Why Do People Practice Mindfulness? An Investigation into Reasons for Practicing Mindfulness Meditation

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation leads to a range of positive outcomes, yet little is known about the motivation behind choosing to practice meditation. This research investigated reasons for commencing and continuing mindfulness medita-tion. In both qualitative and quantitative analyses, the most frequently cited reason for commencing and continuing med-itation practice was to alleviate emotional distress and enhance emotion regulation. A substantial proportion of participants also reported continuing meditation to enhance well-being, though very few commenced or continued meditation practice for spiritual or religious reasons. In brief, the overwhelming majority of participants in the present study reported practic-ing mindfulness to alleviate emotional distress. Further re-search is needed to examine reasons for meditation across more diverse samples, and whether reasons for meditation differentially predict outcome.