Although I’m a certified meditation teacher, I grew up a skeptic and I understand where the skeptics are coming from. I respect their wariness of various spiritual practices, especially if it falls into the “new age” category—I once was very wary too.

And in fact, I still remain skeptical of certain modalities. I don’t blindly trust everything but I am open to trying things out for myself. If I notice a real benefit, then I’ll endorse it. If not, I’ll dismiss it as not for me.

But meditation is different. Meditation has the science world at its back and so even skeptics can embrace the practice. These days, it seems everyone is aware of the real benefits to be attained from meditation—the challenge is not in persuading people that it works, but more to get busy, stressed people to give some of their precious time to trying it out.

My mission is to reach those who think they don’t have the time to meditate—the stay at home moms who are never off-duty, the workaholic executives, the shift workers whose body clocks have to constantly readjust to changing routines, the full-time workers who are also full-time parents, those working two jobs to make ends meet—and help them develop a daily meditation habit despite their crazy schedules.

Because the truth is, even five minutes a day can make a difference to our wellbeing. Every meditation counts and regular practice is more important than long sessions.

I’ve been intending to create an infographic to help with this, but my efforts to date have frustrated me. Not being a graphic designer, I struggled to create what I wanted using online templates. So, when I came across this one my heart did a little dance with joy.

A fellow skeptic, award-winning journalist and ABC news anchor, Dan Harris discovered the benefits of meditation following an on-air panic attack. The practice helped him to stop taking drugs and reduce his stress levels without affecting his focus, which he recounts in his book titled 10% Happier’ He also teamed up with Happify.com to create the following infographic which is a perfect guide for those who are new to the practice.

If you’ve been thinking about it, but resisting for some reason, then I recommend you check this out:

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Relephant:

Mindfulness for Beginners: Dispelling 7 Myths of Meditation

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Author: Hilda Carroll
Editor: Alli Sarazen
Infographic: Happify.com