Don’t Let These 5 Myths About Meditation Bust Your Zen

You’ve probably heard of the many success stories around meditation. You have a feeling it could help you, too – but why haven’t you sat down and tried it yet? Ironically, you may be too in your head due to what you’ve heard about the practice.

Maybe you’re thinking: Do I need to block off hours of time? What if I’m not feeling anything? Am I doing it wrong? How long until I see results?

Pause. Breathe. These questions are valid – but also not a reason to be scared to give meditation a try. If you’re a skeptic or you think it’s too complicated of a practice for you, take a look at the truth behind these five meditation myths that could (literally) change your mind.

Holistic psychotherapist Trisha Miller, LPCC, gives us the real rundown on meditation and mindfulness.

Myth #1: There’s only one way to meditate

Meditation comes in many different forms. And you don’t have to stick with one type either. Explore and play around until you find one you like or use a combination of techniques. You can even use several types of meditation during one session.

“The only question should be, ‘Does this work for me?’” says Miller. “If not, it’s easy to find something that does.”

Some different types you can try include:

• Mindfulness meditation. This is a type of meditation where you urge yourself to be more aware of your thoughts, surroundings and physical sensations.
• Chakra meditation. Originated from India, chakra meditation is believed to help balance different “energy centers in the body,” such as the spine or the top of the head.
• Body scan meditation. Like mindfulness meditation, this is a practice where you focus on different parts of your body, starting either from the top of your head down to your toes, or vice versa.
• Sleep meditation. This type of meditation usually involves intentional breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and visualization to help lull you to sleep.
• Walking meditation. If you have trouble sitting still, walking meditation encourages you to slow your mind with each step while homing in on your five senses.
• Yoga-based meditation. Also referred to as yoga nidra, this is a slow-moving type of yoga practice that focuses on deep stretches and easy poses that allow you to be more in tune with your body.
• Guided imagery or visualization. If you’ve ever been told to “imagine your happy place,” this is basically that. Through some form of guidance, this practice takes you through soothing and relaxing images to focus on in your mind to help make you more grounded.

The trick is finding what works best for you, then practicing where and when you can. Miller advises taking a broad approach to meditation:

“You can meditate in your car before leaving for work, (but not while operating a vehicle)while your children nap or even while you’re washing the dishes.”

Myth #2: You must practice at least 20 minutes every day

You’ve probably heard of people being able to meditate for hours. Heck, even 20 minutes seems impossible! But don’t let that turn you away from meditation. After all, meditation is a practice—not a competition. Setting aside just a few minutes a day can improve your focus and help calm your mind and body.

It can even be as short as one minute of your time. “Breathe in for five seconds, pause for one second, then breathe out for five seconds. That’s your warm-up. Then repeat for one minute. It’s that simple, and you can work up from there,” explains Miller.

The more you practice, the longer you’ll be able to focus and feel the benefits of meditation. But, especially if you're starting out, all you need is a single minute out of your day. That’s not too much to spare, right?

Myth #3: You need to completely clear your mind

You’ve probably experienced trying

to meditate and you just can’t get your to-do list out of your head. That’s OK if those thoughts keep coming back. And it’s definitely no reason to give up on meditating completely, Miller urges.

“The goal of meditation is not to clear your mind of all thought. The goal is to return to the breath. Each time you discover your mind has wandered, return it to your breath without judgement. That is how your mind learns to benefit from meditation,” says Miller.

Think of thoughts like commercials. They grab your attention — sometimes obnoxiously so — but then they pass, and you’re back to feeling fully absorbed watching your favorite TV show. When you’re meditating and get distracted by a thought, like those pesky ads, you can return your attention to your breath. This constant cycle between a thought entering your mind and you dismissing the thought to return your focus to your breath will help you increase your awareness of the present moment. And this, in turn, helps you find calmness and balance.

Myth #4: You need years of experience before you see results

Meditation may sound like an intimidating practice that only hyper-disciplined people can do. But don’t compare yourself to people who have been practicing meditation for years – you're on your own journey.

While the benefits of meditation will certainly improve the more you do it, that doesn’t mean that starting out small won’t make a difference. A study from 2019 found that a group of participants with no meditation experience were able to reap the benefits after a 13-minute daily practice. Those who kept it up for 8 weeks experienced enhanced memory, less anxiety and improved focus.

So, don’t get overly focused on how long you’ve been doing it. Instead, start out with an easy meditation practice that you can stay consistent with. And simply begin.

Myth #5: It doesn’t do anything

It’s true, meditation doesn’t do one thing for you — it does a whole lot. Some of the benefits may take longer to show than others, but meditation can help your body and mind in many ways.

Here are some things that meditation can help with:

• Manage psychological stress. In our chaotic, fast-paced lives, managing stress is a must for better health. Meditation of all kinds can help reduce different aspects of psychological stress, including anxiety and depression. For example, one 2021 study found that 12 minutes of yoga-based meditation a week could help decrease burnout.
• Reduce inflammation. You may already know that stress can affect your body in many ways – including increasing activating genes that can trigger inflammation in your body. According to studies like this one from 2023, mind-body exercises like meditation target the genes related to stress and inflammation, reducing the levels of both in the body.
• Improve blood flow. "Blood circulation in the brain and other organs improves during meditation,” says Miller. In turn, increased blood circulation gets more oxygen and nutrients to every cell in your body, helping them to perform better. Getting that blood flowing could help you get through some of those stressful moments — whether it’s a tough client call or taking your toddler shoe shopping.
• Enhance brain function. Almost all of our thoughts and actions result from different sections of the brain working together, so meditation can really help get your brain humming. Several studies like this one from 2015 suggest meditation affects every part of your brain. Other research indicates that mindfulness practices cause changes in the brain’s attention-related networks, improving your ability to focus on a task.

In the moment, meditation may feel like it’s not doing much. It isn’t going to be an earth-shattering, life-altering experience every time you practice. But that’s why practices like this take time.

The bottom line

So, why not give meditation a try? There’s no harm in at least giving it a shot for a couple minutes a day – or even each week. While it can be intimidating at first to sit still and clear your mind, the act of trying to meditate is already a good practice in itself. In the short run, you’ll feel a little bit calmer, a bit more focused and ready to take on the rest of the day. In the long run, it may do more for your whole body than you think.