I find that belly breathing helps me to relax. I tried meditation for about a year and found it to be very difficult with slight emotional benefits that were not very long lasting. Unfortunately, I did not find my fellow meditators to be very friendly and that was a big turnoff. If I had a better body then I might try yoga again. My body is not flexible at all. I like to do sun salutations but found the rest to be mostly overkill. My most effective meditations were while staring into the flame of a lit candle. I found no benefit from repeating mantras.