Illustration: Courtesy of Headspace

There may be a part of you that really digs certain aspects of meditation. The problem is that the benefits of meditation are cumulative (the more you do it, the better you get at it), and if you find you're only in meditation mode once in a while, you're missing out. Fortunately, meditation guru Andy Puddicombe is there for you when you're in everyday-frazzled phase--and he's also there for people who don't know the first thing about mindfulness. 

Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk-turned-circus clown-turned-start-up entrepreneur (we're not making this up), founded the British organization Headspace to demystify meditation for the masses. In his book, Headspace: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day (which launched in the US this month), he explains the difference between the "aspirin approach" to meditation, which is using it as an occasional cure for stress--totally fine, but limited, he says--and the more integrated approach of weaving mindfulness into our daily activities. And then he goes on to show us exactly how to do that, with exercises that range from a minute of simply "not doing" to ten minutes of more traditional relaxation (these are also available as guided audio meditations on Headspace.com).

What we like about Puddicombe, besides his self-deprecating British sense of humor, is that he's equally enthusiastic about the scientific benefits of meditation as he is about the more metaphysical perks. We also like his practical approach to mindfulness--he can find a way to work it into just about every part of our daily routine. To see what we mean, check out this "airplane meditation" he shared with us that is designed to discreetly help us relax find peace while in the air.

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More mini meditations you can incorporate into your day