5 Meditation Myths - Busted



Headlines on meditation are everywhere, from the Wall Street Journal, to Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Better Homes and Gardens, and the benefits cited are endless. You know you want to start meditating, but you haven’t started yet. Is one of these 5 myths holding you back? Because all of them are just that, myths! 


Myth #1: In order to meditate, you have to learn how first

You don’t have to learn before you try to meditate — guided meditation is the perfect place to just get started. Guided meditation means instead of trying to meditate on your own, you listen to your guide and just do the things they suggest, so you are literally walked through the whole process step by step. Grokker has one of the best meditation guides in the world. Davidji is a world renowned author, speaker and lead educator at The Chopra Center. Check out his series, Fostering Mindfulness Through Guided Meditation.


Myth #2: Meditating takes a lot of time

When you hear “meditation” do you think “hours of sitting still doing nothing”–who has time for that? It turns out you don’t need to invest a lot of time meditating to begin to see the benefits. According to a study by Carnegie Melon University even short mindfulness meditation just a few times a week were found to be "impressively effective".


Myth #3: It’s for crunchy spiritualists

“Meditation” may also conjure up visions of hippies in colorful hemp ponchos chanting in a drum circle. But, meditation doesn’t have to be religious or even spiritual, and you can do it in your business suit, a bathing suit or even your pajamas. Like Ms. Salzberg reassures in Inc.com's article“It doesn’t belong in the realm of woo-woo weird things. It’s mental training. It’s so accessible.” In fact, meditating is The Daily Habit of These Outrageously Successful Peopleincluding Rupert Murdoch, Oprah Winfrey and Russell Simmons.


Myth #4: I won’t see any benefit right away anyway

Unlike exercise, you can experience the benefits with just 5 minutes of meditation! Just inhaling for 5 counts and exhaling for 5 counts, or closing your eyes and thinking of “your happy place” in vivid detail can provide stress-relieving, anxiety squelching benefits. Try these short 5-10 minute meditations and feel the difference for yourself right now.


Myth #5: You need to be in a quiet, organized, calm place

In an ideal world, I would have a zen corner of my home that’s sparsely decorated, devoid of clutter, with plentiful natural light and my Pandora spa channel playing where I can sit and meditate. However as a busy, working mom, it’s hard to find a quiet, perfectly organized, calm place anywhere in my house or my schedule. But even your office or in your car before your commute home, can become a welcome haven. See these 3 stealth meditations you can do anytime, anywhere and try to integrate it into the real and stressful moments of each day.  

With these top myths busted, there’s no reason to wait another day to try meditation. Let me know how it’s going in the forum .


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