When Karen Sprute-Francovich began practicing meditation in the 1970s, it was a natural progression of her life’s journey.

“I just lucked out,” Sprute-Francovich said.

She began practicing yoga when she was 16 and by the time she was 20, she was meditating as well.

Like Sprute-Francovich, Rosie Michaelis found meditation in her teens, but it wasn’t by chance.

Michaelis was introduced to meditation as an alternative to medication when, at 15, she was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Before I started treatment I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and refused to be alone, in case another disaster occurred,” Michaelis said.

Starting with simple breathing exercises, she experienced almost immediate relief. In time, Michaelis began to thrive through meditation. She continued to study the practice and created a career, as owner of Coeur Meditation. Through her business, Michaelis offers meditation classes in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

Sprute-Francovich has also built a life and career around meditation. In 2001, she founded the Garden Street School of Yoga in Coeur d’Alene in order to share her passion for yoga and meditation with the community.

Michaelis and Sprute-Francovich each convey a gentle sense of peace in their communications. It is immediately clear — there’s “something” about each of these women.

When they speak about meditation, as experts, they are unabashed in their passion — without being forceful or condescending.

Both women made it clear that in spite of the rising popularity of meditation, there are still some misconceptions to dispel among the general public.

Michaelis said one of her main goals in providing meditation classes is to help people understand that meditation isn’t solely a spiritual practice. She said she often tells her students that “meditation is to the mind what yoga is to the body; you are learning to create space.”

But what does that mean?

Sprute-Francovich said meditation is a way to gather or recover one’s attention, allowing an individual to focus fully on what’s truly important—be it work or play. It’s a way, she said, to combat prevalent, modern-age stressors, what one of Sprute-Francovich’s teachers calls “weapons of mass distraction.”

Recent coverage meditation has received in the media — from gossip magazines to medical journals — is helping practitioners like herself, Sprute-Francovich said, reach a wider audience.

At Coeur Meditation, Michaelis has found her audience growing.

“Most students who come to my classes are beginners that have tried meditation from YouTube videos or meditation apps and aren’t sure if they are truly meditating,” she said.

She usually advises beginners to start with guided group meditations, which give them a chance to ask questions and deepen their understanding about the practice. Michaelis also advises beginners to start slow, because she believes that meditation has more to do with the quality of time spent meditating than the length of time itself.

“Sitting down for five minutes a day in the morning can do more for you in the beginning than attempting to sit for long periods of time,” Michaelis said.

Sprute-Francovich also advocates for those new to meditation to just take a few minutes for themselves in the morning. She has found that finding a comfortable place where one actually wants to sit is more important than trying to create the perfect meditation zone at home.

“Get up in the morning and have [a] cup of tea or coffee, and just sit,” she said; “I’m all for making the onramp accessible to beginners.”

But there’s still an imbalance when it comes to meditation demographics.

Michaelis and Sprute-Francovich each said their current classes are generally made up of 20- to- 70-year-old women, but that doesn’t mean others aren’t welcome. Meditation is for everyone, regardless of gender, age or experience.

Sprute-Francovich said she has a number of male meditators, and she knows they would welcome more men.

So, why do people meditate?

Michaelis said she practices and teaches in order to help herself and her clients find peace.

“Like much else in life, it all starts from within,” Michaelis said.

The practice, Sprute-Francovich said, is “wonderful and enlivening.”

“It’s enlightening … It lightens you up, from the inside out.”