Ask t he guru

Still not convinced? We asked Rohan Gunatillake, creator of the Buddhify app, to respond to the doubters out there

‘I’ve tried meditating but it made me feel stressed!’

That antsy, anxious feeling some people get when they sit down to meditate is probably a case of the stress already being present, but they’re only just noticing it. Try not to have expectations of feeling super blissed out during every session. Instead, ask yourself, ‘Am I learning something about myself?’ Remember that it will become easier with practice.

‘If I got into the lotus position, I’d never get out of it! Can I sit on the sofa?’

Not many of us could get comfortable in the lotus position and it’s not necessary. Sitting upright in a chair is best, with feet on the floor. Look to balance a sense of alertness in your body with a sense of relaxation – those are the two elements of great posture.

‘Doing nothing feels self-indulgent when I have so much to do. I’d be better off working through my to-do list.’

First, you are doing something, not nothing. You’re training

your mind to make life easier for yourself. Second, rest can make you more productive – when we’re doing tasks, we can often waste a lot of time when we become distracted. Mindfulness helps us bring our concentration back to what we’re doing.

‘I tried meditating but the only thoughts I had were about how much my mother-in-law annoys me. Does that make me a bad person or a bad meditator?’

The process of bringing your focus back to the meditation is more important than the content. You’re learning the skill of coming back each time a thought distracts you and also not to judge those thoughts. Also, meditation

can lead to more feelings of kindness and compassion… So, you never know, it may even help you find her less annoying!

‘Nice idea, but how is it going to help me when I’m yelling at my teens to get dressed for school, doing my make-up, feeding the dog and putting a wash on at the same time?’

Life can be chaotic and meditating won’t change that, but it will help you stay more balanced within the chaos and give you a sense of it being okay. It relaxes your inner critic, so you won’t be as hard on yourself when things aren’t going to plan. The more we learn to hold life that bit more lightly, the happier we are, and mindfulness builds our ability to do that.