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.
We depend more and more on external things to take our mind away, losing our innate ability to focus and to experience contentment with what is. Our avoiding habit deepens, and the backlog of mental junk -- the stuff we've been consuming in order to avoid what's there -- piles up. These external situations can indeed take away the thinking mind, but it is only temporary.
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.
Army Research Lab found experienced meditators preferred silence while novices liked music without a distinct melody. A 2017 study at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center discovered the part of the brain associated with internally focused thought lit up most often on MRI scans when someone heard a song they liked . The road to better health doesn’t have to involve major changes to your lifestyle. Making minor modifications, such as following the guided meditations on these health and wellness podcasts, can help boost your wellbeing and improve the quality of your life.
Or, find some time to experiment with mindful eating using a simple food, like a raisin or an apple. Mindfulness meditation is the practice of actually being present in the moment, which in turn trains us to become more mindful throughout the day, particularly during difficult situations. After a few breaths, invariably, the mind will wander again. What’s important is how we respond when it happens.
Untangle hosts Patricia Karpas and Ariel Garten discuss everything from mindfulness practices to the best foods for brain health, and invite experts to get in on their conversations. While some episodes do include meditation tips, the podcast meditation music also teaches you how to train your brain in ways that don't require repeating mantras or staying in one position for a very long time. The phenomena of binaural beats and brainwave entrainment can induce the same mental state associated with traditional meditation practice, but quickly. The Mindfulness Meditation podcast from the Rubin Museum of Art takes listeners on a mindfulness journey that uses art to teach about relaxation, spirituality, health, and healing. Each week, the museum invites a prominent meditation teacher to join them for a focused talk and a guided meditation centered around a specific piece of art. The Sleep Whispers podcast features weekly, 30- to 40-minute episodes designed to help listeners get more ZZZ’s.
Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment. Don't get too caught up in what you must do, though. Take the time to assess your life and ask yourself if you feel fulfilled. If you don't, try to figure out what you can do to be more fulfilled and enjoy your life more.