It's always the same when you start anything new - the age old question crops up of where to begin. Sometimes you get the option of beginners classes, which is a good indication that you're in the same group as other novices. But if you're looking for something like the best meditation for beginners, it's not always as easy to know where you should start. Here are some methods that many beginners find the best way to start meditating on a daily basis.

Breathing meditation

This can be something you do on an "ad hoc" basis or you may prefer to use a pre-recorded session that will guide you through the whole procedure, start to finish. Whenever I'm asked where to start with this, I suggest that a recorded session - usually available as an MP3 download - is the best place. Sure, it may cost a few dollars, but because the complete session is guided start to finish, you know that you're doing it right. And whether or not they're meditating correctly is probably the most frequently asked question amongst meditation novices.

Binaural beats meditation

In many ways this is even easier than going through a breathing meditation. Purists may argue that this isn't a real way to meditate but there is a lot of evidence that the state of relaxation reached with a binaural beats meditation is often deeper that many experienced meditators will ever reach. A binaural beats meditation is probably the laziest method you can use. It involves nothing more than sitting or laying down and playing a track to yourself, usually through headphones.

The mysterious sounding beats take care of everything else. Essentially, they bring the level of brainwave activity down to the same as you would experience if you'd had years of practice as a Zen monk. Research has been going on in this area for several decades and various tests have been done to make sure that the experience a deep level of meditation every time. There are a variety of different programs on the market that will help you to do this. Most of them will gradually take you down to deeper and deeper levels of meditation over a period of weeks or months, although you're totally in control and can use this at your own pace.

Guided meditation

These are similar in some respects to the breathing meditation but quite often will focus on a particular area that you want to improve in your life. Guided meditations are often used to help the body to heal itself. As you know, much of the healing process is controlled by your body anyway. Doctors can help by, for instance, putting your leg in plaster while it heals but just how much they do depends on the problem you're experiencing. A guided meditation can help the healing process by firstly helping you to relax and secondly by helping your body's self defense mechanisms to operate at their best. Many people find that using this kind of meditation is an excellent way to help their recuperation.