The Meditation Bible (this is'nt religious) offers a wide variety of different meditation techniques. You can find used copies cheaper on Amazon.com I used to have a good book by a Doctor but it's out of print. There were active walking or working meditations as well as sitting breathing meditations. It can get very bewildering all the different types that are out there!

I took a class on Vipassana meditation at the local community college last year and liked it. It focused on our breathing, body awareness and included movement.

I would feel cool, calm and collected for at least a day after each class.

This style of meditation is even becoming popular for use in prisons, resulting in a reduction of violence among inmates.

Whatever meditation technique you learn, the best thing is to incorporate it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit.

Oh, that kind of mediation. I thought you were planning to settle one of the global warming threads.

Yoga is a series of movements. One of the key features of yoga is the breathing technique. Breathing is also a primary feature of meditation. You can meditate just by sitting quietly in a room, no noises, eyes closed, breathing deeply. There are techniques, though, that will help you with the breathing exercises, and you can even do the breath work during the day whenever you feel stressed.

You have to, have to, have to, have to be patient with meditation. People (like me) expect to have a "clear mind" the first time out and get frustrated when they don't and give up. My brain is always noisy, but that is in part to lingering neurological damage. But, I have been able to control it over time. Don't give up on it just because you can't clear out things quickly. Don't go all crazy trying to "get it right". It is a technique that many people have spent their lives studying. Perseverance.

Oh, I have taken yoga classes. It was fun, but I never got to the head standing stage. I need to start again, the stretching would be good for me.

You can do a search for zazen and your town, and that should bring up any sitting centers in your area. They usually have a beginners sitting practice and if you have a chance to go on a retreat that is really a cool experience. If you don't like it you can leave. I practiced sitting many years ago with a friend who retired from the police force and took up the cloth, I am not sure what church. It wasn't budist.

Tai Chi Chuan is good for strengthening one's mind and body for meditation. Tai Chi also helps with balance and helps people from falling off of motorpickles which are at a dead stop.

There are all type of schools. Most of them do not charge anything for the first class. Don't watch; get in there and sweat. Watch the students and see if their smooth movements are connected from the ground through their finger tips.

We practice the Chan style and include some Chi Quong exercises as a centering exercises. Keep looking even if it takes a year or more to find the right teacher for you.

Good luck!

Foghorn

Meditation can be as simple or as complicated as you want. I recommend taking a class first to get the basics, but you can do meditation on your own once you know what you are doing. Most meditation focuses on breathing to clear the mind, but there are other ways to do this like a repeated word or phrase. Yoga uses simple movements or postures for the same effect. Then there are guided meditations that ask you to imagine places or activities. My favorite meditations were in my sunday school where we would meditate to Beatles music.

Once you start you'll realize meditation allows you more control over your body and your mind. I don't often do formal meditations anymore, but I'll use it to calm myself before getting a shot or to help get myself back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night. It can take a couple of tries to get into the right frame of mind. A formal class setting can really help with this as you won't be as tempted to give up early or to fall asleep. But once you have the basics down you can design your own meditations that work best for you.

A great book that talks about the medical benefits of meditation is "The Relaxation Response" by Dr. Herbert Benson. It is the best book I have found. Very simple technique that really works in 20 min. per day. I highly recommend it.
Kathy