Questions to ask about any meditation practice

Before you commit to a practice, it helps to know who made it, what they ask of you and what else you could choose. A few plain questions will tell you most of that in minutes.

This guide gives you a short list you can use on any app, class or recording, and shows how to read a real provider listing.

Why ask about the source at all?

Every practice comes from somewhere. Some grow out of a religious or spiritual tradition, some out of a clinic or university, and some out of a company or a teacher with a following. Knowing the source helps you understand what the practice assumes, what it hopes you will do next and who to contact with a question.

None of these origins is automatically better. The aim is a clear picture, so your choice is informed and yours.

Try this: seven questions for any practice

Take five minutes and answer these. Write the answers down if it helps.

1. Who provides it, and can I find their name and contact details?
2. What does the practice actually ask me to do, in plain words?
3. Does it ask me to believe or join anything, or can I simply try it?
4. What does it cost, and what is optional?
5. What happens to the information I enter, and where is that explained?
6. What does it claim, and are those claims modest and checkable?
7. What are two other ways I could get something similar?

If an answer is missing or vague, you can ask the provider, or leave it for now.

How do I read a provider listing?

Use a real example. The App Store lists Miracle of Mind by Sadhguru as provided by Isha Foundation, with copyright held by Isha Foundation, Inc.¹. That answers question one: you can see who stands behind the app and search for their own pages.

You can do the same for any app. Find the provider name, open their website and check the privacy and support pages. Compare what the listing says with what the website says. Differences are worth a question.

What should I ask about a teacher?

For a class or retreat, NCCIH advises asking about the training and experience of a meditation instructor and telling your health care providers about the approaches you use². You can ask politely about the teacher’s background, the tradition they follow, what a session contains and whether there is any obligation afterwards.

A good teacher or provider will answer clearly. Discomfort with simple questions tells you something.

Fitting it into a real Malaysian day

You do not need to do all of this at once. Look at the listing on the LRT, send the provider one question over lunch, and leave the decision for the weekend. If the family WhatsApp group is full of forwarded meditation promises, take the same seven questions to each one.

Where to go next

If you have a faith question, read considering meditation when you have questions about faith. To weigh formats, see choosing between an app and an in-person introduction.

For what the official sources say about one app, our Miracle of Mind guide collects them in one place. And if you want to decide how a resource fits your week, how to tell if a meditation resource suits you offers a gentle check. A meditation timer is free to use and keeps what you type in your browser. Everything for beginners sits on the meditation for beginners hub.