The Headspace Guide to: Mindfulness & Meditation

by Andy Puddicombe

Meditation is a skill and, like any skill, needs to be repeated on a regular basis if it’s to be learnt and refined. There is something about the momentum that builds up when you sit to do it every day which simply cannot be replicated. It’s the same when starting a new exercise programme. It requires a regular commitment to build up enough momentum for it to become part of your daily routine, almost without needing to think about it. By doing it at the same time each day, it helps you to develop a very strong and stable practice. Neuroscientists investigating the benefits of meditation and mindfulness reiterate the importance of repetition in their findings. They say that the simple act of doing the exercise day after day is enough to stimulate positive change in the brain. In fact, they consider this vital in establishing new synaptic relationships and neural pathways. What this means is that new patterns of behaviour and mental activity can be created and, just as importantly, old patterns of mental activity can be let go of. As so much of our mental activity is habitual, the implications of this are nothing short of life changing. The research also showed that it didn’t even matter whether the experience was perceived as positive or negative by the meditator, the same beneficial effects in the brain were still recorded. So even when it feels as though it might not be going so well, something positive is happening. No matter how you might feel on any particular day, try...