March Mindfulness is our new series that examines the explosive growth in mindfulness and meditation technology — culminating in Mashable's groundbreaking competitive meditation bracket contest. Because March shouldn't be all madness.
Can simply "being mindful" while, say, sipping a kale smoothie, constitute a mindfulness practice? Some experts say, yes!
But what being mindful means to you — especially when you're posting about that moment on Instagram — may constitute a different version of mindfulness than the one that has prompted medical studies and attracted serious adherents across the globe.
The recent explosion in popularity of mindfulness is a well-documented phenomenon. One place in particular where mindfulness — or what some people think of as mindfulness — is enjoying a boom is on Instagram. Currently, there are over 11.8 million posts tagged with the hashtag #mindfulness; there are hundreds of thousands more with variations like #mindful or #mindfulnesspractice.
Many of the posts contain images of inspirational quotes that vary in their relevance to mindfulness practice. Current top posts under #mindfulness include "Please smile at strangers" and "Everything will fall into place, just be patient." (Not exactly what mindfulness experts are trying to preach, per se). Others depict selfies or yoga poses, books or beverages, and are often posted by influencers or would-be influencers. Mindfulness on Instagram is a hashtag anyone can append to a photo to indicate they are experiencing a "mindful" state of, well, mind. All of this is not necessarily the meditation practice and quality of attention being studied by researchers and therapists.
Hashtag Mindfulness is mindfulness lite, an all-encompassing wellness trend.
Many of the Instagram posts are innocuous, and as some experts say, the more people talking about mindfulness, the better. However, problems can arise when non-teachers become the figureheads of a movement. The dilution of the definition and its championing by non-experts could lead to confusion, or even trick people into buying misleading products. Furthermore, those who struggle to experience the feelings mindfulness influencers preach can be left feeling dissatisfied.
Diana Winston, the director of mindfulness education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center, defines mindfulness as "paying attention to present moment experiences with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be with what is."
But that's not typically what you'll find on Instagram.
"What’s happened is both wonderful — and a bit of a mess."
"The word mindful is just this very popular word right now," Winston said. "Just like when anything enters the mainstream, it’s going to get diluted to a certain extent."
But for the influencers and their followers, or quote posters and likers — who have the potential to be inspired by Hashtag Mindfulness, or perhaps learn more about mindfulness meditation through deeper discovery — maybe the fact that the broader expression of mindfulness on Instagram differs from the more specific definition of the practice can be OK, in its own way, experts say — with exceptions, of course.
"These days, there’s incredible access to mindfulness teachings, and some of that happens through social media," Winston said. "What’s happened is both wonderful — and a bit of a mess."
A quote image is worth 11 million words
One of the most popular types of mindfulness posts is the quote image. At their best, these posts have the potential to inspire a mindful moment in their readers. But often, Hashtag Mindfulness in this form exemplifies the most commercial aspects of social media vapidity.
Many of these #mindfulness quote images come from influencers, yogis, or self-promoters. This phenomenon is relatively harmless, except for when Instagram allows non-experts to become some of the leading sources of mindfulness knowledge. (Mindfulness promotion isn't alone here.) If, for example, an untrained influencer teaches a mindfulness practice to someone who's experienced trauma, that could be potentially harmful if they don't know how to tailor the meditation appropriately.
"Setting oneself up as a teacher without rigorous training is not a good thing," Winston said. "What an incredible world that anyone can go online and learn to meditate. However, you don’t know who you’re learning from."
Where the quote posts come from on Instagram is a mixed bag, though. A look at some of the top #mindfulness quote posts shows therapists or mindfulness centers also using this technique.
"Social media can be a wonderful way of getting the word out," Dr. Elisha Goldstein, who is the founder of the Mindful Living Collective and is a contributor to the popular Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook, said.
However, he noted, "it depends on how it’s done."
Goldstein and his team frequently post quotes on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that express mindfulness principles. Quote images have the potential to spread knowledge, or even enable a "S.T.O.P." mindfulness moment: a technique that advises you to stop what you're doing, take deep breaths, observe your experience "just as it is," Goldstein said, and proceed in a way that will benefit you.
But Hashtag Mindfulness can have a more nefarious side. At the time of this writing, one of the top #mindfulness posts came from an account called @MindfulMeditationDaily, which has over 25,000 followers. The account's posts mostly contain images of peaceful nature scenes or joyously jumping women, overlaid with words like "JOY" or "CHAKRAS" or "VIBES."
Who's behind this account? The link to the account's profile promises a free Reiki healing bracelet. Taking the account up on its offer requires paying $11 for shipping and handling. And you can't get this "free" product until you read through six pages of "INCREDIBLE OFFERS" to buy digital booklets promising to increase your energy and vitality. The Instagram @MindfulMeditationDaily appears to just be a marketing tool for an internet "entrepreneur" who makes money by selling products through the affiliate marketing company ClickBank. ClickBank not only connects marketers to shakes, e-books, and self-help DVDs, but it also shares how you too can earn a 7-figure salary through affiliate marketing right now.
