The individual and sequential effect of focused attention and open monitoring meditation on mindfulness skills.
PloS one January 1, 2025 Haruyuki Ishikawa, Toshizumi Muta, Tetsuri Abe et al. 4 citations
Practicing focused attention meditation before open-monitoring meditation helps novices acquire mindfulness skills more effectively than the reverse order. In a study of 33 Japanese undergraduate and graduate students new to meditation, those who completed four weeks of focused attention followed by four weeks of open-monitoring scored higher on most mindfulness skills than a wait-list control group. They also developed awareness, describing, acceptance, and observing skills earlier than participants who practiced the meditations in reverse order. However, the ability to stay aware in the present moment improved earlier in the reverse-order group. The findings suggest that the traditional sequence of focused attention before open-monitoring primarily affects how quickly skills develop rather than their final level.