12 Minute Meditation

As today's teacher Jessica Morey says, "Anger's fundamental role is to protect us and protect what we care about in the world. It lets us know when a limit of ours, or a boundary, has been crossed." But because of its power and volatility, anger can be a troubling emotion to be with and a difficult one to work with. Today's practice is aimed at gaining insight into our anger so that we can respond...

Many of us are carrying the weight of the world's suffering right now. How can we acknowledge the immense suffering around us, and our own—and still tend to our hearts, minds, and bodies in a way that keeps us grounded and able to take compassionate action?  This week, mindfulness teacher and author Wendy O'Leary shares a guided practice that offers refuge and reminds us of our real and loving con...

Our brains learn through a process that has three components: trigger, behavior, reward. Together these behaviors form what is known as a habit loop.  In today's meditation, Dr. Brewer walks us through a practice to notice triggers—when they're happening and how they make us feel. When we pay attention to these triggers, we can respond to ourselves with more compassion and make choices with a lot...

Even if they aren't particularly into making resolutions, for many people the New Year still feels like a fresh start: a time for taking stock, for reviewing what's passed, for turning the page on one chapter and starting another.  In today's meditation, teacher Frank Ostaseski asks: How do you meet endings? We can learn a lot about how we face the new by looking at how we let go of the old, and h...

If you've grown weary of traditional resolutions, but you still carry a glimmer of hope that positive change is possible for us imperfect humans—then you'll love mindful intention-setting.  In this practice from his mini-course , mindful leadership trainer Rich Fernandez shows us how to vividly envision the "imagine if" possibilities. When we tap into meaning, passion, and a felt sense of welcomin...

The holiday season can be a time full of commitments, planning, and (pleasant or unpleasant) anticipation.  This extended guided practice with Dr. Christiane Wolf offers a quiet respite that can help you identify what you need, move to care for yourself, and navigate stress that may arise.   Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD is a former physician, internationally known mindfulness and Insight (Vipassana) m...

Savoring is a practice of intentionally slowing way down and paying attention to what's right in front of us—whether that's a conversation, an unexpected moment of connection, or a favorite dessert.    Savoring is also a natural way to balance the frenetic pace of the Holiday season. In this meditation, Elaine Smookler shows us how to pause and tune into our senses as a way to notice and appreciat...

Sometimes seasons of intense suffering show up in our lives—no warning, no easy answers.  This week, mindfulness teacher Vanessa Hutchinson-Szekely shares a tender meditation for those in the middle of pain. Based on her own experience with an extended episode of chronic back pain, she offers a moment of reprieve and caring attention to release tension and open to the possibility of joy.  Vanessa...

The start of the holiday season can be amazing: festive energy, time with loved ones, and delicious food. But it can also be super stressful.  This week, we're offering a quick practice from Shamash Alidina that you can turn to when you're in the thick of it. It's not the usual 12 minutes, but it's perfect for when you're running errands, preparing for visitors, or just need a moment to gather you...

As today's teacher notes, self-compassion is different from self-esteem. Relying on building up our self-esteem tends to lead us to need a lot of external validation in order to feel ok. Instead, self-compassion is the idea that even with all of our flaws, we can still care about ourselves and see ourselves as infinitely worthy of love and belonging.  In this extended 30-minute practice, mindfulne...

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 offers a way to gently surrender this extra emoti...

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're feeling. In this meditation, Christiane Wolf o...

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 reinforce themselves over time.  In this meditation, a...

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 our minds are up to, and that awareness is what gi...

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 Priti Patel—offers a quick way to realign toward w...

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 sociology and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction...

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: What if you don't try to push this experience away,...

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 disappointments.  In this shorter practice specifically design...

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, and how to incorporate intentional relaxation pra...

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 Institute for Mindful Leadership , a nonprofit that trains...

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 Armstrong is a cofounder and facilitator at Space Betwe...

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 moving) to start building a felt sense of security th...

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 a feedback loop between your meditation practic...

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 and director of the University of Miami School of...

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 books including The Little Book of Being: Practic...