What can meditation do for you? According to science, it can do a lot to improve your health and wellness!

Even a meditation practice that’s ten minutes a day while you walk on your lunch break can:

Help reduce: the risk of heart disease, pain, depression, and anxiety

Help increase: immune system functioning, energy, and happiness

What’s the science behind this? Research says regular meditation can help regulate your body’s production of the hormone cortisol. Overproduction and prolonged production of cortisol (brought on by repeated and constant stress) can negatively affect your brain, immune system—and even contribute to anxiety, depression, heart disease, and more.

Practicing meditation simply means focusing your attention inward to relax, and there are many different ways to do this. Here are a few common ones:

Concentration meditation—practices focusing the mind

Heart-centered meditation—involves quieting the mind and being aware of the heart

Mindfulness meditation—encourages objectively addressing negative thoughts

Transcendental meditation—asks you to repeat a word, phrase or sound to help quiet your thoughts

Walking meditation—asks you to walk and breathe with each footstep, which allows you to focus on the breath and body

To get some simple tips on starting a meditation practice that best fits with your life, check out some of the articles on The Chopra Center website like “8 steps to Establish a Daily Meditation Practice” on The Chopra Center website.