The 1-Minute De-Stressing Trick That Gabrielle Bernstein Swears By

Welcome to Well+Good’s (Re)New Year—a five-week expert-led program that’s all about helping you have your best year yet. For Week Five, we’re excited to have Gabrielle Bernstein, the ‎self-help phenom (not to mention best-selling author and member of our Wellness Council). Throughout the week, she’ll be sharing her tips for how to channel the self love and confidence you’ve been working on throughout the program—so that you can be your most grounded and powerful self all year long.

Although simple in concept, meditation can actually be quite difficult.

Bringing stillness to the body is one thing—and it's sometimes a tricky thing in itself—but quieting the mind is a beast. Between work stress, to-do list tasks, and random thoughts about food, it can be impossible to stop your train of thought.

But if mastering the art of the meditation is on your 2017 bucket list, I've developed a simple and easy trick that can instantly help you focus: Find peace in your pulse.

And don't read too much into the description—it's as simple as it sounds. By focusing on one particular sound of movement (in this case, your heartbeat), the pressure of trying to ignore your surroundings floats away. Instead, you're able to improve your concentration and bring calm to even the most scattered mind.

Follow these three steps to finding peace in your pulse. And I'd love to see your favorite meditation spot—post pics on Instagram and tag #iamwellandgood!

Gabrielle Bernstein's guide to finding peace in your pulse

1. Sit comfortably cross-legged on the floor. Lightly close your eyes and focus on the space between your eyebrows (the third-eye point). The mantra is "sat nam"—which means "truth identified."

2. The hand position—mudra—is simple. Place the four fingers of your right hand on your left wrist and feel your pulse. Make sure your fingers are in a straight line and are lightly pressed on the wrist so you can feel your pulse in each fingertip.

3. On each beat of your pulse, mentally hear the sound of "sat nam." This meditation can be done any time, anywhere—and you can experience great benefits in just one minute. Practice it daily to develop your intuition and calm your mind.

The (Re)New Year series is not a “New Year, New You” program. (We think you’re pretty great as is!) Instead, we tapped the biggest and best influencers across the wellness space to help kick off the New Year in the best possible way. Between heart-racing workouts, DIY beauty recipes, and killer confidence advice, get ready to have your happiest and healthiest year yet.