Best Beginnersmeditation Podcasts (2025)

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A Forgiveness Meditation to Let Go of Added Suffering with Mark Bertin 12:29

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1h ago12:29

12:29

Forgiveness is almost never a one-and-done action. Whether what we're forgiving is big or small, our own error or someone else's—most often, there are residual feelings of anger, hurt, or resentment to contend with. In this guided practice, Mark Bertin addresses this tendency to compound our suffering when we hang onto these difficult emotions. He …

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A Meditation to Meet the Body In Pain 12:13

5d ago12:13

12:13

Having chronic pain often feels incredibly lonely. You might not know anybody else who has the same condition. In addition, most people you're close to, even though they might be well-intentioned, might not understand what you're going through. But the fact is that probably thousands and thousands of people all over the world know exactly what you'…

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A 12-Minute Meditation to Get Curious About Your Cravings 12:21

8d ago12:21

12:21

We often imagine that our actions are the result of choice and awareness, which means that we can be extra critical of ourselves when we're struggling with habits that aren't serving us. But researchers in the science of habit and craving have found that much of our decision-making process is the result of unconscious neuro-chemical loops that rein…

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A 12-Minute Meditation on Our Relationship to Thoughts 15:17

26d ago15:17

15:17

The nature of the mind is to make thoughts. All day long, mostly without our even noticing, the mind is generating thousands of thoughts. People often misunderstand mindfulness and meditation as ways to control or even stop our mind's churning—but that isn't even really possible. With mindful attention, we can learn to notice and be aware of what o…

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A 12-Minute Meditation to Rewire Your Brain for Optimism 13:47

22d ago13:47

13:47

What do you do when you've made a plan, you've done everything you can to make it work…and things still don't turn out the way you hoped? In frustration and disappointment, it's easy to focus on what's wrong. This exercise—adapted from Start Here: Master the Lifelong Habit of Wellbeing by Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp, and led by mindfulness coach P…

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Peace Begins With Me: A 12-Minute Meditation 11:29

1M ago11:29

11:29

When painful emotions are circling all around, our instinct is often to reach for external reassurance. In this practice, law professor and author Rhona Magee offers a gentle reminder that the key to calm starts with a simple pause—and we get to choose that. Rhonda V. Magee is a professor of law at the University of San Francisco. Also trained in s…

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A Mountain Meditation to Help You Shift Out of Panic Mode 10:23

2M ago10:23

10:23

If you've ever tried to push away anxiety or depression when they show up, you probably already know: Fighting these complex, difficult emotions usually doesn't work. In fact, our resistance often makes the experience even more challenging. In today's practice, Ed Halliwell offers a guided visualization based on a foundational mindful question: Wha…

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A Meditation for Kids: Coming Back to the Positive 9:44

2M ago9:44

9:44

Our brains are hardwired to notice the negative. It's part of how our ancient ancestors were able to survive in constantly threatening environments. But this negativity bias can also make it difficult for us and our kids—even in our comparatively less threatening environments—to navigate daily stressors, like big tests, arguments, or disappointment…

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A Teaching and Meditation to Relax and Welcome Deep Rest 12:46

2M ago12:46

12:46

Rest isn't a "reward" for working hard enough. It's a human need and birthright. This week's episode is a little different. We're not only sharing a guided meditation from mindfulness leader and professional coach Jenée Johnson, but also her teaching on some of the brain science behind relaxation—why it's essential for our well-being, how it works,…

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A Guided Meditation You Can Do Sitting at Your Desk 15:40

2M ago15:40

15:40

Most of us spend most of our waking hours at some kind of job, whether that's in an office, a classroom, or in our own homes. This week, mindful leadership expert Jancie Marturano leads a practice you can do at your desk—or anywhere—to give yourself a mindful pause during busy days. Janice Marturano is founder and executive director of the Institut…

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A Meditation for Cultivating Daily Gratitude 13:03

2M ago13:03

13:03

We often think about gratitude as happening in response to "good" things—but what about moments that aren't grand or overtly happy, but are small and emotionally neutral? This week, Kim Armstrong leads a guided visualization practice to help you notice, take in, and consciously appreciate even the basic things we do every single day. Kimberly Armst…

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A Meditation for Finding Safety in the Body 13:35

3M ago13:35

13:35

When we are experiencing a lot of stress or recovering from trauma or addiction, we can find ourselves living in a fight-flight-freeze state, where we feel either disconnected from or unsafe in our bodies. This practice is designed to gently cultivate a sense of safety and then create a kinesthetic anchor (rooted in awareness of how our body is mov…

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A Meditation to Get Into the Flow of Sensations 13:41

3M ago13:41

13:41

You may have heard of "impermanence" as an important theme in meditation. In this guided practice, Toby Sola introduces us to the ease of flow state with two simple but profound techniques: exploring impermanence directly by noticing changes in our body sensations, and using labels to hone concentration. Toby Sola is dedicated to helping you create…

