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This second episode in our Mindfulness at Work series provides tips on establishing a meditation group at work. But, it’s also relevant if you want to create a meditation group outside of the workplace.
By the way, if you missed the first episode in the series, you can catch it at www.mindful15.com/job
Social support can be helpful when you’re trying to establish or maintain a mindfulness habit. Sitting with others gives you a sense of belongingness that reinforces the practice. Group participation can also keep you motivated. You might practice more regularly if you feel you’d be letting down other people when you skip out. Sharing the practice also gives you other people to talk to about your meditation experiences and challenges.
Tips for establishing a casual meditation group in the workplace
First, you’ll need to find a suitable location for meditation. Last week’s episode provided some ideas. Check it out at www.mindful15.com/job.
Second, I recommend creating a regular schedule of meditation times. Regularity makes it easier for people to arrange their work day to accommodate the meditation, which makes it easier for them to attend. If you want to issue an open invitation to all employees, a regular schedule makes it easy to create posters, email invitations, etc.

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Third, you need to determine whether the group will practice silent or guided meditation and for how long. If you’ve got beginners in the group, guided meditation is the way to go - unless your group includes a qualified meditation teacher willing to guide the sessions. Beginners also do better with shorter meditations, say no longer than 20 minutes. Ultimately, though, it’s best for all members of the group to have input into these decisions. 
If doing silent meditation, you’ll need a timer and/or a time-keeper. There are many great meditation apps out there that include timers, e.g., Insight Timer, but you can also use a clock or a phone app. Just be sure your alarm isn’t jolting. If your time-keeper is simply watching the clock, they can end the session by saying “it’s time to open your eyes,” or they can ring a bell.
If you are using guided meditations, you’ll need a device and a speaker to play them on, and the guided meditations themselves. You can use our free meditations (www.mindful15.com/free), or if someone in your group is a member of Mindful15, they can access the full library where there are more than 100 guided meditations to choose from. The meditations in the free collection range from 5 to 12 minutes long, but the member library has meditations up to 30 minutes long.
I find the biggest obstacle to group meditation is lack of commitment. It’s common to find others backing out whenever their work day or personal life gets busy. This can be disappointing, especially if you were enjoying the social support, but it’s best to be prepared to practice alone on days when others fail to show. There’s no practical way to force others to commit and pushing them may end up being counterproductive. Just allow them to make their own choices while maintaining your own commitment to practice. Your example might just be motivational for others, too.
Meditating with teammates or employees 
Those of us who’ve been meditating for a while understand how beneficial it would be if a...