Some meditators become bored and just sit to sit without actually trying to meditate. But the rewarding challenge of meditation is to use every technique at our disposal to continue focusing. Do you have trouble falling asleep on most nights? Say no more—this calming podcast will have you drifting to dreamland without a hitch.
You can meditate for as long, or as short, as you’d like. Any amount of time spent meditating is good, no matter how brief. A starting point for beginners is 30 minutes but meditate for long enough that your mind and body calm.
The Calmer You Podcast features Chloe Brotheridge, author of The Anxiety Solution and Brave New Girl. Most Western practitioners find that a combination of meditation and psychology is the most effective way to liberate ourselves from trauma, bad habits, and negative feelings. While meditation provides insight into the nature of thoughts and emotions, psychotherapy engages with their substance. If you’re interested in meditating for mental health, talk to a medical professional. It’s not bad at all—in fact, it’s perfectly natural.
That’s why the guided meditations from Meditation Minis Podcast are so popular. In 10 minutes or less, host Cher Hamilton will help you find new ways to calm your anxiety, overcome negative thinking, reduce stress, and feel calmer. Not only that, the Ten Percent Happier app has teachers that will walk you through the basics, one breath at a time. Promising to help you enjoy your life more, this guided meditation podcast aims to increase your capacity for joy, gratitude, and love—no magical thinking required. You can practice mindfulness meditation on your own anytime and anywhere. But listening to basic guided meditations can also be helpful, especially when getting started.
Movement meditation is good for people who find peace in action and prefer to let their minds wander. As the name suggests, this practice is ideal for anyone who requires additional focus in their life. Spiritual meditation can be practiced at home or in a place of worship.
Some feelings might be neutral — tingling or itching. In the midst of classic rock’s golden days in the early ’70s, Henry Wolff and Nancy nature calming sounds Hennings decided to hole up in the Island Records studio and make a record with just Tibetan bells and singing bowls. Using little more than struck metal from the Far East and capturing those subtle vibrations on tape, the duo found themselves at the fore of New Age music. Sometimes you may find that what you’re hearing is distressing, or you’ll disagree, or you’ll really want to speak your piece. There will always be opportunities for you to share your thoughts—later.
When you use this method, slow down your walking pace so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. This technique is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function. Focusing your attention is generally one of the most important elements of meditation. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing. You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures.
Instructions from an experienced teacher can help remind us to come back to the present moment, let go of distracting thoughts and not be so hard on ourselves. In addition to basic meditation instructions, we’ve compiled guided meditations for a few popular exercises including the body scan, walking meditation and mindful eating. “Each of the applied mindfulness practices brings alive an experience that might otherwise be more automatic,†said Ms. Brach. One popular mindful listening exercise that kids appreciate is the bell or gong practice.
A lake water sound provides a calm rhythm that helps you drift off to sleep or create a relaxing peaceful environment. Basic mindfulness meditation is very simple, even if it isn’t always easy to do. More than anything else, it requires a commitment. “Admiring the idea of meditation doesn’t really do anything,†said Sharon Salzberg, who has taught mindfulness meditation for more than 40 years.