The most important thing when meditating is to be comfortable.

If you’re sitting and thinking my back is aching, my legs are hurting or my bottom is numb – you are doing just that – thinking.

The whole point of meditation is to stop thinking, even if it’s for a few brief moments. Ideally, posture should enhance meditation, not hinder it.

A good meditation cushion helps to maintain a strong posture and provides peace of mind.

In fact, the more supported you are, the longer you can sit in meditation.It will assist in the movement of energy up and down the spine and your breathing will flow freely.

With that in mind, when I left marie claire magazine to set up my own meditation school, I went on the search for the right accessories to market as part of my offering from Still Your Mind.

I started with cushions and what I found was very disappointing. Most were made from either crushed velvet or buckwheat. I thought to myself ‘not only mung-bean eating hippies meditate’.  I wanted cushions that were modern and stylish to appeal to the more sophisticated students I was teaching.

The more research I did, the more excited I became. I sat on many different cushions judging each by the comfort and support they provided for my back.

I also wanted the cushions to have a point of difference – to be both natural and sustainable. To my luck, I found a company in Sydney which made cushion ‘inners’ from recycled plastic bottles.

After many meetings, we had the style and the fill right so that the cushion was firm and gave maximum back support promoting a solid posture for the 20 minute duration of regular meditation practice.

And so the Still Your Mind meditation/ floor cushion range was born! Each cushion saves 85 plastic bottles from landfill. Featuring covers from 100% cotton/linen which can be removed for washing, the colour combinations include-

• Black/ grey
• Brown/biscuit
• Lilac/ lilac pattern
• Pink/ pink pattern
• Orange/ lime green

Each retails for $90 and are available from www.stillyourmind.com.au

No wonder you feel so good when you meditate!

‘Om’ is being chanted in private studios and from mountain tops to movie sets.

What is meditation? It’s a deep relaxation method that stills the mind and stops the constant chatter in your head. When this internal dialogue ceases the mind settles. Because the mind and the body are so closely related, when the mind is still, the body can begin to relax too.

Quite simply: meditation gives you peace of mind. This is why long-term meditators have a reputation for being such relaxed people!

Research has shown the rest we get during meditation is actually much deeper than the rest gained in sleep (20 minutes of meditation can be equivalent to 7 hours’ shut-eye). And we all know how much a good night’s sleep – or lack thereof – can affect our performance at work and at home.

Rest is nature’s way of healing our body. As deep rest is an essential aspect of recovery and rejuvenation, meditation plays an important role in enlivening your inner healer.

So why meditate? Meditation has more benefits than most people realise. It lowers blood pressure, strengthens the immune system, reduces stress toxins in your body and brings peace, relaxation and happiness into everyday life.

This relaxation response is why those at the highest levels of corporate success are taking time to meditate, reducing stress levels and improving overall wellbeing.

To read the entire artcicle click on

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/soul+happiness/wellbeing/how+to+relax+the+mind+with+meditation,10725

• Increased heart rate
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased breathing
• Increased stress hormone release
• Sweating
• Weakened immunity (sneezing, catching colds, virus etc)
• Clotting of blood platelets (cells that stop blood from clotting)

In our day to day lives we activate this stress and extra adrenalin from simple things such as sitting in slow traffic, arriving at working and having too many emails, receiving an expensive phone bill or having an argument with a loved one etc.

Through meditating to handle this stress, the body shifts into a state of restful awareness, in which we see:

• Decreased heart rate
• Normalisation of blood pressure
• Quiet breathing
• Reduced stress hormones
• Reduced sweating
• Strengthened immunity

It takes 20 minutes to-

• Make a cup of coffee and have a short break
• Do your makeup
• Have a shower and shave
• Water the garden
• Phone your friend
• Email on Facebook
• Queue at the bank
• Call Telstra and be on hold to India

You will look great when your makeup is done; you will feel a sense of achievement when you have watered the garden; you will feel ready to conquer the day when you have showered and shaved; you will feel relaxed when you have been in contact with your friends; you will feel ordered when the banking is complete; you will be back online when you have spoken to India.

You will feel all of the above and more when you meditate. Meditation is not only the easiest way to get everything you need done (and I mean this), but it is also a scientific, certified stress relief modality. It is guaranteed to bring you clarity, calmness and the peace of mind we all seek. It also makes you feel and look younger, it stimulates the human growth hormone and is equivalent of up to seven hours sleep. Why wouldn’t you spend up to 20 minutes a day doing this? Most likely you will say that you don’t have the time.

Of course, you will always have time to have a cup of coffee and solve the problems of the world with your friends for 20 minutes, spend 20 minutes on Facebook and God knows how many hours you lose to television and none of these can guarantee to make you more focussed, more relaxed, more capable (and did I say youthful?) than the simple process of meditation.

Primordial Sound Meditation does not require any radical lifestyle changes, massive time commitments or awkward physical postures. Rather, once instructed correctly, it can be enjoyed anywhere you can sit comfortably with your eyes closed – in the office, park, plane, bus or at home.

So what are you waiting for? It time to meditate to improve your overall wellbeing by reducing the stress and anxiety in your life. It will make you feel happier, more relaxed, positive and confident.