Myths of Meditation

To say that the practice of meditation has changed my life completely is an understatement. Meditation, if I am going to be perfectly honest here – saved my life. And as I continue to practice meditation it has transformed my life from a life lived primarily in fear (even though I had a pretty decent upbringing) to a life lived now primarily in love, acceptance and happiness.

Of course I still have my days where old fears and stories creep up on me but with my solid practice of meditation I can navigate myself through the toughest of days.

This profound change in my life led me to becoming a meditation teacher which paired nicely with both my yoga, life coaching and Ayurveda certifications. Sounds like a recipe for success right? I have the tools to teach these life changing practices of awareness to others! Except… others need to practice as well to receive the benefits and as I believe a consistent meditation practice is the foundation of all positive change in anyone’s life, whether it be in our physical health, mental health or in our relationships, a meditation practice is a must.

First off, a desire to feel better in our body is required and this is where the yoga practices (or body works) come in, then we require a willingness to work inward on ourselves and this is where life coaching comes in. These 2 elements have huge benefits all on their own but what brings it all together and allows us to go deeper within, peel back the layers of fears and beliefs and essential heal deeper – is the practice of meditation.

Many people resist this practice. Many understand and want the benefits but there are so many misconceptions, fears and myths around meditation, that it is so easy to talk ourselves out of learning it, practicing it and just doing it.

Over the years I think I have heard every excuse (and used many of them myself) so this week we dive into 5 common myths about meditation.

Hands down these myths lead to the excuses we use so we won’t or don’t commit to this powerful practice that at its most basic form is a simple mental technique that helps us move past the busy, often negative, stressful chatter of our minds.

When we practice meditation our awareness increases and our body gets so much more out of every yoga class (or any exercise) and the ability to go deeper into our own personal life coaching enquiry has a whole new perspective. A perspective that truly facilitates the change we have possibly been too afraid or too stressed out to make.

The first of these 5 myths is one that I am the happiest to dispel.

#1 Myth – Meditation is a religious or spiritual practice

Truth… One can meditate no matter what their belief or faith is. One can be religious and meditate, one can be an atheist and meditate. One can be spiritual or not spiritual and meditate. Meditation is simply a practice to help us de-stress our life.

Meditation is a practice of awareness. It is a practice of observation. It is a simple practice of non-doing that will reduce stress in our lives. Whether you consider yourself spiritual or religious or neither doesn’t matter – we want to have a regular meditation practice because it will give us the tools to react differently to the stress we all experience on a day to day basis. Other benefits of a regular practice are;

• Lowers our blood pressure & resting heart rate
• Calms us down
• Deeper sleeps
• Better overall health
• Can help us change a habit or heal an addiction.

#2 Myth – In Meditation one needs to stop thoughts and quieten the mind in order to be successful.

Truth; First off, if you have committed to a practice of meditation, set a timer and sat for the duration of your commitment then you have experienced a successful meditation. Period.

There are no “good” or “bad” meditations. “Trying” to stop our thoughts is a forced and stressful process – we are human – we have a thinking mind – trying to stop it from thinking CREATES stress not alleviates it. On the other hand observing our thoughts and bringing awareness to the acknowledgement that we are experiencing these thoughts WITHOUT needing to stop them IS the way our mind de-stresses itself. This is an important step in meditation. Overtime we realize we have thoughts but that we are not our thoughts and as we realize this we get less and less attached to the thoughts we are having – they are just simply there. When this happens our mind quietens effortlessly – without the effort of trying to stop them. Of course every meditation is different and some days even the most seasoned meditators have an active mind but the daily practice of observing our thoughts begins the journey of moving from an active mind into a quieter, less noisy mind. Every sit (meditation) is a different experience and we observe it all without judgement. When I have an active mind of thoughts during my meditations now I sit and smile – knowing my mind is releasing all it needs to release in order for me to find the clarity I am so needing. This is a successful meditation!

#3 Myth – Meditation is difficult

Truth; Meditation is simple

1. Set a timer for your desired practice time
2. Sit and observe your thoughts, emotions and sensations
3. When you get swept away in a thought process or story, bring your attention back to your breath (or mantra)
4. Time ends and slowly transition yourself back into your day

These are the basics of a daily meditation.

I would highly suggest finding a meditation class so you can meditate with a group of others who all share and ask questions about their experience. If you have the proper teacher they will explain the breath and mantras and other simple tools and tips so that everyone can feel successful in their meditations.

Meditation is simple yet not always easy because we as humans tend to over-think the process and judge ourselves the most. With a regular practice we can experience less thinking and more being.

#4 Myth – I don’t have the time to meditate

Full disclosure here – this was hands down my #1 go-to excuse! Until I realized that it was all a matter of prioritizing meditation into my day. If I was struggling in my life or my body was aching or I just could not seem to stop criticizing myself or stop the fears and judgements of my mind – I knew it was all up to me to get back into my meditation practice and make that my priority. The truth is if I was prioritizing my meditation practices for myself every day, my struggles were less, my body felt healthy, my mind was clear and when stress showed up in my life, I was able to handle it head on.

I also knew that meditation made my mind more focused, clear, creative and aware so that my “busy day” was way more productive when I started with meditation. When I am panicked with a time crunch – I can either stress my way through it with tight shoulders and a clenched jaw OR I can take 15-20 minutes to meditate and release the stress so that I can accomplish what needs doing with focus, flow and creativity – all in better time. More full disclosure here – this was a lesson I took a really long time to learn (and I still get caught up in this loop)

#5 Myth – It takes years of meditating to gain the benefits.

Truth; there are immediate short term benefits of meditation and there are long term benefits of meditation.

Short term benefits;

• Awareness (which really is the key to freedom)
• Lowers blood pressure and resting heart rate
• Calming
• Less anxiety
• More creativity
• Compassion
• Increased focus and less memory loss.

Long term benefits;

• Get to know who we really are (our true self beneath the fear)
• Build resilience
• Inner strength
• Learn to love ourselves
• Find happiness no matter what is going on around us

For me the biggest benefit has been the journey from fear to love, which in my opinion is what every human being came here to learn.

This week’s intention

This week’s intention is… the exact same as the last 2 weeks have been

1. Sign up for a meditation class and practice this simple mental technique to help move you beyond the stresses of life.
2. If you already know how to meditate – commit to sitting in stillness and silence every day.
3. Ideal meditation time 20 minutes 2x a day (first thing in the morning and then again around 6pm-ish) If 20 minutes seems daunting – start with 5 mins and add a minute every second day until you reach your desired time frame.
4. Practice non-judgement.
5. Practice self-love.

If you would like to sign up for Wellness Defined’s on-line Personal Development meditation classes with me contact me at leslie@wellnessdefined.ca or

Call or text at 780 722-3442

Recordings are available in the library for approx. 6 months at a time.

Private meditation sessions also available or if you would like to get a group together and need an instructor – reach out to me!

There are always options!

Be well my friends!

Leslie