Maybe you’ve heard or read this: someone is trying to explain meditation, and at some point they insert the comment “there’s really no wrong way to meditate”. And immediately, I feel some anger arising in my gut.

For me, that’s like saying “there’s really no wrong way to do bodybuilding” or “there’s really no wrong way to learn to play the piano”. Those statements all miss the point! The point is that there are excellent, proven methods that produce results quickly and reliably.

I suppose you could learn to play the piano simply by sitting down at a piano and noodling around randomly hitting keys. But you probably wouldn’t progress nearly as quickly as someone who takes lessons with a qualified teacher and using a proven method such as the Alfred, the Bastien or the Suzuki method.

By the same token, you could get a sculpted body by lifting weights in your basement, but you’d make a lot more progress by going to a gym and hiring a personal trainer. You’d also learn to prevent injuries, eat a high protein diet, and alternate heavy days with high repetition days, and so on.

Meditation is not a single practice, it’s a set of practices. I personally have taught over 50 different types of meditation over the last 40 years. I’ve seen some types that really work well with some students but not others. I was able to experiment with different methods for each student until we hit upon one that they enjoyed and made rapid progress with.

People learning to meditate face some serious challenges, like finding the time, falling asleep, wandering minds and persistent rumination. A good teacher has tips and tricks for dealing with all of these.

A good coach helps not just with technique, but also with motivation, performance anxiety and resilience. That applies to sports coaches, executive coaches and mindfulness coaches. It’s not unusual to hit a plateau and get discouraged when you’re trying to master a skill. That’s when a good coach is super useful.

The hallmark of a good meditation practice is that it produces results – a calmer, more stable mind, better concentration, lower stress, and the ability to be much more present in your life. If those sound like benefits you would like, my suggestion is to find a qualified teacher and use proven methods.

On the other hand, if you just want to noodle around with different types of practice, I certainly won’t object. Maybe you’ll turn out to be the Jimi Hendrix of meditation – completely self-taught. Good luck with that!