12 Minute Meditation

Our guest this week is Thaddaeus Washington, Mindful's featured Teacher of the Month for October. He brings a new experience to our meditation lineup: a music-based meditation entitled "Vapour," where sound is the anchor for our attention. In this guided practice, you're invited to simply rest, bring your whole self, and allow the music to unwind the worries of the day. Thaddaeus Washington is a musician, singer, songwriter, and founder of Mind Music—a company dedicated to making mindfulness accessible through music and immersive experiences. Thaddaeus has generously shared music from his Common Ground albums with us, which will be available as a full playlist inside the app starting in early November. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Thaddaeus Washington here. Go Deeper Music has long been a part of mindfulness tradition. From singing, dancing, and chanting to simply allowing ourselves to be caught up in wonder and beauty, music has a unique ability to work in us as whole human beings, body, mind, and heart. To learn more about the benefits of incorporating music into your mindfulness practices, check out these resources from Mindful.org: Where Music and Meditation Meet How Empathy Changes the Way We Process Music Why Music Strikes a Chord For a different take on a music-based practice, sample the new Desert Pulse playlist on Mindful's YouTube Channel (now available inside the app, as well). And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Our guest this week is teacher Caverly Morgan. She offers a sturdy, grounded place to come home to when we're struggling with feelings of failure, inadequacy, or insecurity. This meditation: Offers a steadier alternative to bypassing difficult emotions with positive mantras Gives us a more expansive perspective on our value Allows us to be with what's painful, and still return to a place of unconditional love Caverly Morgan is a meditation teacher, author, and visionary who founded Peace in Schools, a nonprofit that created the nation's first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. She is also the founder of Presence Collective, a community of cross-cultural contemplatives committed to personal and collective transformation. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Caverly Morgan here. Go Deeper When we're wrestling with experiences that challenge our identities or our confidence, it can be tempting to reach for positive self-talk that pushes back against the difficult feelings we might be having. Unconditional self-love is different. To learn more about how to build this skill, check out these resources from Mindful.org: Building Self-Compassion for Failure in the Creative Process Radical Love for Troubled Times Field Notes on Radical Self Compassion It's Selfish, It's Hokey, and I'll Lose My Edge: 3 Half-Truths About Self-Compassion This Is What Fierce Self-Compassion Looks Like For more practice working with unconditional self-acceptance, try: Self-Compassion for Nervous System Reset And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Our guest this week is teacher Vinny Ferraro. He shares a beginner's metta or loving-kindness meditation that offers practice for the most common first step of metta: giving compassion to ourselves. This meditation is designed to help you: Meet yourself with care, whatever you're experiencing Practice being with your own imperfection without slipping into shame or harsh self-criticism Notice where there is room to learn and develop wisdom Vinny Ferraro has been a practitioner of insight meditation (vipassanā) since the early 1990s. He is a co-Founder of the Dharma Punx and co-Guiding Teacher of Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. He is also a nationally recognized leader in designing and implementing interventions for at-risk adolescents and is currently Senior Trainer for Mindful Schools. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Vinny Ferraro here. Go Deeper We are often our own worst critics, treating ourselves and speaking to ourselves with a level of cruelty that we'd never bring to others. Self-compassion isn't indulgence. It's learning to treat yourself the way you would anyone you love. To learn more about how to build this skill and the benefits it holds, check out these resources from Mindful.org: How Practicing Loving-Kindness Helped Me Find My Place in the World The Gift of Loving-Kindness Loving-Kindness Meditation May Protect Your Genes and Slow Aging Why Loving-Kindness Takes Time: Sharon Salzberg 18 Science-Based Reasons to Try Loving-Kindness Meditation For more practice working with loving-kindness meditation, try: Loving-Kindness Meditation with Sharon Salzberg And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Our guest this week is Janice Martellucci, Executive Director of Peace in Schools. As millions of students get ready to head back to school in the Northern Hemisphere, she brings us a meditation to meet transitions and new places with courage and curiosity. Regardless of the type of transition you might be facing, this meditation is designed to help you: Notice the emotions that arise as you approach this change Stay present to what you're experiencing with care, especially if you're feeling fear or resistance Offer support to yourself and others Janice Martellucci is the Executive Director of Peace in Schools and an educator focused on uplifting the agency and wellbeing of young people. Since 2015, she's been an influencer and change-maker in mindfulness education, playing an integral role in designing and implementing the nation's first, for-credit, semester-long mindfulness course in public high schools. Her work brings transformative mindfulness education to thousands of teens and educators every year. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Janice Martellucci here. Go Deeper Change is inevitable, but being with change, without trying to grasp or control the outcome, can be a huge challenge. Mindfulness can help. To learn more, check out these resources from Mindful.org: Back-to-School Mindfulness Toolkit for Parents, Kids, and Educators Finding Your Way Forward When the Path Is Not Clear New Life, Who's This? Rediscovering Who You Are When Everything Has Changed Embracing Change: What Nanalan' Teaches Us About Saying Goodbye Navigating Menopause: A Mindful Approach to Managing Symptoms and Embracing Change The Only Constant Is Change For another approach to working with transition, try: A Meditation to Help You Let Go and Accept Change And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

