How FitMind Can Improve Your Meditation

Liam McClintock is the founder of FitMind, a mental fitness company that has worked with some of the top businesses around the nation, including Amazon and Chase. Now, the company has released an app that allows users to train their mind at a much deeper level than offered by most apps. In this Q&A, we ask McClintock about meditation and how we can all improve our practice.

This Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.

PB: Can you explain how mindfulness and meditation became such a hot topic?

LM: The practice today is being stripped of its deeper benefits and it is being oversimplified. It’s almost seen as something trendy or similar to a fashionable workout, like yoga. Yogis actually use this breath work and asanas to move slowly and consciously and deepen the benefits of meditation, but now it’s become more about getting flexible or the body you want. In the same way, meditation has been reduced to little more than a stress-reduction tool and it’s much more than that. It’s an in-depth way to connect with your breath and your mind. Even a couple minutes per day can make a major difference. I started with some of these apps and most are really just meditation at its most basic level. My concern is that most of us fail to reach that deeper transformation. For example, imagine someone who think a 10-minute jog is the only type of exercise, but a whole hour of HIIT is a whole other world of fitness!

PB: You mentioned this term "McMindfulness," can you explain what that is?

LM: Sure. McMindfulness is a term I coined to explain the surface-level meditation we see that’s growing in popularity. I don’t want it to sound like I’m not recommending meditation. I want to make it clear that even a few minutes every single day is better than no time at all. However, you also don’t have to stop there. You can deepen your practice, learn about the different types of meditation techniques and start to build a practice that is tailored to your specific needs. These one-size-fits-all apps are an excellent way to start— that’s how I did, but I highly suggest you continue to dig deeper.

PB: What is something our readers can do today to change the way they meditate?

LM: You can start today to deepen your practice at any moment, and especially today. If you want to explore a deeper practice, do your research. Learn the history of meditation, how it’s practiced and the benefits. There is a ton of resources out there but if you want an easy way to deepen your practice, I would suggest using our app, FitMind, which does the work for you. Our app teaches more than 25 different techniques and also explains the psychology behind them. It’s a good way to explore and deepen your practice. Once you've been exposed to a few techniques, you can do the one that resonates the most with you.

PB: Tell us more about FitMind? Where can we find the app?

LM: You can find FitMind on in every app store or learn more about our work online.