Mindfulness meditation experiences of novice practitioners in an online intervention: Trajectories, predictors, and challenges.
Applied psychology. Health and well-being – February 01, 2022
Source: PubMed
Summary
Mindfulness interventions can significantly enhance well-being, but individual responses vary widely. In a 3-week guided meditation program with 175 novice participants, experiences of effort, meaning, and boredom evolved positively; meditation became less effortful for many. Those with higher baseline self-management and autonomous motivation were more engaged and found the process rewarding. Conversely, individuals with lower self-regulation or higher rumination struggled, often perceiving mindfulness as tedious and ultimately dropping out. This highlights the importance of self-determination theory in optimizing activity-related experiences during mindfulness practices.
Abstract
The benefits of mindfulness interventions are well-known, but their challenges and individual differences in reactions to these challenges are much less clear. The study used a mixed-methods design to investigate the individual trajectories of daily experiences during meditation in a sample of novice volunteers participating in a 3-week, distance-based, guided meditation intervention (N = 175). Multilevel modelling revealed individual differences in the change trajectories of the experiences of effort, meaning, and boredom during meditation, indicating that meditation gradually became less effortful, less boring, more interesting, and more important over the 3 weeks. The individual differences in the levels of these experiences and their change trends were associated with baseline differences in well-being, reflective processes, self-management, and self-control skills, as well as autonomous motivation to engage in the course. Individuals who are initially more autonomous and mindful find it easier to engage with online mindfulness interventions and draw more benefits from the process, whereas those with lower self-regulation skills or higher proneness to rumination are more likely to experience mindfulness as effortful and boring, and, eventually, to give it up.