I have skimmed the surface of meditation practice a couple years back when I first quit. Definitely helped calm me down and reduce anxiety. Also when I woke in the middle of the night sometimes I would have a racing heart, high BP, a talkative mind, etc... I remember doing simple breathing exercises allowed me to relax my mind and body and fall back asleep! poweful stuff it can be!
This book is generally regarded as one of the best "how to" guides for meditation. It is very little philosophy, dogma, this way is better than that way, etc... just teaches you how to get started and its a quick short read. It is offered for free to boot.
I have not reached the post count to post links... so search "Mindfulness in Plain English" on google and one of the forst results will be a PDF for the entire book. CHeck it out, its a very good source to get started with.