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A Meditation to Create Space in a Storm of Emotions 14:03

3M ago14:03

14:03

When difficult or painful emotions feel like they're swirling all around you, it can be challenging to find a steady place to catch your breath. In this guided meditation, mindfulness teacher Scott Rogers uses the metaphor of a hurricane to help us recognize the qualities and the impermanence of even our stormiest emotions. Scott Rogers is founder …

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A Body Scan Meditation to Prepare Mind and Body for Sleep 15:16

3M ago15:16

15:16

If you've been having trouble falling asleep lately, this body scan meditation with Diana Winston offers a gentle, soothing way to be with the tension in our minds and our bodies. Take a deep breath, let go, and ease into rest. Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center and author of several b…

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A Meditation to Be At Peace with How Things Are 18:20

4M ago18:20

18:20

In this week's meditation, Dr. Mark Bertin walks us through a practice that is both concrete and compassionate. It guides us to take note of our tendency to either deny or try and "fix" what's going on in our lives, and then find a third way—one where we aim to see things as clearly as possible, so that our decisions are filled with awareness, skil…

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A Loving-Kindness Meditation to Expand the Warmth of Your Heart 15:45

4M ago15:45

15:45

Loving-kindness meditation, also called metta, springs from a basic understanding of human nature: On one hand, we might truly believe that compassion makes the world better—and on the other, we might struggle to offer it to ourselves and to others for various reasons. Metta practices, like the one Dr. Emma Seppälä leads this week, offer a simple, …

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Transform Shame to Self-Trust 12:47

4M ago12:47

12:47

Shame is one of the most complex and difficult human emotions to experience and process. This week, we're refreshing a meditation from Dr. Patricia Rockman, who offers a practice to meet shame with courage, tenderness, and curiosity. The more we can sit with these difficult emotions, the more we build resilience, self-knowledge, and self-trust—whic…

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SOS Meditation to Unwind Anxiety 16:01

4M ago16:01

16:01

In this week's guided meditation, teacher and author Melli O'Brien offers a practice that uses gentle, steady awareness to help you find your calm center again when you're feeling wound up with stress or anxiety. Melli is a mindfulness educator and mental health coach with over two decades of experience. She is also cofounder of Mindfulness.com and…

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A Meditation for When You Need a Break 20:11

5M ago20:11

20:11

Sometimes the best gift we can give ourselves is just a moment set aside for quiet, breath, and reminding ourselves of who we really are. In this gentle guided practice, Kimberly Brown uses simple repeated phrases to ground attention and offer a place to rest and reset. Note that this practice includes longer pauses of complete silence for reflecti…

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Use Distraction to Hone Your Focus 13:48

5M ago13:48

13:48

It might seem counterintuitive, but intentionally tuning into what's distracting you can actually help strengthen your ability to focus. In today's guided practice, meditation teacher Toby Sola introduces what he calls a "concentration algorithm." This practice will help you identify which type of sensory experience you are naturally drawn to, and …

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A 10-Minute Full Body Scan Meditation 12:35

5M ago12:35

12:35

When we are stressed or overwhelmed, or when our mind feels like it's spinning out of control—it's easy to forget that simply dropping into the body can be a powerful way to interrupt thEse thought loops. In this week's refresh, meditation teacher Tara Healey guides us through a practice to calm the mind, notice sensations in the body, and bring aw…

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A Walking Meditation to Savor the Day 12:34

5M ago12:34

12:34

We mostly think of walking as an activity that is supposed to accomplish something: getting from point A to point B, exercising, reaching our daily step goals. And of course, those are all great reasons to go for a walk. In today's practice, meditation teacher and bestselling author Jon Kabat-Zinn offers up another way that you can experience a wal…

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A Meditation to Breathe Out Love 21:54

6M ago21:54

21:54

Tonglen, sometimes called loving-kindness meditation, is a Tibetan practice of giving and receiving. In Tonglen, we open ourselves to our entire experience, including what is painful and difficult. We acknowledge our suffering, including the suffering we share with others. Then, we release intentions for peace, healing, and love out into the world.…

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A Practice for Turning Toward Difficulty 17:18

6M ago17:18

17:18

When we are experiencing difficult emotions or situations, our first impulse is often to look for a way out—usually through distracting, numbing, running, or denying. But what if the key to getting to the other side of difficulty is to simply be with it, offering the discomfort our courageous awareness and presence? In this week's practice, author …

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A Meditation to Help You Make Any Decision—Big or Small 15:17

6M ago15:17

15:17

You might not think of mindfulness as being a resource to help with decision-making, but moments of intentional silence can sharpen our mental clarity and help us discern which choices feel most aligned. In this guided practice, meditation teacher Toby Sola offers a simple technique you can use, whether you're facing a life-changing choice or are j…

