What Is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness Meditation brings together two helpful concepts. The first is mindfulness, which is the process or state of being purposefully aware, without judgment, of what is happening in one’s mind, body, and environment in the present moment. The second concept is meditation, a practice wherein techniques for observing the content of one’s mind, including mindfulness, are applied to achieve emotional tranquility and clarity. Mindfulness meditation is one type of formal meditation practiced in a focused, often seated, way to cultivate mindful awareness.

It is important to note that while mindfulness is a fundamental aspect of mindfulness meditation, one can be mindful even when not meditating.

Related: Mindfulness Activities, Exercises & Techniques

What Are the Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation?

In addition to helping us cultivate calm, clarity, and ease, mindfulness offers numerous other benefits:

• Improved physical health — Neuroscientific research has found that mindfulness practice can help us to be less reactive to stressors and recover more easily when stress is experienced.
• Anxiety management — Research affirms that mindfulness helps with mild to moderate depression and anxiety and emotional regulation. (Note that these practices shouldn’t be considered as replacements for therapy or prescription drugs but as supplemental to other treatments, as a way to improve general well-being.)
• Improved sleep — Making time for mindfulness in our nighttime routine can ground us in the present moment, allowing our mind and body to relax as we drift off to sleep.
• Stronger personal relationships — Several studies have found a positive link between mindfulness and enhanced relationship quality. Some studies even suggest that mindfulness makes breakups and divorce easier. Mindfulness is also found to cultivate better relationships between parents and their children.
• Pain management — Mindfulness techniques can help us manage chronic pain by altering our perception of it and reducing the emotional suffering associated with it.
• Increased self-awareness and resilience — Mindfulness encourages a deeper understanding of our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and circumstances and fosters the clear seeing required to work with them skillfully.

How to Do Simple Mindfulness Meditation

If you want to practice mindfulness meditation but don’t know where to start, a basic mindfulness breath meditation is a great jumping-off point. It can be practiced for periods of any length — however long or short you have the space for. To start out, try to allow yourself five minutes of meditation time. Read or listen below to learn how to mindfully ground yourself in the present moment.

1. Take your seat. Sit cross-legged and upright on a meditation cushion or straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor. Try to maintain an upright posture without leaning against the back of the chair. You may find it helpful to use a cushion to elevate your hips/sitting bones slightly higher than your knees.
2. Place your hands palms down on your thighs. With your eyes open, let your gaze rest comfortably as you look slightly downward about six feet in front of you.
3. Bring awareness to your breath. Focus lightly on your out-breath while remaining aware of your environment. Be with each breath as the air goes out through your mouth and nostrils and dissolves into the space around you.
4. Rest at the end of each out-breath. Then, let the next in-breath naturally begin. For a more focused meditation, you can rest following each out-breath and in-breath.
5. Note any thoughts and feelings that arise. Whenever you notice that a thought, feeling, or perception has taken your attention away from the breath, just say to yourself, “thinking,” and return to mindfully following the breath. There’s no need to bring judgment to these thoughts, feelings, or perceptions — you can gently note them as you continue to attend to your breath and posture.
6. End your meditation. After the allotted time, you can consider your meditation practice period over. Try to maintain the sense of calm, mindfulness, or openness you’ve experienced through the rest of your day.

Guided Audio for Beginner Mindfulness Practice

Listen below and practice along with a basic breath meditation. Then, try our one- and five-minute meditation timers.

Basic Mindfulness Meditation Instruction

1-Minute Meditation Timer

5-Minute Meditation Timer