This week on The Upgrade we spoke with author and meditation instructor Sharon Salzberg about love.

Need to fall asleep fast? One mid-century relaxation technique, developed in the US Navy Pre-Flight School, supposedly works within minutes. It may not be magic, but it seems like a pretty good way to relax your body and mind.

Video: If you’ve wondered what the dying can teach us about how to live well, Koshin Paley Ellison can tell you.

I once ran a marathon and gave birth to a baby in the same year, and found them to be, mentally, very similar events. In both cases it doesn’t hurt too much in the beginning, but you know you have to save your strength. You will hit a point where you feel your body can go no further, and yet there is still further to go. And you can never truly predict what will happen in the end.

I've meditated maybe four times in my life: once on a couch in therapy, once on a bench in Central Park, once in bed trying to sleep. I'm one of those people who's been saying "I should really try meditation" for years. And maybe I will, after meditating for the fourth time in my life, on a bus in downtown Manhattan. I haven't learned anything that will be new to experienced meditators, but if you're another of those "I should try" people, read on.

Video: Meditation expert and author Dean Sluyter teaches the practice of “natural” meditation. In the video above, he explains how to get into the proper mindset, how often one should meditate, and how to avoid the common problem of “trying” to meditate.

If you already use Audible for audiobooks, you now have a new perk in your account: Access to three fitness programs from Aaptiv, with more in the works.

We all know that waking up to an alarm clock is pretty much the worst way possible to get up in the morning, although arguably the most efficient.

As a kid, Mallika Chopra’s father, Deepak Chopra, would ask her to explore four questions: Who am I? What do I want? How can I serve? What am I grateful for?

Now as an entrepreneur, public speaker, and the author of the new children’s meditation guide Just Breathe, Mallika uses those questions to help others know their intentions and improve their lives. She has taught meditations to thousands of people around the world, including her two daughters, Tara and Leela. Here’s how she parents.

Having trouble falling asleep, but meditation isn't your thing? The good people of Reddit have some recommendations for chatty podcasts and tracks where the sounds of voices can lull you into dreamland.

Google has given us the best email service, the best Maps app, one of the best AI assistants and the best search engine. And now, they're getting into the mindfulness game, as well.

Take a deep breath... hold it... breathe out... now wait a sec before breathing in again. Bookmark QuietKit's box breathing for a follow-along animation to help you do this any time you need it.

When you just want to turn your brain off and sleep, meditation apps are perfect. A guiding voice, or the sounds of something peaceful such as rain, helps to fill the silence so your thoughts can’t creep in. The best ones strategically bore you into drowsiness. (You can look for sleep-focused meditation tracks, but I’m guilty of misusing the Headspace intro lessons for this purpose.)

Meditation (and specifically mindfulness meditation) has become increasingly popular, thanks to apps such as Headspace and studies touting the lasting effects of mindfulness on the mind and body. But are these apps really as effective as serious meditation training? And do these studies’ findings have any basis in reality?

Even before you download an app to help you meditate, or to manage your depression, it's speaking to you. Apps' marketing often implies that everyday stresses should be seen as mental health issues, and that you're on your own (with the help of the app, of course) to fix whatever is wrong with you.

Achieving that zen state of mind is crucial for maximum productivity at work and at home.

Mindfulness meditation apps are all the rage, but repetitive sessions, irrelevant meditation themes and lack of customisation can leave you feeling disconnected.

Mindbliss’s customised meditations keep your needs in mind for more peace of mind in less time.

No one enjoys the sneezing, fever and aches that come with colds and flu, but unfortunately, once you’re sick all you can do is wait it out. Between getting a ton of fluids and even more rest, you might try some mindfulness meditation to help you find some mental and emotional relief.

Sometimes, the best and only way to unwind is to pop open a bottle (or can) of your favourite beverage, dim the lights a little bit (or light up a candle or two or 20), and fire up some Bob Ross videos.

The hardest task on most to-do lists is the invisible one: Getting motivated to do anything at all. And the more important your tasks are, the more you can scare yourself out of even starting. One trick to fight this, according to the producers of the YouTube channel How to ADHD, is a simple meditation-like technique.