Mindfulness is pretty mainstream these days. There are apps and shows. Your mom might call you up to chat about an article she read. You might even have your boss recommending mindfulness, even when it seems really impossible to do. Even with this, there are still a lot of misconceptions and myths when it comes to the term mindfulness. 

You may have heard someone talk about these, or you might have a thought pop up in your remind when you go to do a practice or read about one. Mindfulness can still seem kind of out there – some thoughts or comments bring up images of sitting on a mountaintop in silence or pockets full of various crystals. And some just think of someone sitting and meditating for 10 hours a day. (Hey – no offense, I do like some of these, but also find them not always realistic. Looking at you 10 hours a day). 

But it’s not necessarily this way. Mindfulness, by definition, is paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and without judgment. With that being said, there are still a lot of misconceptions, and even myths about what mindfulness really is. 

Here are 5 myths about mindfulness and the truth behind them:

• It’s too “woo” and new-aged
  • Mindfulness might seem like a new-age or “woo” thing that has to involve a lot of mystical concepts, card readings, crystals, and transcendence, but it absolutely doesn’t have to, and at its core is none of these.(FYI – I love playing around with a lot of these, and do not judge if you use these as a daily practice). And as far as being new-aged, while it might seem like this popped up as a mystical trend, mindfulness is based off of ancient practices rooted in yoga (5000 years old), Ayurveda, Hinduism and Buddhism – long before it became a “woo” and “new-aged” transcendental experience. Which brings me to…
• It’s a religious practice
  • Sure, but only if you want it to be. While mindfulness and meditation may have come from practices that had religious roots, and many religions have mindful, meditative components (prayers, meditation, reflection, etc), mindfulness as we practice it is not religious based. It is a non-religious, science-backed practice that is designed to help you reduce the effects of stress and build resilience to them, by focusing, in the moment, and without judgment to how you are doing and what you are experiencing. Which leads to…
• It’s doesn’t work and is not EBP (Evidence Based Practice)
  • This is an easy myth to fall into, and one you might hear a lot from naysayers, or even in the back of your mind. When it is not a tangible, physical practice that you can SEE the results of, it can be hard to know if it is working. I felt this way and wondered about this for a very long time, especially when I was a new SLP (with grad school drilling in the research part of EBP). Where is the research that shows it works?
  • Luckily, over the past decade and even more in the last few years, there has been more and more research to show that mindfulness practices help you to manage stress for the long-term and build resilience to it, so it doesn;t stick with you or take as long to recover from. 
• It’s too easy/simple:
  • Ah, that’s the mind f*&^ of mindfulness. It is very simple and it is also very hard to do. And it’s even harder to put it into practice, in your day, consistently, in the real world. It’s like when you are working with a student or patient on a specific task and they know what to do and can tell you how to do it, but they just don’t put it into practice or know what to do when it’s time to actually do it. It’s like this – if it was so easy to do, it would already be part of your day. It takes some time and practice to start learning how to use mindfulness and how to make it consistent once you do. It is a process. 
• It’s only meditation – nothing else
  • This one is a huge misunderstanding! Meditation is wonderful and a huge help for managing stress, and it is a mindfulness practice, but it is not the only mindfulness practice. Mindfulness can be used in any moment and with anything. Meditation is one of the most common and set ways to practice, but you could be mindful while doing the dishes or running or drinking your coffee or journaling, whatever it may be, if you are bringing awareness to it and observing what shows up. 
• Bonus myth: It’s trendy.
  • This one is a bonus, because it’s not really a myth at all. Mindfulness, meditation, yoga, self-care, all of those are trendy right now. It’s not because they are a fad or a frivolous thing, but because they are so very needed with all that each of us continue to face and have more of each day. 

There you go – myths busted!

If you are looking to dive even deeper into mindfulness, join me in the upcoming workshop “What is Mindfulness” on February 24th, part of The Resilient SLP Monthly Workshop Series (you can also sign up for just this one workshop). 

You can find out more info here:  What is Mindfulness Workshop

Now that you have a few more insights into what mindfulness is and what it is not, I’d love to hear your thoughts: What myths about mindfulness have you heard? Leave a comment below, share on IG, or send me a message to jessi@jessiandricks.com

With Love and Light, 

Jessi

And if you are looking for some resources to get you started now, subscribe for more info and access to the SLP Toolbox resource library here: