What Does A Typical Meditation Look Like?

Starting anything new can feel a bit disorienting and meditation is no different. One of the most popular questions we get in our FAQ is: What does a typical meditation look/feel like?

One of the biggest misconceptions around meditation is that it is all about having that zen moment of being completely calm and serene. While this can happen, the truth is meditation is training our attention (with kindness and without judgement) to be right here, right now - the present. As we do this, we are helping our brains and bodies recover from accumulated stress. While counterintuitive, having lots of thoughts during meditation is one of the most common ways our body de-stresses. When we have thoughts, we simply return to our point of focus. 

For example, let's say we start with breath awareness as our point of focus. Simply focusing on our inhale fully and our exhale fully. Then the dog starts barking. We can just acknowledge the distraction and return to the breath. We may then have a few moments of just focusing on the breath, then think about an email we need to send. We catch ourselves having the thought and come back to the breath. Then we may  think about what we are going to have for breakfast. Once again, we notice the distraction, and gently, without judgement come back to the breath.

You get the idea. Each time we become distracted and return to the breath is like a push up for our brain that widens the space between impulse and action and ultimately strengthens the access point to peaceful presence. Because every meditation is helping our bodies destress, regardless of our experience (thoughts and all), our bodies are getting exactly what they need. Through consistency, the practice shows up for in our day-to-day through being less reactive, calmer, and more connected to ourselves and others. Read more FAQs here.