Focused Meditation: How to Start a Practice

Table of ContentsView AllTable of Contents5 Steps to Focused MeditationTips for Focused MeditationBenefits

Table of ContentsView All

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Table of Contents

5 Steps to Focused Meditation

Tips for Focused Meditation

Benefits

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Focused meditation, also called focused attention meditation (FAM), can be a useful tool for people who want to try usingmeditation for stress relief. Unlike classic meditation, this type ofmindfulness meditationhas you focus your attention on an object, sound, or sensation rather than trying to achieve a clear mind without a specific focal point.

Focused meditation involves focusing on something intently as a way of staying in the moment and quieting your inner dialogue.

You can practice short sessions of focused meditation anywhere atany time, without an instructor or equipment. All you need are a few minutes, something to focus on, and a calm, private spot. Here’s how to begin.

Though you can start practicing focused meditation in just five steps, that doesn’t mean each session will be easy, particularly in the beginning. Keep these tips in mind to help develop a practice you’ll keep—one that’s tailored to your experience, environment, and enjoyment.

Try a meditation appto explore and learn various meditation methods.

Focused meditation can also improve emotional regulation, as you learn to respond to your internal feelings just as you’d respond to a loud car alarm. You observe andaccept the feelingor distraction, but you don’t fixate on it.

Once you learn that you can stay present regardless of what you’re feeling, you can find ease and comfort even in the grip of the toughest emotions.

One study compared focused attention meditation to open-monitoring meditation (OMM).During OMM, you merely observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment as they arise. It involves no focus on any particular thing or issue.

The study found that focused meditation improved participants' convergent thinking–the ability to think of a specific solution to a well-defined problem. On the other hand, OMM improved divergent thinking—the ability to generate many new ideas.

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4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nyhus E, Engel WA, Pitfield TD, Vakkur IMW.Increases in theta oscillatory activity during episodic memory retrieval following mindfulness meditation training.Front Hum Neurosci.2019;13:311. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00311Yoshida K, Takeda K, Kasai T, et al.Focused attention meditation training modifies neural activity and attention: longitudinal EEG data in non-meditators.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.2020;15(2):215-224. doi:10.1093/scan/nsaa020Lippelt DP, Hommel B, Colzato LS.Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity - A review.Front Psychol.2014;5. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01083Klawonn A, Kernan D, Lynskey J.A 5-Week seminar on the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of self-care improves anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, and stress in graduate healthcare students.Int J Yoga Therap. 2019. doi:10.17761/d-18-2019-00026

4 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nyhus E, Engel WA, Pitfield TD, Vakkur IMW.Increases in theta oscillatory activity during episodic memory retrieval following mindfulness meditation training.Front Hum Neurosci.2019;13:311. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00311Yoshida K, Takeda K, Kasai T, et al.Focused attention meditation training modifies neural activity and attention: longitudinal EEG data in non-meditators.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.2020;15(2):215-224. doi:10.1093/scan/nsaa020Lippelt DP, Hommel B, Colzato LS.Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity - A review.Front Psychol.2014;5. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01083Klawonn A, Kernan D, Lynskey J.A 5-Week seminar on the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of self-care improves anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, and stress in graduate healthcare students.Int J Yoga Therap. 2019. doi:10.17761/d-18-2019-00026

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Nyhus E, Engel WA, Pitfield TD, Vakkur IMW.Increases in theta oscillatory activity during episodic memory retrieval following mindfulness meditation training.Front Hum Neurosci.2019;13:311. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00311Yoshida K, Takeda K, Kasai T, et al.Focused attention meditation training modifies neural activity and attention: longitudinal EEG data in non-meditators.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.2020;15(2):215-224. doi:10.1093/scan/nsaa020Lippelt DP, Hommel B, Colzato LS.Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity - A review.Front Psychol.2014;5. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01083Klawonn A, Kernan D, Lynskey J.A 5-Week seminar on the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of self-care improves anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, and stress in graduate healthcare students.Int J Yoga Therap. 2019. doi:10.17761/d-18-2019-00026

Nyhus E, Engel WA, Pitfield TD, Vakkur IMW.Increases in theta oscillatory activity during episodic memory retrieval following mindfulness meditation training.Front Hum Neurosci.2019;13:311. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00311

Yoshida K, Takeda K, Kasai T, et al.Focused attention meditation training modifies neural activity and attention: longitudinal EEG data in non-meditators.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.2020;15(2):215-224. doi:10.1093/scan/nsaa020

Lippelt DP, Hommel B, Colzato LS.Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity - A review.Front Psychol.2014;5. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01083

Klawonn A, Kernan D, Lynskey J.A 5-Week seminar on the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of self-care improves anxiety, self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, and stress in graduate healthcare students.Int J Yoga Therap. 2019. doi:10.17761/d-18-2019-00026

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