Can You Meditate With Someone Else?

The first thought that comes up with meditation is sitting in a quiet, calm place by ourselves with nothing to distract us from being fully immersed in a meditation session. 

And while that’s often what’s meant with meditation, there are ways to make the experience different. In ways that could benefit you and those around you. 

Even if those around you, in question, don’t meditate. For instance, you become deeper at empathy and are likely to see a deeper meaning behind people’s motives. 

However, what would happen if you were to meditate with other people? Will the experience be any better for you? 

If you meditate with someone else, more specifically, your significant other or someone you have a good relationship with, you’re more likely to strengthen your bond with that person and improve your relationship with that person, so yes, you can meditate with someone else and many times, it makes sense to do duo meditation for both to reap the same benefits. 

Why You Should Start Meditating With Others

Now, while you’re perfectly capable of meditating on your own, there may be reasons you want to start meditating with others. 

By having a duo meditation experience, you both are going through the same thing and are better able to understand each other in a spiritual sense. Even if meditation can be done regardless of what beliefs you have. 

Other than merely feeling a deeper connection to someone else, there are other reasons to meditate with someone else people might not consider when they start out. You also have a greater sense of accountability when you do it with someone else that you may not have when you start out. 

Less Lonely

Even if meditation on its own can help you overcome a feeling of loneliness, when you’re starting out with meditation, you might feel like you want to walk the journey with a significant other to reap the same benefits. 

This can make the experience a whole lot less intimidating for both, given how meditation is a personal experience where at times, uncomfortable thoughts will arise and we have to teach the mind to be okay with those thoughts. 

By being with someone else in the journey, you might feel less pressure with certain thoughts, as you’d be feeling in safe hands as well as letting go of the judgment that meditation helps you give up. 

Being alone with your thoughts can be overwhelming for many people, but by having someone physically present with you meditating, you may feel less intimidated by those thoughts given that you’re both matching the vibe of non-judgment. 

Meditation is something completely new for the mind, and many tend to feel a certain way about entering a journey that would change them completely alone, but by meditating with someone else, you get this feeling of safety that everything is gonna be okay, and you allow yourself to be. 

However, this doesn’t apply to every meditator, there are those that absolutely need to be alone while meditating, or otherwise, they feel judged or pressured while meditating, but that’s often because they aren’t meditating the right way where they let themselves be immersed in the experience, which is often a stage where you can let go and detach. 

Meditation can also be done in a group, if you join a meditation session or club, many times this is done with Yoga and it’s a great way to introduce people to the practice without them being intimidated about the fact that they’re alone or fearing they’d do the practice incorrectly.

Bonding

This goes hand in hand with feeling less lonely, but when you meditate with someone else, it’s as if you are expanding a collective consciousness, especially if both of you do a guided meditation where you’re pre-determined to experience the same things, at least, in theory. 

However, experiencing the same type of meditation, be it guided or unguided can help you both connect in the sense that you experience oneness with that person. 

Meditation can be hard, especially when thoughts we don’t desire to be there manifest. When you’re doing duo meditation, you get a feeling that you’re both sharing energies and strengthening your bond, because of what you both are practicing. 

Bonding also allows for relationship issues to heal, making the end result be that outside of meditation, in circumstances where you would have otherwise been upset with your partner, you’re now more forgiving and understanding, and vice versa. 

You look beyond small, surface mistakes that are prone to happen because of imperfection and start seeing the bigger picture, added to the fact that your ability to feel empathy strengthens which helps this purpose, not to mention the non-judgmental principles you learn in meditation that you apply in your day to day life. 

Now, meditation with others doesn’t just have to be meditation with your significant other, it can be with a friend, a family member, or perhaps a pet. 

But make sure you enjoy the presence of who you are meditating with, and regardless, the practice can help you to bond better. 

A good bond, it goes without saying but it results in a stronger relationship. If you meditate with your significant other, there’s less of a chance for things to go the wrong way because of the things you’re better able to deal with post-meditation, i.e judgment or getting upset.

Keeping Each Other In Check

This goes back to the sense of accountability you get while meditating with others. If one of you slacks on the habit, you can be there to help each other get back on track and the risk of abandoning the practice is reduced. 

Some need this accountability when they start to be able to go on their own. When I started out, I myself meditated with others, then I became more confident in my ability to do it on my own. 

Staying consistent with meditation is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the practice, and what determines if you’re able to stick with meditation for the short term or the long haul. When you’re meditating with someone else, this party becomes easier, provided you’re both committed to having a positive impact on your lives.

Should Meditating With Others Be The Norm?

No. While it can be beneficial to meditate with others and reap the same benefits and feel a deeper connection to that person, it’s not necessary for the meditation to work. Meditation can be as much of a solo discipline as a duo one. 

The downside of meditating with others is becoming dependent on others for meditation. Detachment is something we’re taught in meditation that applies to others as well. 

Not to confuse it cutting off, detachment gives you the independence of not relying on others for your fulfillment, but rather seeing it as sharing your happiness with someone else, and vice versa.

Another downside is if the other person isn’t as engaged in the meditation, so, to avoid this lack of engagement, start small in the sense that you two only meditate for a few minutes, then gradually increase as you would do in a single meditation.

You have everything you need to meditate on your own, but you might want to start off doing it with someone else to make the experience less intimidating and lonely, but eventually, you’d have to face what you’ve been repressing if you want to heal from it. 

The same can be said for guides, they’re great for starting out but if you want a completely independent meditation you can do at any moment, you’ll ideally want to learn to do meditation on your own.

Meditating with someone else can be as simple as either focusing on their breathing, or your own breathing, acknowledging theirs but without getting distracted. But keeping yourself in the present moment. 

You can also hold their hand if you want to bond in the physical sense while meditating, but their presence and their engagement in meditation are enough for you to meditate with them. 

You could also listen to an audio track where you’re asked to repeat a certain chant or place your hands in a certain position. 

If you don’t have anyone there with you to physically meditate with, you can join online groups with others passionate about meditation that don’t want to do it on their own. 

If you’re physically there with someone else though, make sure the conditions are favorable, such as being in a silent room and being free of distractions. Normal conditions of meditation apply.

Sources

https://www.meetmindful.com/tandem-meditation-path-to-a-new-intimacy/

https://www.elitedaily.com/dating/a-guide-to-meditating-with-bae/1526231

https://aboutmeditation.com/benefits-of-meditation-people/