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A Meditation to Ease Into Sleep 11:53

6M ago11:53

11:53

If you've ever been awake at three a.m., tossing and turning and wishing you could snap your fingers and get back to sleep, then you know: the more you try to fall asleep, the less likely you are to drift off. In this week's guided practice, we're revisiting a meditation with Mark Bertin that can release the striving, let go of tension, and make it…

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Explore 3 Techniques in This Meditation Buffet 11:42

6M ago11:42

11:42

Have you ever wondered why there are so many varieties of meditation practices, and why some of them seem to contradict each other in approach, style, or even objective? In today's guided practice, meditation teacher Toby Sola walks us through three common types of meditation. Plus, he explains why the word "meditation" is very much like the word "…

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A Meditation on Connecting Lands and Stories 16:52

7M ago16:52

16:52

Many modern Western cultures don't have a deep understanding of land as a source of collective identity, story, or purpose. There is a sense that, yes, land can be lovely—but it is mainly seen as a source of recreation or extraction, not necessarily as an integral part of what shapes us and future generations. In this guided practice, Indigenous sc…

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A Meditation for Clarifying Your Motivations for Using Tech 12:25

7M ago12:25

12:25

Recent studies have confirmed that the constant presence and use of tech in our lives have become a hazard to our well-being on multiple levels. Meditation teacher, mindful tech designer, and self-identified tech lover Jay Vidyarthi observes, "It's okay to enjoy technology. Tech becomes a problem when we get so attached to it that our lives fall ou…

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An Interbeing Meditation for Connection and Understanding 18:46

7M ago18:46

18:46

If you've faced challenging or polarizing conversations lately, you likely know how difficult it can be to connect and cooperate with the person on the other side of that interaction. In today's guided practice, Dr. Shalini Bahl invites us to explore our innate interconnectedness by recognizing our needs and those of others, so that we can be empow…

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A Forgiveness Meditation with Will Schneider 17:42

7M ago17:42

17:42

Forgiveness is a cornerstone practice of mindfulness, and it's also one of the most difficult. Extending forgiveness to others and to ourselves requires a kind of awareness and vulnerability that can feel deeply uncomfortable, especially if we are carrying heavy stories of shame, anger, or resentment connected to that experience. In today's guided …

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A Meditation for Finding a Middle Way When We Are In Pain with Vidyamala Burch 20:01

8M ago20:01

20:01

Being in pain makes being present extra challenging. On a physical level, being in the present moment while our body is in pain is often extremely unpleasant. There is a part of us, understandably, that wishes we could escape from it entirely. At the same time, the experience of pain itself can be overwhelming—to our senses, our thoughts, our emoti…

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A Meditation for Creating an Anchor of Inner Strength with Melli O'Brien 19:12

8M ago19:12

19:12

What does it feel like to experience ourselves—in our own minds and bodies—as a reliable place we can come home to in order to feel grateful, calm, and resilient? In this week's guided meditation, Melli O'Brien walks us through a practice we can return to in times of uncertainty or challenge to remind us of our own inner strength. This meditation i…

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Dual Anchor: A Neurodiversity-Informed Meditation for Wandering Attention with Sue Hutton 15:42

8M ago15:42

15:42

Traditional meditation practices can sometimes be frustrating and alienating for those who are neurodivergent. Bodily discomfort or intense mental restlessness can make even the most mindfulness-curious person feel like classic meditation techniques might not be for them. Sue Hutton believes that mindfulness can be for anyone, and she's dedicated h…

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A Meditation for Unconditional Love When You're Struggling with Caverly Morgan 20:29

8M ago20:29

20:29

When we're wrestling with experiences that challenge our identities or our confidence—like failures at work, relationship struggles, or letting go of old belief systems — it can be tempting to reach for positive self-talk that pushes back against the difficult feelings we might be having. In today's guided practice, Caverly Morgan offers something …

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A Meditation on the South African Greeting Sawubona with Dr. Shelly Harrell 16:25

9M ago16:25

16:25

In recent years, mental health professionals have raised the alarm about the growing epidemic of loneliness. Millions of people feel separated and isolated, even when they are surrounded by colleagues or thousands of social media acquaintances. In today's guided practice, Shelly Harrell offers one mindful approach that can counteract this sense of …

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A Meditation for Allowing the Possibility of Possible In Deep Grief with Brenda K. Mitchell 15:01

9M ago15:01

15:01

When we are adrift in the wide sea of grief, it can be difficult to imagine any world other than the world of our intense sorrow and loss. In this guided meditation, Brenda K. Mitchell offers one tiny heart-opening invitation: simply allowing what she calls "the possibility of possible." There isn't an expectation that you have answers, or lots of …

