I am leading this meeting, and I can't afford waves of panic and frustration ruling my thinking.

While my team ponders something irrelevant, I mute myself and go for an emergency 60-second meditation session.

1. Look at the horizon for 30 seconds.

TIP: This is a reliable technique to broaden your perspective and calm the nervous system. Get out of the stress-oriented tunnel vision and allow your eyes to register what is happening on the periphery or in the distance. Instantly calming.

2. Assess my inner state.

Ok, I very rarely get irritated during my meetings.

So, what's happening? Aha, my daughter got sick and woke me up at 5:40 am. I am missing at least an hour of sleep, and my immune system might be fighting a cold.

So, I acknowledge a part of me that is tired, send her some compassion, and promise a nap after the meeting is done.

TIP: Recognizing our feelings, allowing them, and giving some nurturing presence is the fastest way to work through challenging emotions.

Let's talk about mantras for a second, specifically about mantras given to us by other people.

Some years ago, when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, I would go out for lunch with one of my friends, a brilliant woman who also worked in biotech. Once, she shared that she went to see an Ayurvedic healer.

"I loved it," she continued, "but it is hard now to continue practicing on my own." Intrigued, I asked her what she was doing.

How many times have I delayed doing something that will fulfill my aspirations and explained it away by saying, "I need to research this more" or, "I need to figure out a perfect way to do it"? When, in reality, I was just afraid to make a move on my dream.

"Straight out of heaven, psychedelic, and life-changing" - these are how some of my meditation sessions felt when I just started practicing. Being filled with bliss to the brim. Others were just "meh".

Being a type A, control-oriented person, I felt like I failed because I couldn't easily "repeat my success". I almost felt performance anxiety, which clearly demonstrated how dependent my sense of self-worth was on results and achievements—a sad and constricted place to be. Even the most sacred time, meant for me to hang out with my Soul and step away from the burdens of being a human, was turned, once again, into an opportunity to judge myself and judge harshly.

A couple of years back, I was coaching meditation to a childhood friend from Russia who suffered from insomnia. Her son was only 4 months old, and even though at night she was exhausted, she couldn't fall asleep.

We did a simple 5-minute "do nothing" exploration to see how it went, and she seemed to enjoy it. Then she said what I offered was very different from what her yoga teacher friend instructed her to do.

I asked her if she enjoyed these other practices that her friend taught her. She said, "No. I was trying to breathe correctly, controlling my inhalation and exhalation.

3 Situations When You Should Celebrate Falling Asleep in Meditation

One of the most common complaints I hear as a meditation coach is, "I tried meditating, but I keep falling asleep." Here is my take on it. Falling asleep is perfectly normal in these 3 situations.

"Mayya, if something feels bad in your body, you are probably going in the wrong direction," my business coach told me recently. This shocked me. I am used to analyzing all the data and thinking rationally before making decisions.

However, I learned the difference between unjustified fear and subtle and true sensations of danger. You conquer the first and abide by the second.

I asked my 12-year old daughter what she would do if she were Snow. She sounded depressed, "Ma, he started trying to do good things, but somehow ended up deeper in the mess. I don’t know what I would do in his shoes. It was unfair and hopeless."

Yep. Life can certainly be very messy, unfair, and dark. I wanted to teach my daughter something that would help her down the road. How do we keep finding light, beauty, and strength to keep us out of the dark when life really pushes us?

So, I gave my daughter the best advice I had

Here is the top reason why people can’t meditate.

I promise it will blow your mind.

Whenever I mention that I am a meditation coach, one of the most typical reactions I get is, “I am not the person who can meditate. I mean, wish I could. But any time I try, I fail.”

If you belong to the camp of people, “I wish I could meditate, but it just doesn’t work for me,” here is some practical advice for you.