It is natural as finite human beings to want to feel certain. To our brains, certainty equals safety. It's normal to wish we could control the future, because uncertainty can be unsettling and scary. But as today's teacher observes, as difficult as it is, the only real leverage we have to positively influence the future is to learn to inhabit the present moment fully, without trying to fix it or manage it. This is the most challenging aspect of mindfulness, and its core principle. This 20-minute guided meditation with Jon Kabat-Zinn is practice for simply being awake and aware in the moment without agenda. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as well as the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is author of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness; Wherever You Go, There You Are; Coming to Our Senses; and Mindfulness for Beginners. He trains, teaches, and lectures throughout the world on applications of mindfulness and is Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Jon Kabat Zinn here. Go Deeper Like any mindful skill, learning how to tune into and stay rooted in the present moment takes time and practice. Learn more with these resources on Mindful: How Present-Moment Awareness Can Make Life More Meaningful The Science and Practice of Staying Present Through Difficult Times Why It's Hard to Live in the Present Moment Before Fidget Toys, There Were Beads: The Latest Craze is Part of a Long Tradition of Keeping Your Hands Busy Being Present with Cancer For another approach to practicing present moment awareness, try: A 10-Minute Practice to Fully Experience the Present And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

When we're facing disappointment or challenge, it's easy to default to negative narratives about who we are inherently: I'm a failure. What's wrong with me? I never do anything right. This week, teacher Rich Fernandez invites a different perspective: When we shift from naming an existential trait (like, I must be a loser) to naming a temporary experiential state (like, I'm experiencing a setback that's discouraging), then we can actually return awareness and agency to ourselves and navigate a way through the challenge. Rich Fernandez has dedicated his career to building more purposeful, mindful, and high-performing workplaces. He is the former CEO of Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), co-founded Wisdom Labs, and has also served in senior roles at eBay, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Bank of America. Currently, he is the Head of Executive Development at Gap, Inc. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Rich Fernandez here. Go Deeper Learning how to navigate difficulty is a core human skill, and naturally one of the most challenging. For more resources on how mindfulness can help build resilience, compassion, and wisdom for the tougher seasons of life, check out these articles from Mindful: Why Imagination—Not Resilience—Might Help You Heal From Heartbreak Elaine Smookler on How Setbacks Can Breed Resilience Deep Resilience: The Wisdom of Making Friends with Your Mind Swimming, Walking, Running—Why Mindful Movement Can Boost Resilience Learning to Meditate Through Difficulty For another guided practice on staying steady when things feel like they're falling apart, try: Staying Grounded through Difficulty And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

