You are convinced that you can improve your life by improving your thoughts? Here’s how you can start:

It’s extremely important to allocate at least 15-20 minutes a day towards
mental health. We spend so much time taking care of our body through exercise, grooming and healthy eating.  Let’s start to spend a little time taking care of our emotional & mental state. 
I am listing out a few options to jump start your spiritual practice. You can choose what works for you or which you find most interesting or do-able. 
Do it for 30- 60 days to see the positive effects in your life! Consistency is key! So be as regular as possible. 

It can be tough initially to find the motivation to do it every day, but once you start seeing the benefits percolate into your everyday life, you won’t want to stop! In fact, there is a chance you might start finding more and more time to do these practices after you see the magic of them 

Choose any one of the below and do it for 15 minutes everyday. 

Awareness of breath:
This is one of the most effective ways to start having better control over our mind. The method is simple, however practicing it can be quite tough in the beginning.
It involves just being aware of the breath. You can observe the inhale & exhale at the tip of your nostril, or feel your chest or belly expand and contract with every inhale and exhale. Just watch the natural breath.

Asana practice
Depending on the time of day and the state of your mind, you can do certain asanas sequences. These are physical postures which can be dynamic or static. It’s best to talk to a yoga teacher or contact me to design a sequence specific to your requirements! Whatever the sequence is, keep in mind that it should not become mechanical. Do it with the intention of being present with the sensation in your body and the movement of your breath as you are doing the asanas. 

Guided meditation
There are so many free apps for meditation! I use Insight Timer. It has 1000s of guided meditations. It can be fun to experiment with different ones to see what fits your needs best. I love the ones on mindfulness of body sensation!

Reading a spiritual book or scripture 
Reading a few pages of a good book can be quite fun! After some time, you can start experimenting with sitting and contemplating on what you read for about 5-10 minutes. 
Remembering and trying to implement what you read through the day would give you the best results!
Some books that I really like are:
Profile of a perfect person – Jaya Row
The Untethered Soul – Michael A Singer.

Reflection & introspection
This is a great method for those who enjoy the process of self-analysis. Reflection can be done at night. You start by trying to remember everything you did in the day, in as much detail as possible! It’s great for memory as well.
It is super useful to remember points in the day when you felt off balance. Maybe realize and note when you were irritated, agitated, angry, annoyed or troubled. 
I have found that – just noting this, the next time I experience similar emotions in the day, I am more aware of what is happening


Direct observation of your thoughts
This is interesting for people who are curious about how their mind works.
You count from 1 to 200 , at a pace where each number is about 1 second.
As you are counting, notice the thoughts that come to distract you. You can keep a mental note of these or a diary at the end of each session. Do this about 3-4 times in your 15 minute session.
It’s fascinating to see our thought patterns, the way the mind works and the thoughts that re-occur more often than others! 

Pranayam/breathing exercises 
You can contact a yoga teacher for specific Pranayams. However 2 safe ones that everyone can do are:

1) Alternate Nostril Breathing : 10 minutes of this a day can do wonders!
There are many videos and articles of this method online.

2) 1:1 Breathing: Doing equal lengths of inhale and exhale.
For example inhaling for 5 counts & exhaling for 5 counts.

Chanting 
Chanting mantras can help in improving focus and over time it helps in controlling the monkey mind!
There are of course many other benefits of chanting as well.

Mindfulness in daily life
If you feel like you don’t have any time to spare for these practices. You can start with this.
Every day, try to be present while doing some mundane activity.
This can be as simple as brushing your teeth, showering, eating breakfast or travelling to work! Just try to be completely present with the action. If your mind wanders off to the past or future, just gently bring it back to the action you are doing!