Meditation has been used for centuries to help calm the nerves and bring about peace. In today’s world, many teachers have made available free meditation resources for you to easily settle down and listen to their guidance as they lead you in a practice of mindfulness.
Finding the right guided meditation teacher can make all of the difference in improving one’s mental health and fortitude. The way that a teacher communicates, sounds, and implements meditation methods is a leading factor in whether or not the meditation has the potential to successfully guide you towards a healthier mindset.
To help with the challenge of finding that perfect fit, we’ve gathered 5 of the most varied and best guided meditation providers to help you start your mindfulness journey. All of these providers offer free meditations in addition to their priced services.
Tara Brach has mastered the art of blending Western psychology and Eastern Buddhism practices into a unified system that helps decondition practitioners from old habits and belief systems. Tara’s website is very thorough and well-designed, containing articles, blog posts, workshops, e-courses, videos, and podcasts that go into more detail about the techniques and thought processes behind her meditation practices.
Her guided meditation section has a long list of live audio recordings that covers a plethora of subjects, techniques, and intentions to help you work through areas where you may be struggling. The best part is that her meditations can range from only a few minutes long to over 30 minutes, to accommodate for both small meditation sessions for busy lifestyles and longer ones for those who wish to go deeper into the meditation.
The most popular categories for Tara’s meditations have been arranged in an accessible list that makes finding the right one for you easier:
If you often use YouTube, then Jason Stephenson’s meditations may be the best interface for your needs. Originally from Australia, Stephenson calls his YouTube account the Sleep Meditation Music channel, but don’t be fooled by this rather limiting description. With nearly 2 million subscribers and almost half a billion total views on his mindful videos, Stephenson’s meditations offer a multitude of benefits to many people from around the globe.
The main focus of his guided videos is to bring relaxation to listeners, be it through sound integration, positive affirmations, or even the Ho’oponopono for self-forgiveness and love. Indeed, Stephenson utilizes calming, natural sounds and music to create a relaxing ambience within many of his meditations. For those looking simply to drift off or to find deep, inner calmness during a stressful time, these meditations may be just what you need to get started on stress management.
3. Mindful
Mindful is a hub for meditation teachers to share their guided meditations for the general public to easily access. On their website you can find numerous guided meditation recordings from a wide variety of teachers who are seeking to share their unique perspectives in the art of mindfulness. The website offers meditation resources for a number of subjects. Below are a few examples of meditation content you will find on Mindful:
- meditation for kids
- focus and awareness
- handling anxiety
- loving kindness
- becoming more grounded
- working through emotions
- meditations for physical pain
- finding presence
In addition, Mindful is a great place for facilitators looking to incorporate guided meditations within their workplace. They offer corporate training for both office spaces and school classrooms. Mindful has curated a page specifically for educators to bring mindfulness to their localized community, so teachers and home schooling parents can benefit immensely from all that Mindful has to offer.
4. Tai Chi by Leia Cohen
Tai Chi is the art of moving energy through controlled breath and physical movement. Practicing Tai Chi increases circulation, balance, strength, mental focus, emotional calmness, and may even reduce pain due to inflammation or muscle stiffness (Oh et al). This ancient, Chinese martial arts form is great for those with ADHD or other conditions that make sitting still during a meditation a challenge. In fact, a recent study showed that Tai Chi reduces hyperactivity, inattention, and impulse deficits in children (Clark et al).
Cohen has created both a website for paid courses as well as a free YouTube channel so that people from all walks of life can access the benefits of Tai Chi. She has trained with experts from China for many years and has devoted her life to sharing the wealth of her knowledge to beginners. Her videos often take place outside in nature, and she has plenty of tutorials and pictures of the different Tai Chi forms to help you get started.
By doing Tai Chi with a guided instructor, you can harness your body’s natural rhythms in the comfort of your own home. While some practitioners believe that one must train in person with a teacher, technology has brought forth a new age in which we can learn in a long distance setting and still receive many benefits.
Finding a completely free meditation app for one’s smart phone is easier said than done. Insight Timer is one of the only free apps that can be downloaded on both Android and iOS products. It has been named the app of the year by TIME magazine and Women’s Health, and it is the #1 free app for meditation. Over 17 million people use the app, and with over 300k five star reviews, the app speaks for itself.
With experts around the world leading guided meditations, hosting talks, and providing their knowledge in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, teaching, and mindfulness, you can conveniently have access to life-altering information in the palm of your hand. The app offers many kinds of meditation practices from these experts, such as Buddhist mindfulness, Advaita Vedanta, breathing and walking meditations, Zen, Kundalini yoga, and more.
In addition to its massive selection of meditation styles, Insight Timer sports a whopping 55,000+ database of guided meditations and music tracks, with 200 topics for meditating and improving your health. The app adds more than 80 guided meditations a day. A few of the most popular topics you might find on the app include:
- Sleep
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Music
- Parenting
- Relationships
- Movement
- Visualization
- Recovery and Addiction
Users are also provided with the ability to time and track meditation progress in a user-friendly way. You can view your stats and receive milestones for the progress made in your meditation journey on the app.
In Conclusion
We hope this list helps you get started on a journey to a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle! No matter your intention going into a meditation practice, these free guided meditation resources offer the variety and convenience necessary to support your journey.
Are we missing your favorite guided meditation? Leave us a comment below so that we can expand our resource list.
Citations
Clark, Dav PhD; Seymour, Karen E. PhD; Findling, Robert L. MD, MBA; Mostofsky, Stewart H. MD. “Subtle Motor Signs as a Biomarker for Mindful Movement Intervention in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, vol. 41, issue 5, June/July 2020, pp. 349-358, https://journals.lww.com/jrnldbp/Abstract/2020/07000/Subtle_Motor_Signs_as_a_Bio marker_for_Mindful.4.aspx. Accessed 20 Aug. 2020.
Oh, Hyunkyoung et al. “Comparing Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Pain, Activities of Daily Living, and Fear of Falling in Women with Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Journal of Muscle and Joint Health, vol. 18, no. 2, Nov. 2011, pp. 137–146, doi:10.5953/JMJH.2011.18.2.137.