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A Journaling Practice to Help You Let Go of Limiting Habits with Caverly Morgan 8:39

9M ago8:39

8:39

In a world filled with challenges and distractions, we often find ourselves repeating automatic reactions that once helped us survive but now hold us back. Mindful journaling offers a lifeline—allowing us to slow down, listen inwardly, and meet ourselves with compassion. Today, we're refreshing a powerful journaling practice guided by Caverly Morga…

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A Meditation for Coming Home to Yourself With Georgina Miranda 17:01

9M ago17:01

17:01

In a world that constantly pulls us in different directions—from productivity and external validation to endless distractions—coming home to ourselves is one of the most powerful things we can do. True resilience isn't about pushing through; it's about creating an inner refuge, a place of strength and safety that stays steady no matter what's happe…

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A "Just Like Me" Compassion Meditation with Steve Hickman 16:47

10M ago16:47

16:47

The invitation with this practice is to put aside ideas and concepts about differences, shame, fear, survival, and to simply see if you can begin to develop a felt sense of common humanity—that all of us wish for happiness and freedom from suffering. Steven Hickman is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. He is executive director of the Center for Mind…

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A Meditation for Collective Healing with Shalini Bahl 16:04

10M ago16:04

16:04

In today's interconnected yet paradoxically divided world, the path to understanding each other requires more than just good intentions. To truly connect and heal, we need something more: the cultivation of a deeper understanding. The path forward isn't about eliminating differences—it's about building bridges of understanding across them. In this …

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A Meditation to Find Stability Amid Change with Aden Van Noppen 15:31

10M ago15:31

15:31

In a world where change is the only constant, it's easy to feel untethered. This week, mindfulness teacher and Mobius founder Aden Van Noppen invites us to pause, breathe, and explore the grounding power of impermanence. Through this practice, Aden guides us to reconnect with the breath, an anchor amidst life's ebbs and flows. Each inhale and exhal…

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A Meditation to Set Your Intentions for the New Year with Mark Bertin 14:04

11M ago14:04

14:04

As we begin a new year, pediatrician, mindfulness teacher, and author Mark Bertin offers us a thoughtful practice to reconnect with our intentions. Mark's meditation gently reminds us that intention-setting isn't just a ritual for January—it's a practice we can revisit anytime, as part of our everyday mindfulness. We're also celebrating the revival…

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A Meditation to Reset and Let Go with Georgina Miranda 17:27

11M ago17:27

17:27

Start your year with clarity and peace. In this episode, mindfulness expert Georgina Miranda guides us through a Meditation to Reset and Let Go. Discover how to release what no longer serves you and connect with your inner wisdom, peace, and freedom. Looking to deepen your practice? Join Georgina live on January 25 for Connecting with Hope and Peac…

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A Meditation to Widen Your Perspective with Nate Klemp 21:53

11M ago21:53

21:53

This week, we revisit one of our Top 10 Guided Meditations of 2024, led by Nate Klemp, PhD. Nate, a founding partner at Mindful and the co-author of The 80/80 Marriage, brings us a powerful practice to help expand our perspective. In the hustle and stress of daily life, it's easy for our focus to narrow, locking us into a tight, "soda straw" view o…

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A Meditation to Meet Difficult Emotions with Compassion with Carley Hauck 13:30

11M ago13:30

13:30

This week, we're revisiting one of our Top 10 Guided Meditations of 2024, led by Carley Hauck. This meditation is an invitation to notice the emotions that arise during difficult moments, to meet them without judgment, and to hold them with tenderness. We're also celebrating the revival of Mindful Magazine with a special giveaway for our podcast li…

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A Meditation to Come Home to Your Heart with Jenée Johnson 12:39

11M ago12:39

12:39

This week, Jenée Johnson invites us to come home to our hearts during the holiday season. Through a simple heart-centered practice, we'll focus on our breath, cultivate calm and appreciation, and create space to rest and renew. This meditation helps us honor the season's challenges and beauty while finding strength in self-love and care. We're also…

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A Meditation for Tuning Into the Present Soundscape with Melli O'Brien 15:00

12M ago15:00

15:00

This week, Melli O'Brien guides us in a practice that invites us to pause and reconnect with the simplicity of being. In the midst of life's noise and distractions, this meditation creates space to step back and truly listen. By exploring the sensations of the body, the natural rhythm of the breath, and the sounds surrounding us, we're reminded tha…

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A Meditation to Defuse Holiday Stress with Mark Bertin 13:55

12M ago13:55

13:55

This week, we're bringing back a past episode from Dr. Mark Bertin, and it couldn't come at a better time. As the holiday season ramps up—whether it's preparing for the celebrations ahead or simply managing the hustle and bustle—it's easy to feel caught up in the stress of planning, perfection, and endless to-do lists. This meditation is a chance t…