Learn about different meditation techniques

People frequently decide meditation does not work for them after trying one style. The different meditation techniques train genuinely different capacities, and picking the wrong one for your goal produces exactly that conclusion. An hour spent learning the categories is worth more than another month of the wrong practice.

Why learn about different meditation techniques is worth an hour

Four broad families cover most of what exists. Focused attention trains concentration, open monitoring trains a broader non-reactive awareness, body-based practices work through physical sensation, and compassion practices deliberately cultivate an attitude. Matching the family to what you actually want makes the difference between a practice that helps and one that feels pointless.

How to learn about different meditation techniques step by step

1. 1

   Learn the four families

   Focused attention, open monitoring, body-based, and compassion practices. Almost everything fits one of these.

2. 2

   Name what you actually want

   Concentration, calm, physical release, or a change in how you relate to other people. Different goals, different tools.

3. 3

   Try one from an unfamiliar family

   Ten minutes. Trying an unfamiliar type teaches more than another session of what you already do.

4. 4

   Note the difference in effect

   Immediately afterwards, in a sentence. The families feel measurably different and the contrast is the useful data.

5. 5

   Commit to one for a month

   Sampling indefinitely produces no benefit from any of them. Depth in one beats breadth across four.

Tips to get more out of it

• Secular and religious framings both exist for most of these techniques. Choose whichever version you can practice without any internal friction.
• Apps are reasonable for structure and rather poor for depth. Use one to get started, and expect to outgrow it within a few months.
• Intensive retreats can be difficult for some people. Build a regular short practice before considering one.

Ways to mix it up

If you already have a practice that works, spend the hour going deeper into its tradition rather than sampling others. If you want the physical end specifically, body scan and progressive relaxation are the most immediately accessible entry points.

Learn about different meditation techniques: frequently asked questions