Tuning out the world's BS is hard enough; add car traffic, barking dogs or boisterous neighbors and you may never reach your moment of Zen. If street noise around your home is a distraction, consider rounding out your meditation area with a sound machine, or a Bluetooth speaker for playing ambient meditation music.

Listening to guided meditation sessions on your smartphone can also encourage focus; Gruver recommends the app Insight Timer, free for iPhone, and offers a few free guided meditation sessions on her website. Rains also offers a selection of guided meditations for beginners.

Garlinger recommends the free iPhone app Headspace, which "provides very helpful instructions, with a wide range of guided meditations," to beginners.

Still stuck in a meditation rut? Check out our Meditation Hacks for People Who Suck at Sitting Still.

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