The second thing you'll need is a timer.

I recommend that you simply use your phone, but just make sure to turn your phone's radio off before you begin meditating. Pretty much every phone has a timer built-in, and if you have a smartphone, chances are there is a great meditation app for it too.

• Insight Timer is a good pick, and there's a free version of it available for iPhone and Android. You can even see who around the world is meditating when you are!

• If you're willing to pony up a few bucks ($2.99), Meditate for iPhone is a good pick, and it's the one I use. It's dead-simple, and displays a simple page of stats after you finish.

I wouldn't recommend buying an actual, physical meditation timer. When a free app that works on your phone accomplishes the exact same thing, I don't personally see a point.