We often associate social media with "mindless" scrolling. In the best iterations of the #mindfulness quote images, these posts can prompt you to break that cycle, and perhaps even take a moment to inhale, non-judgmentally observe your thoughts, and progress with purpose. But often, Hashtag Mindfulness on Instagram is a tool to get likes and attention. Or at its worst, suck you into a click-to-buy cycle, filled with rote images and promises of healing your crowded mind.
Mindfulness as a lifestyle
In the world of Instagram influencers, mindfulness has also become a popular ethos infused into food, beauty, and other lifestyle choices.
"It’s being used to describe everything from just general wellness to actual mindfulness," Winston said.
Influencers actually seem to agree with Winston's assessment, as they assert a more all-encompassing, and moment-to-moment idea of mindfulness, rather than an attention technique linked to meditation.
"Whether it's mindfulness or holistic wellness, for me, it's different for everybody," Jules Hunt, who practices mindful living, and runs a popular blog and Instagram account called Om and the City, said. "When you're able to tap into what's important to you, that's you tapping into your own mindfulness."
For Hunt, that means she takes a moment every morning to bring attention to the needs of her body. She uses a mindfulness meditation practice to bring greater patience and intention to her work throughout the day.
Alyssa Brieloff, who runs a site called Holysstic Living, agreed. She brings a spirit of what she considers mindfulness — of being tuned into the needs of her body and mind — to the food she eats, the beauty products she uses, and even how much time she spends on her phone.
"It means a lot of things," Brieloff said. "For me, it's about knowing where I am right now in the moment."
Brieloff and Hunt practice mindfulness in their own lives, but they, and other influencers, also make it a tenet of business blogging. The way that manifests is not just adding #mindfulness to a photo of a meal they particularly enjoyed; they often gesture to "making the most" out of something and emphasize the need for self-love, honesty, and gratitude.
They also say they bring mindfulness to their work in the form of "intention." Or, the idea that their businesses are not primarily about making money, but about expressing themselves and helping others.
Same difference?
Much of what Hunt and Brieloff told me about their mindfulness practices, actually does — to use Hunt's word — somewhat "align" with mindfulness principles. Goldstein said that one can practice mindfulness while meditating, but also in a more "in the moment" way, as many influencers express when they use hashtags like #mindfuleeeeeats alongside a picture of a 'gram-worthy organic meal.
Additionally, the ideas of "being present," self-loving, and in tune with one's body are not far off from how one of the founders of contemporary mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn, defines it: "Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally."
"I don’t think it’s an issue to pop mindfulness on the top of something," Goldstein said. "If you’re teaching people to be intentional and present and non-harming, then I think you’re welcome to throw that title on there. That’s just letting people know that you’re not 'get rich quick.'"
Of course, plenty of Instagram personalities do pop #mindfulness on their pics just to try to get more likes, followers, and eventually sponsorships. Hunt runs a program she calls the Mindful Entrepreneur, where she mentors other individuals growing their businesses in how to bring their ideas to life with intention. But if your end goal in participating is to grow your following and work with brands, she said, "this isn't for you."
Even with intentional uses of #mindfulness on Instagram, the difference between Hashtag Mindfulness and mindfulness practice can be in the execution. Mindfulness, for Winston, is not something that is "different for everyone," or even just an approach to living — but is instead "a quality of attention."
"It’s really about training our mind to be in the present moment, not lost in the past, not lost in the future, but right here, right now," Winston said.
"Mindfulness is getting lumped into a new, 'new age.'"
Mindfulness practitioners can bring that "quality of attention" to both a meditation practice or utilize it throughout the day — even while, say, eating avocado toast. But another difference arises between institutionalized mindfulness and Hashtag Mindfulness in its combination with other lifestyle trends — notably general wellness, but also astrology, crystal healing, reiki healing, and more.
"Mindfulness is getting lumped into a new, 'new age,'" Goldstein said. "If there’s someone who believes in crystal healing, you can certainly enhance your experience with mindfulness. So it’s not in conflict with any of it, but it’s been shown to be a far more mainstream, science-based treatment or approach than maybe some of the new-age alternative methods."
These conflations can have the effect of misconstruing mindfulness into a tool for bliss. Hashtag Mindfulness often finds expression in serene-looking yogurt eaters or tree posers, but mindfulness can often be difficult work that requires acknowledging discomfort.
Is Instagram changing the meaning of "mindfulness"? It might be broadening it for the social media masses, but that has little impact on experts or researchers. For Goldstein, the definition matters most when it comes to studying the impacts of mindfulness in a research setting.
"There needs to be a strict definition of it so we know what we’re researching," he said.
It's easy to be alarmed by the "dilution" of mindfulness on Instagram, but it's not always cause for hand waving. If a hashtag can inspire someone to stop, breathe, and bring their thoughts to the present, perhaps non-judgment is the best way to approach the phenomenon.
Or, in Goldstein's words, "if something’s good, it’s good."
