Meditation is an effective way to release stress and clear your mind. It may be considered as a healthy exercise that would result to a more relaxed and healthy you. If you are curious about meditation and how it is done, then you just have to make sure that you remember some basic steps to properly do it to achieve the desired results of inner peace and tranquility.
You must have a quiet and comfortable environment around you. Sit comfortably in the half-lotus position. It may take some practice but this is the common position when doing meditation. Make sure to have your straight back and your body relaxed while doing it. Your arms must be in a relaxed position on your lap. Meditation time usually takes about 20 minutes but there is no real time limit at all.
Concentrate on your breathing. This is considered as the lifeline of meditation and the heart of it all. Try to inhale and then slowly exhale out for a few times. Free your mind of thoughts and relax while doing your breathing. Keep your eyes closed all the time to concentrate on your breathing and relaxation of your body. Try to feel your breathing as part of your whole body and let your mind wander. You may also let your mind concentrate on a single idea which is about happiness and that would result to really feeling the happiness within you. You can do this for about 5-10 minutes and when you open your eyes you would feel relaxed and at peace.
Try to step into your consciousness. You can focus on your breathing to do this combined with the relaxation of every part of your body. Even with your eyes closed you are still aware of yourself and your immediate surroundings, the only difference is that you have stepped into your consciousness that is free from problems and stress. It is like letting go of all earthly material that surrounds you. Inside your consciousness you are trying to achieve peace and happiness which you may not have when not in meditation. Again this takes time and practice but with enough perseverance you can do this easily.
As meditation involves your mind you might try to quiet your mind by a visualization technique. You may still have thoughts about problems that bother you and this is helpful to calm down your mind. One recommended visualization is to visualize an ocean with a giant wave that would wash away the problems in your mind. If you are able to visualize this in your mind then you have achieved certain calmness inside you.
Just remember that meditation is a learning process. Some claim that they can do meditation in about five minutes by just closing their eyes, doing deep breathing and letting go of their mind no matter where they are. This is possible if they are already involved in a higher level of meditation. But, since you may only want to try it as a form of a relaxation exercise then you start learning the basics of proper breathing and relaxation before going to the next higher level of meditation.