{"id":414,"date":"2021-01-25T22:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T22:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/?p=414"},"modified":"2025-06-24T12:52:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:52:56","slug":"unpopular-opinion-so-you-think-meditation-sucks-try-these-5-clever-alternatives-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/unpopular-opinion-so-you-think-meditation-sucks-try-these-5-clever-alternatives-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpopular opinion: So you think meditation sucks. Try these 5 clever alternatives instead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like DIY sourdough, learning how to meditate skyrocketed in popularity during quarantine. And while it felt like all your in-the-know friends were raving about ohm-ing at home, you were dealing with a problematic truth: You really dislike meditation, and stillness and silence actually make your stress spike. \u201cMany of my patients tell me that meditation is like hearing nails on a chalkboard,\u201d says Dr. Sara Gottfried, a Harvard-educated, board-certified MD and author of three New York Times bestselling books. \u201cIf meditation isn\u2019t for you, you\u2019re not alone. There are many other ways to reset.\u201d Here are a few of her favorite no-ohm alternatives:<\/p>\n\n\n

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01<\/div>\n
Breathing in, while logging in<\/div>\n

Sneaking stress relief into everyday activities can be like sneaking vegetables into casseroles\u2014good for you and barely noticeable. \u201cEvery time I enter my passcode on my phone or enter a Zoom meeting, I do three rounds of belly breathing, where I inhale through my nose for a five-second count expanding my belly, and exhale through my mouth for a 10-second count,\u201d Gottfried says. \u201cProlonging the exhale tells the nervous system to chill out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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02<\/div>\n
Let\u2019s get physical<\/div>\n

If stillness makes you anything but, try marrying meditation with movement. It can be as simple as taking your usual 10-minute walk around the neighborhood to the next level. \u201cSense your arms, allow them to hang, and pay attention to the breath moving in and out of your lungs,\u201d Gottfried says. \u201cDo you hear any sounds nearby or from your movements? When your mind wanders, bring it back to your present sensations\u2014sounds, visual cues, breath\u2014and refocus.\u201d On a related note, exercises like spin classes, sports such as lifting weights and even sex can similarly be made more meditative, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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03<\/div>\n
Game on<\/div>\n

For more competitive types, try gamifying stress relief with a device called\u00a0Muse<\/a>\u2014a brain-sensing headband that provides real-time feedback on your mental activity and other physiological indicators such as breathing and heart rate. \u201cIt can guide you to focus your attention on a nature sound,\u201d Gottfried explains. \u201cAs you focus better and calm down, the waves get quieter, and you become calmer with each session. Then you get a score, which reviews what percent of time your brain was calm, neutral or active.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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04<\/div>\n
Gut check<\/div>\n

Give your gut the good stuff and stress relief can follow. \u201cConsuming one to two grams of omega 3\u2014such as extra virgin cod liver oil or wild caught salmon\u2014per day has been shown to lower your cortisol level and improve vagal tone,\u201d Gottfried says. (Side note: What is vagal tone? According to the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology, it\u2019s a critical component of the nervous system linked to cognitive, emotional and social health.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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05<\/div>\n
Keep climbing the social ladder<\/div>\n

While yet another Zoom brunch sounds as appealing as a dentist visit at this point, Gottfried says connecting with friends and fam should remain high on your list of stress-reducing priorities: \u201cBe with your girlfriends or loved ones. It stimulates oxytocin, which is an ancient antidote to stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When channeling your chill, remember: What works for your friends might not work for you\u2014and that\u2019s OK. Dr. Gottfried advises easing into it: \u201cAs you search for the right fit, set a goal of short duration\u2014about 10 minutes\u2014so it\u2019s an easy win. And if you can\u2019t do 10 minutes, don\u2019t stress, start with five then.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like DIY sourdough, learning how to meditate skyrocketed in popularity during quarantine. And while it felt like all your in-the-know friends were raving about ohm-ing at home, you were dealing with a problematic truth: You really dislike meditation, and stillness and silence actually make your stress spike. \u201cMany of my patients tell me that meditation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mind"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1750794778:21"],"_edit_last":["21"],"primary_category":["2"],"_primary_category":["field_608c33bdd26d5"],"show_featured_image":["1"],"_show_featured_image":["field_609ee1cf1ce13"],"post_views_count":["3056"],"_thumbnail_id":["422"],"adobe_analytics_repeatable":["a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"value\";s:0:\"\";}}"],"mobile_image":[""],"_mobile_image":["field_60bf7692abe28"],"_post_views_count":["field_6107dfafd6a27"],"sidebar_products_use_global_default":["0"],"_sidebar_products_use_global_default":["field_63a349a11086a"],"sidebar_products_title":["Related Products"],"_sidebar_products_title":["field_6408d62123449"],"sidebar_products_items":[""],"_sidebar_products_items":["field_63a349a110878"],"sidebar_products":[""],"_sidebar_products":["field_63a349a0dadad"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["2"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["Meditation alternatives for mindfulness | Murad Skincare"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Think meditation sucks? Try 5 clever mindfulness alternatives for stress relief and mental wellness."],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["1"]},"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":{"primary_category":{"term_id":2,"name":"Mind","slug":"mind","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":76,"filter":"raw"},"show_featured_image":true,"post_views_count":"3056","mobile_image":false,"sidebar_products":{"use_global_default":false,"title":"Related Products","items":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}