It’s no secret that meditation is touted to be a powerful way to reduce stress and provide a multitude of various wellness benefit from lowering blood pressure, increasing productivity, and even helping with weight loss.

Science is discovering more and more tangible benefits of meditation constantly…

What does this mean for you if you’ve tried meditation, but it just didn’t seem to work?

Or worse yet, it actually stressed you out!

Over the years I’ve encountered countless people who’ve said they’d tried their hand at meditation – but they didn’t experience any positive changes.

Some claimed it created more anxiety in their day, by creating the pressure to adhere to a meditation practice and then falling short.

Others told me that the harder they tried to quiet their minds, the more overwhelming their thoughts became.

And some claimed that their meditations were such a struggle, they were almost painful.

Does this mean that those people were simply the unfortunate for whom meditation didn’t offer the wide array of benefits to?

Maybe they were just wired different?

 

Here’s a spoiler… I’ve yet to meet someone meditation truly doesn’t work for.

 

The reason?

Everyone experiences meditative states. Everyone.

It’s a natural part of the human existance.

That being said, a lot of us don’t actually realize when we’re in a meditative state if we aren’t actually practicing meditation. Think to a time where you were completely focused on what you were doing in that moment, where the rest of your thoughts just seemed to disappear. A moment you were completely present.

That would be just one example.

So if you can go into a meditative state without even trying, why isn’t meditation working for you?

I’ll be the first to admit, I always say that “the only way to perform meditation wrong is to not meditate at all”, and I still fully stand behind that. However, it’s important to listen to your own internal feedback when practicing meditation.

If your meditation is excrutiatingly uncomfortable or causing anxiety, chances are, it’s not the right type of meditation for you.

Even if a style of meditation once yielded awesome results, over time it can stop “fitting”.

We are all dynamic, evolving beings. Constantly changing, growing, evolving, so it makes sense that different types of meditations are more effective for different people.

Think of it like clothing… if you were the same outfit day in and day out chances are it would wear out. Now you may wear the same style of clothing for years on end, but I’d be willing to guess that even that has changed with time.

Or if you tried to wear your favorite outfit when you were 5 years old, it probably wouldn’t fit.

Meditation is kind of like clothing in that sense.

You may have a powerful, rewarding practice for many years, practicing the same style of meditation. But if you performed the exact same meditation day in and day out for years on end, it would probably grow stale and feel like going through the motions.

Or you may have a “growth” spurt where the style of meditation that fit you so well before, is no longer doing it for you.

The beautiful thing is, there are so many different ways to meditate that there are styles out there that will fit.

It just may take some trial and error to find what works best for you.

On the flip side, maybe you have a meditation practice that is working for you. One that you find you’re more productive, less anxious, and allows you mental clarity.

Exploring other styles of meditation could allow you to make your practice even more meaningful and more effective, potentially tapping into benefits you didn’t even realize were possible.

Want to learn what your meditation style is? Take my free quiz and find out!

 

Are there any types of meditation that just don’t jive with you? Or types that you absolutely love and find super empowering? Share them in the comments below!