Do you have a regular mindfulness meditation practice as part of your daily routine? There are many benefits of mindfulness meditation, including increased relaxation, increased ease of falling asleep, reduced physical and emotional pain, better mental clarity and focus, and feelings of calm, happiness, and peace. Whether you are looking for ways to manage anxiety and stress, sleep better, or improve your productivity throughout the day, mindfulness meditation could be a great addition to your wellbeing toolkit!

Perhaps you’ve been practicing mindfulness meditation for a while and have experienced some or all of these benefits. Maybe you’ve heard about the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of this form of meditation, however you still keep coming up against some resistance towards integrating it into your daily routine?

Myths and Misconceptions of Mindfulness Meditation

When I first enrolled in a mindfulness meditation teacher training course earlier this year, I became aware of the many myths and misconceptions that can put people off from meditating or dare I go as far as to say that these myths can even trick people into thinking that they are ‘no good’ at meditation. I soon learned that like many, these meditation myths were getting in the way of being able to fully reap the benefits of this practice and were also the cause of any resistance I would come up against when trying to form a daily meditation routine.  

When you think of the words ‘mindfulness meditation’ what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s immediately associated with a visual image of someone sitting cross legged on the floor in lotus pose, with the back of the palms of their hands resting on their knees, and thumb and index finger lightly touching to form a mudra? These images and assumptions of what mindfulness meditation involves can deliver a false promise of reaching a deep state of calm and profound level of enlightenment.

Some of the most common myths around mindfulness meditation include the idea that you need to create a daily practice where you will sit still, eyes shut, empty your mind, and reach a newfound state of peace and calm in order to meditate ‘successfully’. Maybe you don’t have thirty minutes every day to sit still and meditate? Maybe 30 or even 15-minutes of daily meditation sounds too much and even a little intimidating? This series of unspoken rules and assumptions can be off-putting to anyone because it sets unrealistic expectations and doesn’t appear easily achievable. 

You should always focus on the breath

One of the most common pieces of advice you might receive when you begin your meditation journey is that when you notice your mind is thinking, simply allow your focus to come back to the breath. This advice can be helpful at times, but it also insinuates a distrust of the mind - that thinking is bad and that the calmer or empty your mind is during a meditation, the more successfully you will have meditated. This advice also favours paying attention to the breath over the mind or other sensations. Of course, you are welcome to pay attention to your breath if this serves you. You could start to notice the quality of your breath. Is your breathing shallow and mainly in your upper chest? Or perhaps it’s slow and deep and directed into your lower belly? You could even begin to notice the quality of your inhalations and exhalations. You could count each breath, or practice lengthening each inhale and exhale to be slightly longer than the last. Some people however, report that when they focus on their breath, it only makes them more anxious. So what other options are there? As a matter of fact, mindfulness meditation invites you to place your awareness on any of four elements throughout a session. You might like to place your attention on your breath and body, notice your thoughts, emotions, or sounds and other senses such as smell or taste. All four of these elements are welcome in this practice of meditation and can be used to calm the mind which in turn relaxes the body, or to relax the body, which in turn calms the mind. The mind and body are like two sides of the same coin, with one directly influencing the other. What’s important to remember is that what you focus on, is far less important that how you focus on it. 

Meditation is a skill to be perfected

This advice to ‘simply return to the breath’ when you notice your mind has wandered, can make you feel as though on some days you’re a skilled meditator, and others, you lack the ability to successfully master the practice and ‘control’ your mind. You will find that on some days, your mind is quiet, calm, or positive. On other days, it can feel busy, overwhelmed, negative, or very active. This is completely normal. Whatever you notice is okay. The state of your mind is simply the result of how your day or week has been and what’s been going on in your life. I encourage you to see meditation not as a skill to be perfected, but as something to integrate into your life and add to your wellbeing toolkit. Use it as a tool for cultivating greater self-awareness and helping you to re-centre and find your inner compass in this sometimes busy and overstimulated world filled with competing priorities and never-ending to-do lists.

You should have zero thoughts

Your mind is a thinking machine. In fact, its sole purpose is to think. That means there’s no ‘off’ button no matter how much you may at times wish there was! The beauty of mindfulness meditation is that not only can you use this practice to help calm your mind, but you are also encouraged to notice your thoughts if you so choose to, and to get curious. You might notice patterns in your thinking, recurring thoughts that come to mind, or simply become more aware of the quality of your thoughts at any time. Rather than trying to shut out your thoughts, giving your thoughts some much needed attention may be just what they need in order to be resolved and bring about a greater level of self-awareness. You might even enjoy keeping a meditation journal, so that you can recall your experiences and any note-worthy thoughts. This is a way of practicing the art of ‘recollective awareness,’ whereby you become familiar with your experiences that occurred during your meditation and practice being present with your emotional and mental state. You are simply receptive to whatever is going on, without trying to control anything. 

You should sit still

Another common myth around mindfulness meditation is that you should be able to sit still for the entire practice. If you prefer to sit or lye down for the duration of your meditation practice, that’s great. If you prefer to incorporate movement into your meditation, that’s great too! Mindfulness meditation can look like so many different things. You could meditate over a cup of tea, noticing the heat of the mug, the steam rising, the taste of the tea as you savour each sip, the aroma, and even little patterns at the bottom of the mug that form as the tea leaves settle. Another great way to incorporate mindfulness meditation into your days is to enjoy a relaxing walk outside. Start by noticing the way your clothes feel as you move, the sun on your face, a gentle breeze against your skin, or the smell of freshly cut grass. Just about anything can become an invitation to practice mindfulness and be transformed into a meditative experience. 

There is no right or wrong in mindfulness meditation. All is welcome in your practice. You might like to begin by exploring what it’s like to place your attention on each of the four elements; breath and body, thoughts, sounds and sense, and emotions, in order to discover your own personal preferences for what works best for you. If you’re new to the practice, there are lots of great guided meditation apps out there too.

Remember, there is an infinite number of ways you can practice mindfulness throughout your day, whether that be sitting or lying down, stretching, walking, or taking a relaxing bath. There really are no rules when it comes to how your mindfulness practice should look. That’s the beauty of it!  

With love,

Jess