transcend the meditation mat?

‘I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.’ - Mahatma Gandhi

We do not meditate when we feel like it, or just when the mood strikes. No, we meditate every day, without fail.

It is important to highlight something here about habit acquisition. Go slowly and make sure all changes are life appropriate. If we go too hard too soon, we risk dropping the practice entirely.

Exercise and meditation are remarkably similar. Both require focused attention, dedication, education, and practice. Both are tremendously beneficial to physical and mental health. And both require a level of faith.

With practice, your ability to maintain focus will naturally improve. However, there are three techniques, counting, labeling and intention setting, that can be added to the above meditation that will provide you with immediate improvements.

Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from purposefully paying non-judgmental attention to the present moment.

This brief definition hides a significant amount of wisdom, so it is worth unpacking. Mindfulness is the awareness, not the act of meditation. We practice meditation to become mindful, first on the meditation mat, and then increasingly in our everyday lives. We do this by paying nonjudgmental awareness to the present moment. This sounds simple enough, but it can be deceptively complex. It involves observing the contents of consciousness, both internal and external, for what they are, as they are; without overlaying additional judgements, labels, thoughts, concepts, wishes, desires, or anything else.