Open meditation is a type of mindfulness that’s often practiced with open eyes. It’s thought to boost concentration and help you better connect with your surroundings.
This type of meditation is a great choice for those who are looking to reduce stress and anxiety. It also helps improve memory and creativity.
Unlike focused attention meditation, open monitoring involves focusing your awareness on all experiences that arise during the meditation. This can include thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations.
The goal is to be present and nonjudgmental with these stray thoughts, feelings, and sensations. This can be a challenge, and it’s important to remember that your mind will wander at times when you are first starting out with this meditation style.
It’s easy to lose focus in this type of meditation, so it’s best to build up your practice with focused attention meditation before you move onto open monitoring. Once you’re familiar with the techniques, focusing on a specific object such as breathing can be very effective for building up your concentration and minimizing distractions.
In addition to increasing your ability to concentrate, focusing on breathing can help you cultivate compassion and kindness toward yourself. It also strengthens your ability to regulate your emotions and increase your pain tolerance.
Research has found that open-monitoring meditation can be as effective as antidepressants in treating depression. It also shows that meditation can lower the size of your amygdala, the part of your brain that’s responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress.