Hey everyone, my name is Rosie and I'm one of the new hosts of Radio Headspace.

I'm an author and a yoga meditation teacher and my new episodes are debuting February of next year.

I can't wait to share them with you.

In the meantime, I'd like to let you know about a new show from Headspace Studios called Dear Headspace.

It's a call and advice show where Headspace teachers answer questions each week about anything and everything.

We talk about family, relationships, mindfulness and so much more.

You can find Dear Headspace on the Headspace app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

Headspace Studio

I wanted to take some time today to talk about some of the FAQs around meditation.

And one of the most frequently asked questions I hear is what is the difference between meditation and mindfulness?

So meditation is both a practice and a skill. This is where we intentionally take some time out of our day to train the mind.

And we're training the mind to be more present, connected and compassionate. That's the skill.

A mindfulness is the quality we cultivate from our practice. This is the quality of being present in the here and now as life unfolds.

And an easy way to think about mindfulness is meditation in action. Through the practice of mindfulness, we can actually be more present in our lives and the world around us.

And one of the best ways to cultivate these qualities or to remind ourselves of these qualities is to meditate.

Without this formal practice, it can be hard to develop a broader sense of awareness and compassion.

Okay, question number two. Now this is something that comes up a lot and is something that can cause folks some frustration.

Why can't I stop thinking or clear the mind when I meditate? So this is such a common experience.

One of the first things we notice when we start to meditate is how busy the mind is and how often we get distracted. And it's even tempting to think that prior to meditation, we had never experienced this problem before.

And that the meditation might even be making the situation worse.

But the truth is, the mind has always been this busy and restless. Meditation simply gives us the awareness to see it more clearly.

In many ways, trying to stop thoughts is the antithesis of meditation. The approach is to allow thoughts to come and go, while stepping back and observing them, without judgment or bias.

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