{"id":21104,"date":"2023-10-10T17:28:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T17:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/hips\/answers-common-meditation-excuses-fears-experience-2\/"},"modified":"2023-10-10T17:28:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T17:28:47","slug":"6-common-misconceptions-about-meditation-and-why-theyre-just-not-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/10\/6-common-misconceptions-about-meditation-and-why-theyre-just-not-true\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Common Misconceptions About Meditation (And Why They\u2019re Just Not True)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You\u2019ve probably read countless times that meditation can quiet your thoughts, ease your anxiety, and bring about countless other emotional and physiological benefits. And yet, are you meditating?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very human tendency to avoid those things that we expect to be uncomfortable. Yet a lot of the assumptions we have about the difficulty inherent in sitting still are based on common misconceptions around meditation. These assumptions then become excuses not to meditate. The sad irony is the obstacles exist only in our imagination, typically in the form of unrealistic expectations about how we\u2019re \u201csupposed\u201d to show up to the practice. What usually happens is the headspace required to avoid meditating requires more effort and guilt and self-criticism than sitting down and meditating.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at what you can do to make this simple yet misunderstood practice more approachable\u2014and perhaps even likable.<\/p>\n

6 Common Misconceptions About Meditation<\/h2>\n

1. \u201cI don\u2019t have time.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Even short stints of meditation can bring about transformation. Research<\/a> indicates that sitting in silence for as little as five minutes a day can reduce stress and enhance focus. Over time, a consistent practice can also incur beneficial physiological changes, including reduced blood pressure. And there\u2019s also meditation\u2019s primary purpose, which is to bring about self awareness, which can influence all aspects of your life.<\/p>\n

Yoga and meditation teacher Neeti Narula initially meditated for just two minutes at a time. As she explains, that approach allowed her to slowly acclimate to sitting quietly with herself for longer amounts of time. It also meant that she had no excuses  when it came time to find 120 seconds to meditate.<\/p>\n

Narula opted for early mornings, before the chaos of the day could derail her. Recent research<\/a> supports that. A survey of  meditation app users indicates they\u2019re more likely to practice consistently when the meditate in the early mornings.<\/p>\n

As meditation researcher Madhav Goyal says, \u201cWe are all pressed for time.\u201d It simply needs to become a habit. And it may take some experimenting to find the time of day that\u2019s most likely to work for you.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cI don\u2019t know how.\u201d<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re human, you can learn how to meditate. Sit on the floor or on a chair or you might prefer to lie down. (You don\u2019t have to sit to meditate.) Wherever you find yourself, settle into a comfortable position in a quiet space. Close your eyes and take a few deep, slow breaths. Trace your breath with your awareness as you let it fill your chest and abdomen and then slowly release. Do that several times, letting your awareness rest on the rhythm of your breathing. If your mind wanders, welcome to being human. Simply observe whatever has captured your attention and then return your awareness to your breath. That\u2019s all you need to do. Breathe, observe, and bring your attention back to your breath when it strays.<\/p>\n

If you practice that process consistently, even for a short amount of time each day, you\u2019ll teach your brain and your body to bring this same observing mindset in any situation. That, in turn, allows you to pause in between stimulus and response, making your response to any situation in life more mindful and less reactionary.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cI\u2019m afraid to be alone with my thoughts.\u201d<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s an irony to this common misconception about meditation. The act of sitting still with your thoughts can actually unchain you from the very thoughts that you\u2019re trying to avoid.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnhealthy thoughts can chain us to the past. We can, however, change our destructive thoughts in the present,\u201d wrote meditation teacher Jack Kornfield in The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology.<\/a> \u201c<\/em>Through mindfulness training we can recognize them as bad habits learned long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, it comes back to witnessing and observing our thoughts rather than mindlessly believing them. \u201cThen we can take the critical next step. We can discover how these obsessive thoughts cover our grief, insecurity, and loneliness. As we gradually learn to tolerate these underlying energies, we can reduce their pull,\u201d wrote Kornfield. \u201cFear can be transformed into presence and excitement. Confusion can open up into interest. Uncertainty can become a gateway to surprise. And unworthiness can lead us to dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. \u201cI\u2019m not doing it \u2018right.’\u201d<\/h3>\n

This is perhaps the most common misconception about meditation. \u201cThere is really and truly no one \u2018right way\u2019 to practice,\u201d wrote Jon Kabat-Zinn in his book Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.<\/em><\/a> Instead, it is best to encounter each moment with a beginner\u2019s mind. This is when we experience it anew, without expectation, simply witnessing it without resistance. \u201cWe look deeply into it, and then we let go into the next moment, not holding to the last one,\u201d explains Kabat-Zinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is much to be seen and understood along this path; but it can\u2019t be forced. It is best to hold to and honor one\u2019s own direct experience, and not worry too much about whether this is what you are supposed to feel or see or think about,\u201d says Kabat-Zinn. When you practice \u201cthis kind of trust in the face of insecurity,\u201d he explains, you will find that something changes. And chances are it will be apparent not just in your meditation but in your every experience in life.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cMy mind is too scattered. I won\u2019t get anything out of it.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Part of a meditation practice is not having any preconceived expectations around what you\u2019ll experience during or after meditation. Expectations lead to strong emotions that can act as distractions, says Fadel Zeidan, associate professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a leader at the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and the UCSD Center for Integrative Health. \u201cDon\u2019t expect to experience bliss. Don\u2019t even expect to feel better. Just say, \u2018I\u2019m going to dedicate the next 5 to 20 minutes to meditation.\u2019\u201d That removes the pressure to achieve something during your practice.<\/p>\n

During meditation, as feelings arise\u2014annoyance, boredom, even happiness\u2014you want to observe them but detach from them, he says. They, too, are distractions from the present moment, Zeidan says. \u201cYou\u2019re becoming attached to that emotional feeling, whether it\u2019s positive or negative. The idea is to stay neutral and objective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most harmful misconception about meditation is that you\u2019re doing it wrong if you\u2019re not experiencing a buddha-like state of contentment. That can happen. But that\u2019s not the finish line. The point of meditation isn\u2019t to achieve anything. It\u2019s to observe yourself.<\/p>\n

Continually catch your thoughts as they wander, bring your attention back to the sensations of your breath, and rest easy in the knowing that a busy mind is part of the practice. Actually, it\u2019s the reason behind the practice.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cI don\u2019t have enough discipline to stick with it.\u201d<\/h3>\n

You might wonder why you\u2019d bother to start meditation when you\u2019ll end up quitting. But meditation is like any habit. It takes intentional action at the outset and then it becomes part of your routine, says Goyal. He places meditation on par with bathing or eating in terms of making it a priority.<\/p>\n

Life sometimes gets in the way. It happens. Just like when you forget to brush your teeth, simply start again. Even when lapses of a week or more occur, says Goyal, you want to make the effort to come back continue regularly. The first few days, it may seem slightly more difficult to sit still. But just as you wouldn\u2019t expect to run 10 miles after a long time away from training, don\u2019t come to meditation with lofty expectations, says Goyal. You might sit for two minutes. Or you might surprise yourself and sit for twenty minutes. All that matters is that you find a way to sit still with yourself for any amount of time on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 12 Ways to Make Sitting in Meditation Easier<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This article has been updated. Originally published September 2, 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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It’s not as complicated as you think.<\/p>\n

The post 6 Common Misconceptions About Meditation (And Why They’re Just Not True)<\/a> appeared first on Yoga Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37,35,36],"class_list":["post-21104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ayurveda","tag-blogs","tag-yoga","tag-yogacourseware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}