Misconceptions About Meditation - part of the women's fitness video series by GeoBeats. Misconceptions about meditation are rampant. I think the primary one is that when you meditate your mind is going to be still and quiet, and as soon as you sit down and close your eyes you see that the mind has a mind of its own and it is going to continue thinking. And what the practice of meditation does is it enables you to develop a different relationship with your mind. Another misconception is that meditation has to be done in a quiet, dark room, and the environment we are in is very urban and very loud, and it actually supports the practice of meditation. So you can see right now it is really loud. OK. Can I be with that? That is OK. The meditation experience has to be a certain way that when you sit down, if you achieve bliss, then you have done it right. Or if you zone out, then you have done it right. And, actually, there is no such thing as doing it right. And if you walk away from this with one idea, it is that you cannot do it wrong. Whatever your experience is during meditation is what your experience is. It is not supposed to look any other way than the way it is. Another misconception, very common, is that you have to practice a certain amount of time every day and be rigid. Or, you have to sit in a certain posture. Any amount of time you give to meditation, whether it is one minute, or two minutes, or twenty minutes, is enough. Any bringing your mind to the present moment, focusing on your breath or your body, is enough. It does not have to be 15 minutes or an hour. It just has to be whatever you do. And meditation is not necessarily a religious experience or part of a religious ritual. It is something that you do for you, to perhaps relieve some stress that you might be experiencing, to get rid of discomfort, to alleviate some unconfortability that you might be feeling. It is strictly for you and it is your experience. It is not about uncovering any great ideas or connecting in with anyone else. It is all about what you bring to it and what you get out of it.