Study Reveals How Meditators Actually Choose Postures and Formats Daily

Most meditation research takes place in controlled settings, with participants seated, eyes closed, following a script. A new study published in the journal Mindfulness on March 9, 2026 pushed past that laboratory tidiness to look at how practitioners actually structure their practice when left to their own devices, focusing specifically on the choice between sitting meditation and "active" on-the-go formats.

The research, led by Simon B. Goldberg alongside co-authors Zishan Jiwani, Cortland J. Dahl, Raquel Tatar, John D. Dunne, and Richard J. Davidson, examined real-world utilization of different meditation postures and formats. Rather than prescribing a single approach, the team tracked how meditators naturally gravitated toward seated practice versus the kind of informal, movement-integrated meditation that fits inside a commute, a walk, or a lunch break.

The distinction matters more than it might first appear. The seated cushion has long been the default image of formal practice, the cross-legged figure that appears on every app icon and retreat brochure. But active meditation, the kind you fold into daily movement rather than carving out dedicated time for, represents a fundamentally different relationship with the practice. Whether meditators choose one over the other, or blend both, has real implications for how teachers design curricula and how researchers measure outcomes.

Goldberg, Davidson, and Dunne are researchers with deep roots in contemplative science. Davidson, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is among the most cited figures in the neuroscience of meditation, and Dunne has long worked at the intersection of Buddhist scholarship and empirical research. Their involvement signals that the question of format and posture is being taken seriously as a variable in its own right, not just background noise in larger efficacy studies.

The paper arrives at a moment when the meditation world is genuinely grappling with what counts as practice. Apps have made active and micro-format sessions mainstream, while traditional lineages continue to emphasize sustained seated sits as the foundation. Data on how practitioners actually behave, rather than how they are instructed to behave, gives both camps something concrete to work with.