What Is Meditation? Proposing an Empirically Derived Classification System

Abstract

Meditation is an umbrella term, which subsumes a huge number of diverse practices. It is still unclear how these practices can be classified in a reasonable way. Earlier proposals have struggled to do justice to the diversity of meditation techniques. To help in solving this issue, we used a novel bottom-up procedure to develop a comprehensive classification system for meditation techniques. In previous studies, we reduced 309 initially identified techniques to the 20 most popular ones. In the present study, 100 experienced meditators were asked to rate the similarity of the selected 20 techniques. Using multidimensional scaling, we found two orthogonal dimensions along which meditation techniques could be classified: activation and amount of body orientation. These dimensions emphasize the role of embodied cognition in meditation. Within these two dimensions, seven main clusters emerged: mindful observation, body-centered meditation, visual concentration, contemplation, affect-centered meditation, mantra meditation, and meditation with movement. We conclude there is no “meditation” as such, but there are rather different groups of techniques that might exert diverse effects. These groups call into question the common division into “focused attention” and “open-monitoring” practices. We propose a new embodied classification system and encourage researchers to evaluate this classification system through comparative studies.

PROMISE: A Model of Insight and Equanimity as the Key Effects of Mindfulness Meditation

“…Meditators conduct many different meditation techniques, often varying both within and between different sessions (see also Lutz et al, 2008). There are some approaches to distinguishing different meditation techniques (see Matko and Sedlmeier, 2019). For example, Dahl et al (2015) established three categories: attentional meditation (targeting meta-awareness and experiential fusion), constructive meditation (targeting reappraisal, perspective-taking, and self-schema), and deconstructive meditation (targeting self-inquiry and insight).…”

What Do Meditators Do When They Meditate? Proposing a Novel Basis for Future Meditation Research

“…Consequently, new collections and classification systems encompassing a greater variety of meditation techniques have been proposed (Brandmeyer et al, 2019;Dahl et al, 2015;Fox et al, 2016;Lutz et al, 2015;Nash & Newberg, 2013). Nonetheless, these collections and classification systems have still been derived mostly from the top down and they omit several important meditation techniques, especially from the Hindu context (Matko & Sedlmeier, 2019).…”

“…According to some definitions, meditation can be practiced for either general well-being, alteration of consciousness, or spiritual insight. These diverse definitions have been discussed in detail elsewhere (Bond et al, 2009;Matko & Sedlmeier, 2019;Schmidt, 2014). They represent the lack of consensus among experts on when or when not to label a practice meditation.…”

Psychological and Cardiovascular Effects of Meditation and Yoga

“…However, it is noteworthy that meditative practices do not involve solely the control of attention. For example, movements and mantras are commonly used as a means to facilitate the connection between brain and body, ameliorate the detrimental effects of anxiety, and improve one's quality of life [16]. These techniques serve primarily to partially inhibit processing of task-unrelated thoughts.…”

“…It is also important to emphasize that various forms of meditation and yoga differ considerably in terms of techniques and principles. In the present chapter, the author will not describe how exactly these methods differ from one another (for a detailed description, see e. g., [16,23,24]).…”