I’ve been slowly accumulating a list of the most helpful resources for my daily meditations. When I first began meditating, I was overwhelmed by all of the options I had online and had no idea where to begin.
It is my hope that this list will make it a little easier for readers who are new to meditation to stick with the practice over the longterm.
All of the links I’m about to share in today’s post have free content that I’ve found useful. Some of them do also offer certain courses or other types of material for a fee, but you are by no means required to buy them. I made sure that I selected sites that have plenty to offer for visitors who aren’t ready for that kind of commitment yet (or ever).
I should also note that I am not affiliated with these sites, and I am not being compensated for mentioning them in any way. I simply find their content useful.
Breathworks
Breathworks is a website that teaches people who are experiencing pain how to reduce suffering through Mindfulness-Based Pain Management. I have no experience with the chronic and/or severe pain many of its users are dealing with, but i do find this site helpful for headaches and other minor issues I occasionally have.
Calm
Calm is a guided meditation app that I’ve mentioned on this site before. While many of their routines do require you to be a paying member, they are currently offering a free trial for anyone who wants to experience the full app. Although, to be honest, I’ve gotten a lot of use out of their free content and do not have a membership at this site.
F*ck That: An Honest Meditation
F*ck That: An Honest Meditation is the perfect thing to watch if you’re not easily offended by curse words or sarcasm. (If you are, skip this entry).
Not every meditation session goes smoothly for me, so I appreciate videos like this one that acknowledge that.
Mindfulness in Action
Mindfulness in Action focuses on managing stress in places like schools, prisons, and the workplace. I don’t know as much about them as I do some of the other resources on this list, but I love the idea of finding such practical applications for meditation and mindfulness.
Rain Sounds
Rain Sounds is quickly becoming one of my favourite resources for non-guided meditation. I’ve loved the sound of rain since I was a small child. Few things relax me as quickly as that does, so it works perfectly when I need to take twenty minutes and quiet down my mind.
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The Scientific Power of Meditation
The Scientific Power of Meditation is a fast introduction to how meditation can change your brain waves, amount of grey matter, and mental state. I like the fact that there is scientific evidence that meditation is good for the human body. It’s not all the placebo affect!
Tiny Buddha
Finally, Tiny Buddha is a site that shares meditation and mindfulness articles, tips, quotes, and so much more. They have multiple people contributing new material to this site, so the audience gets a very wide range of perspectives. Some of the contributors approach meditation from a spiritual perspective while others are more interested in practical or scientific applications of it. I love the diversity of thought in this community.
What meditation resources do you find most helpful?
I got the paid subscription to Calm and I’ve been especially happy with the bed time stories. I’m not a great sleeper and there are a few that can really send me to dream land. The one explaining the rules for Cricket, in particular. LOL… I’ve done a few of the daily meditations. But it’s the sleep stories that I need the most.
I sometimes have sleep problems, too. Your comments have really piqued my interest. How often do you use the sleep stories? What sorts of things do they discuss?
I look forward to checking out the links! I usually focus on my breathing (when I actually sit down and do it).
That’s a great technique. The simple stuff is often the best. I hope you enjoy the links I shared as well.