No Time to Meditate?

Try a “Microhit” of Mindfulness

Photo Credit: Alexander Mills on Unsplash

Research shows the power of mindfulness meditation. But many people believe they don’t have time to meditate. Could brief periods of mindfulness be an effective solution?

How much mindfulness meditation is “enough?”

As part of the 200-hour meditation leader training I recently completed with Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness, I researched brief periods of mindfulness to find an answer.

This question has long intrigued me.

At the very first meditation retreat I attended, several decades ago, the teacher directed us to sense our thoughts and body sensations. We slowed our movements and maintained silence to focus on how thoughts and body sensations arose and passed away. She also invited us to practice equanimity. We attempted to allow whatever came into awareness to ebb and flow without pushing or pulling on the experience.

That weekend taught concrete, workable tools to help keep my head where my feet were. I was learning to “ stay in the moment.” My husband, Ed, and I continued a near-daily meditation practice, but I found myself dropping into states of awareness during the day.

I wondered if these tiny “doses” of mindfulness might be…