Meditation made simple for busy people

It has been accepted by medical science that meditation is an excellent way of mind body practice for relaxation,improving psychological balance, coping with illness and enhancing overall wellness.
There are several methods of doing meditation but every method is not suitable to everyone. Meditation means awareness; so whatever is done "with awareness " is meditation. Some of the ways which can be easily followed in a busy life schedule is as follows.

Focussing attention on breath.
Sit quietly and focus attention
on the ingoing (inhalation)and outgoing (exhaling) breath. Yogic science postulates that there is a direct relationship between one's breath and one's state of mind. Rapid outgoing (exhaling)breath occurs in anger,and deep and slow when mind is calm and quiet. Thus only by concentrating the mind with awareness on continuous flow of inhalation and exhalation,breathing gradually becomes slower and deeper and the mind becomes tranquil & equipoise.

Mindful meditation
Keeping awareness on continuous flow of sensation, feeling, thought, sound and smell without being attached to them.

Eating and drinking consciously.
While taking food,be aware of the taste of your food,and drinking as also the process involved. If you feel sweetness, you become that sweetness. Then this sweetness can be felt all over the body not only in mouth or tongue. It can be felt over the body spreading in ripples. Hence it is important that whatever you are eating, feel the taste and become that taste. Similarly while drinking water, drink slowly and taste it, feel the coolness, as the coolness is being transferred to you,feel it spreading all over the body. Similar awareness of taste and temperature of any drink are to be felt.

Relaxing the breathing.
This is a very simple method as it can be practiced anywhere, anytime and in any posture. It can even be practiced while sitting in plane, car or in office,just close the eyes and watch the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation.

Since meditation is a process to attain awareness, so whatever you do with awareness is meditation, when you are feeling the coolness of water during bathing, it is meditation. Similarly listening to the chirping of birds, feeling the contact of air on body surface is also meditation. When you are aware of breathing rhythm of inhalation and exhalation, the coolness of ingoing breath and warmth of outgoing breath, it is meditation. When you are in the open and feeling the warmth of sunlight on your body surface, it is meditation. Similarly sitting or walking alertly is meditation. Even while talking,if you are engrossed in the talk wholeheartedly with awareness and involved in it without any distraction, it is meditation;while reading if you are totally engrossed in the reading without thinking anything else,it is meditation. Thus it is very simple to meditate just by adopting any of the aforesaid simple ways in daily activities. These are the easiest way of doing meditation in a busy life schedule.

Buddha was asked "what have you gained from meditation?He replied, "Nothing!"Then he continued, "However, let me tell You, what I have lost;anger,anxiety, depression, insecurity, and fear of old age and death. "
Simply by adopting such a lifestyle you will have all the above noted benefits of meditation.