Mindfulness meditation: what it means, MBSR and MBCT, benefits and how to start
CareOps editorial team · · 9 min read
Mental wellness information and service guidance published by CareOps.
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The CareOps editorial team publishes these guides. Sources are linked at the end of each article; examples are illustrative, not customer stories. Product descriptions refer to CareOps Maeumi. Publication and revision dates appear above.
Read our full editorial standards →You eat while worrying about tomorrow and lie in bed replaying something you said earlier. Your body is here, but your mind is somewhere else. Mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention back to where you are. Here is what it means, what MBSR and MBCT are, what research has found and how to start practicing today.
At a glance
- Mindfulness, in the definition of MBSR founder Jon Kabat-Zinn, is “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” It is not about emptying your mind but about noticing what comes up.
- In pooled research, mindfulness meditation programs reduced anxiety, depression and pain to a moderate degree, and MBCT lowered the risk of relapse in people with recurrent depression.
- If you are new, start with a three-minute breathing practice. Wandering thoughts are not failure; noticing and coming back is the practice itself.
What does mindfulness mean?
Mindfulness is often traced to the definition by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who created mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). In a 2003 paper he described it as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) likewise describes mindfulness as keeping attention and awareness on the present moment without judgment.
Three phrases matter here. On purpose means you choose where to put your attention instead of drifting. In the present moment means coming back to your breath, sounds and sensations right now rather than the past or future. Nonjudgmentally means noticing thoughts and feelings as “this came up” without labeling them good or bad. Mindfulness meditation is setting aside time to practice this kind of awareness on purpose.
What are MBSR and MBCT?
Two programs brought mindfulness into health care and counseling. Both were developed as structured group programs that meet over several sessions, not as solo practice.
| What it involves | Mainly for | |
|---|---|---|
| MBSR | Mindfulness meditation, discussion and ways to use it under stress | People who want to reduce stress |
| MBCT | Mindfulness practice combined with elements of CBT | Preventing relapse after recurrent depression |
In the first trial of MBCT (Teasdale et al., 2000), 145 people who had recovered from depression were randomized. MBCT reduced the risk of relapse in those who had been depressed three or more times, but not in those with two previous episodes. So MBCT is used mainly to help people with recurring depression stay well after they recover, rather than as a treatment during an episode.
Benefits of mindfulness meditation: what research shows
- Anxiety, depression and pain: a review of 47 controlled trials (3,515 people; Goyal et al., 2014) found moderate evidence that mindfulness meditation programs improve anxiety, depression and pain. Evidence for stress and mental health-related quality of life was weaker.
- A range of psychological problems: a meta-analysis of 209 studies (12,145 people; Khoury et al., 2013) found mindfulness-based therapy moderately effective, and especially effective for reducing anxiety, depression and stress.
- Stress: a meta-analysis of 29 MBSR studies in healthy adults reported a large effect on stress. More on that in stress relief.
- Depression relapse: an analysis of individual data from 1,258 participants in 9 MBCT trials (Kuyken et al., 2016) found that people who received MBCT had a lower risk of depression returning within 60 weeks than those who did not.
The same reviews also show the limits. Goyal et al. (2014) found no evidence that meditation programs were better than other active approaches such as medication, exercise or other behavioral therapies, and Khoury et al. (2013) found mindfulness-based therapy did not differ from cognitive behavioral therapy. It is most accurate to see mindfulness as one of several approaches with research support, not a special secret.
How to practice mindfulness meditation: four ways for beginners
You don't need long sessions at first. Pick one of the four below, keep it up for a few days and find what suits you. Any comfortable position is fine, sitting or lying down, with eyes closed or open.
1. Three-minute breathing practice
- Notice (1 minute): scan what thoughts, feelings and body sensations are here, simply noting “this is here.”
- Gather on the breath (1 minute): bring your attention to where you feel the breath, at the nostrils or belly. Don't change it; just feel it.
- Widen (1 minute): expand your attention to your whole body sitting here, then slowly return to what you were doing.
2. Body scan
Lie down and slowly move your attention from your toes to the top of your head, noticing each part. Warmth, heaviness, tingling or no sensation at all are all fine to notice as they are. You don't have to try to relax. Start with about 10 minutes.
