30 day meditation challenge - calming the monkey mind

A few days back I wrote that I am taking up a challenge to meditate everyday for 30 days to help with anxiety. Today was the 4th day I have been meditating and it has been hard! I have been meditating for less than ten minutes with guided meditation and have really struggled to keep focused.

Lack of focus is common when people are new to meditation - often refered to as 'calming the monkey mind'. When I meditate I stop and analyse my thoughts and realise how fast and random my thoughts are - zipping from place to place often with no meaning or significance.

The idea with meditation is not to stop thoughts, but to realise what your thoughts are. I have been sticking to simple meditations for the moment - focussing on my breathe and not letting my thoughts wander to far.

So far I have already started to feel more calm, but the meditation is not easy! Lets hope it gets easier...