Interested in mindfulness, but not sure where to start? There are many meditation apps, audiobooks, and programs available to you — before you get lost in the pile of choices, explore these three basic mindfulness meditations.
Mindfulness Meditation
To start, explore these awareness of breath meditation practices:
5-Minute Breathing Meditation
A basic meditation that focuses on following the breath to cultivate mindful awareness, by Diana Winston.
11-Minute Awareness of Breath Practice
An awareness of breath practice, from Susan Kaiser Greenland, that centers on one of the basics of mindfulness: how to sit and know you’re sitting.
20-Minute Breathscape Practice
A breathing practice from Jon Kabat-Zinn to tap into your capacity to be in touch with your experience, and to be awake and aware with no agenda other than to be awake and aware.
Once you’re familiar with how to work with your breath as an anchor for your attention, try branching out into practices for the body, loving-kindness, working with sounds, and longer meditation practices aimed at working with difficult emotions like anxiety.
Below is a list of other online resources offering guided meditations.
more mindful audio
- Free guided meditations from UCLA
Each week has a different theme, and usually includes some introductory comments, a guided meditation, some silent practice time, and closing comments. Presented by the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. - UCSD Center for Mindfulness
Guided audio files for practicing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) from the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. - Basic meditation with Tara Brach
Free meditations that you can stream or download. - Contemplative Mind in Society
Guided practices from Mirabai Bush, the center’s director, Diana Winston from UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, and Arthur Zajonc, president of the Mind & Life Institute. - Insight Meditation Society
Selected talks, podcasts, and audio streams, including various lengths of guided meditation.
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A Mindfulness Practice to Meet Tough Emotions with Curiosity
Curiosity is a helpful tool for engaging with our embodied experience, including emotions like sadness, anxiety, or any other unpleasant emotion. Explore this simple exercise to help you shift your attitude toward what you’re feeling.
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A 15-Minute Practice to Soften, Soothe, and Allow Difficult Emotions
By allowing ourselves to experience where tough emotions are present in the body, and opening up to them with love, we can cultivate a sense of peace and acceptance toward the imperfect nature of life.
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Use the H.A.L.T. Practice to Tune In to What Your Body Needs
Sometimes we need to drop into our body to discern what we need in this moment. The four questions in this practice allow us to self-regulate by attending to what our difficult emotions or physical sensations may be telling us.
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