3. Walking meditation
Walk a little more slowly than usual and pay attention to the soles of your feet touching and leaving the ground and the movement of your legs. When your mind wanders, come back to your feet. This is especially good on days when sitting still is hard.
4. Everyday mindfulness
You don't need extra time. Choose one daily activity, such as brushing your teeth, washing dishes or drinking coffee, and give your attention only to the sensations of that moment. Noticing the water's temperature, the smell or the movement of your hands is practice in itself.
When your mind keeps wandering: that's not failure
Many beginners give up thinking, “I can't focus for even 30 seconds.” But wandering is simply what minds do. In mindfulness, what matters is not having no thoughts but the moment you notice “my mind wandered” and come back to the breath. Wandering off ten times and coming back ten times is the practice.
It can help to give a passing thought a short label, such as “worrying,” “planning” or “remembering,” and then come back. If the same thoughts keep circling, see how to stop overthinking.
What to watch out for
Mindfulness meditation is generally considered low risk, but research shows unpleasant experiences can happen. A systematic review of 83 studies (6,703 people; Farias et al., 2020) found that 8.3% overall had an adverse experience during or after meditation, most often anxiety and depression, and these could occur in people with no history of mental health problems.
If you have experienced trauma, go especially slowly. In an interview study of meditation practitioners (Lindahl et al., 2017), people with a trauma history often described re-experiencing traumatic memories during meditation. Keep your eyes open and sessions short, rest your attention on outer anchors such as your feet or the sounds around you rather than inside your body, and remember you can stop at any time.
When to practice with a professional
If anxiety grows each time you meditate, difficult memories keep surfacing and unsettle daily life, or your body feels strange and unfamiliar, pause rather than pushing on alone. It is safer to adjust the practice with a mental health professional who works with mindfulness.
How does mindfulness relate to ACT?
Mindfulness is built into several therapies. MBCT adds elements of cognitive behavioral therapy to mindfulness practice, while acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) takes present-moment awareness and stepping back from thoughts and adds your values and actions that move toward them. If mindfulness centers on noticing, ACT carries on from noticing to choosing where to move next. The six processes are explained in ACT made simple.
Mindfulness books: where to start
To go deeper, start with books by the people who built these programs: Jon Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living (1990) and Wherever You Go, There You Are (1994), and The Mindful Way through Depression (2007), written by MBCT researchers Williams, Teasdale and Segal together with Kabat-Zinn.
How stressed have you been lately? A stress check
Checking your stress over the past month before you start makes it easier to compare a few weeks later. The CareOps stress check takes a few minutes, with no login.
Try a self-assessment without signing inPerceived stress (PSS-10)How overwhelming or hard to manage life feels. Answer the app’s questionnaire and see your result right away.Start the check →If you want to talk through what you notice
Mindfulness often makes thoughts and feelings you used to skip past much clearer. CareOps Maeumi is an AI counseling app that runs sessions with approaches such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It helps you explore what you notice through conversation and remembers past sessions so the next one picks up where you left off. Get the app
Frequently asked questions
- What is mindfulness in one sentence?
- Paying attention on purpose, in the present moment and without judgment. The description comes from the definition by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who created MBSR.
- How many minutes a day should I meditate?
- There is no fixed answer. At first, a short practice such as the three-minute breathing space done every day matters more than length. Once it feels familiar, try longer practices such as a body scan of 10 minutes or more.
- Are meditation and mindfulness the same thing?
- They overlap but are not the same. Meditation covers many practices that focus attention on the breath, a sound or a repeated word, and mindfulness meditation is the kind that notices the present moment without judgment. Mindfulness can also be practiced in everyday life outside of meditation.
- My mind wanders constantly. Should I keep going?
- Yes. A wandering mind is normal, and noticing and coming back is the practice. If anxiety grows each time or painful memories make it distressing, pause and adjust the practice with a professional.
Sources
- Kabat-Zinn (2003), Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice
- NCCIH, Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know
- Goyal et al. (2014), Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being, JAMA Internal Medicine
- Khoury et al. (2013), Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis, Clinical Psychology Review
- Khoury et al. (2015), Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis, Journal of Psychosomatic Research
- Teasdale et al. (2000), Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- Kuyken et al. (2016), Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse, JAMA Psychiatry
- Farias et al. (2020), Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
- Lindahl et al. (2017), The varieties of contemplative experience, PLOS ONE
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