This week, Ed Halliwell guides us through a practice to be with the inevitable moment-to-moment uncertainty of life. We can't control what's happening around us, but we can practice letting go of the stories we create about uncertainty that add unnecessary stress and pain. Ed Halliwell is a mindfulness teacher and writer, based in Sussex and London, UK. He is author of three books: Into The Heart of Mindfulness, How To Live Well By Paying Attention and (as co-author)The Mindful Manifesto and teaches courses and retreats to public groups, in organizations and to individuals, face-to-face and online via Skype. He is also an advisor to The Mindfulness Initiative, which is supporting the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group to develop mindfulness-based policies for the UK. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Ed Halliwell here. Go Deeper Learning that our thoughts and feelings are not "us"—meaning, they aren't our whole identity, but rather are part of a fluid experience that comes and goes—is a core element of mindfulness practice. This does not mean that our thoughts or feelings don't matter, or that we need to fix or control them; it only means that we can have more freedom when we don't get too attached or mistake a moment or a season for who we are. For more support learning how to work with uncertainty, thoughts, and feelings, start with these resources from Mindful.org: Why Uncertainty Is Good for Us Seven Strengths for an Uncertain World You Can Investigate Your Emotions Without Suppressing Them Halting the Spiral: Navigating Repetitive Thought Patterns For more practice noticing the temporary nature of thoughts and emotions, try: A Basic Mindfulness Meditation for Labeling Thoughts and Emotions And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Beyond just feeling good, laughter releases dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins, and also works on our heart, our lungs, our muscles, our thoughts, our behaviors. In short: laughter actually is good medicine. And here's a funny thing: whether we laugh in response to something, or we create a situation that gets laughter going, the body will still release the same endorphins. Try this quick, goofy yoga exercise to discover a foolproof way to induce laughter. It is based on the Hawaiian word "Aloha," a nice vowel-y word that opens the mouth and throat just by saying it. Elaine Smookler has been a mindful practitioner for over 20 years and is on the faculty at The Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto. She is a Registered Psychotherapist and teaches mindfulness to corporate clients through eMindful. She's also a comedic writer and performer and is the singing host of Mindful Martinis, a cabaret/mindfulness class mash up. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Elaine Smookler here. Go Deeper We tend to see play, joy, and levity as nice-to-haves, something we experience when things are going well. In reality they are all an essential part of building resilience and well-being, even when things aren't going well. To explore more ways to intentionally incorporate the lighter side, even in darker seasons, check out these resources from Mindful.org: The Power of Play Play, SoulPancake, and Building Your Anti-Depressant Brain Join the Nanalympics! 6 Ways to Get Playful with Mindful Movement The Science of Wonder Find Your Way to Embodied Joy For more practice noticing the good (even when things don't go according to plan), try: A 12-Minute Meditation to Rewire Your Brain for Optimism And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

When we talk about attention, we often use active and extractive verbs: pay, give, court, leverage. In mindfulness, attention isn't a commodity to be used; it's a gift to be nurtured. What might it feel like to rest our attention? This week, teacher Sharon Salzberg offers a guided meditation that's down-to-earth and deeply restorative as we practice holding our awareness with the lightest touch possible. Sharon Salzberg is a meditation teacher and New York Times best-selling author. She is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and has played a crucial role in bringing Asian meditation practices to the West. Sharon has been a student of meditation since 1971, guiding retreats worldwide since 1974. She is a columnist for On Being, a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and the author of many books including Real Happiness, Lovingkindness, and Real Change. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Sharon Salzberg here. Go Deeper Our attention—where we give it and why—is one of our most powerful assets. Learning how to train our awareness to rest in the present moment is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and others. To learn more about how mindfulness can help you build your attentional strength, check out these resources from Mindful.org: 3 Simple Ways to Pay Attention Get It Done With Mindfulness: How to Be Productive with Attention, Kindness, and Wisdom Attention! How Mindfulness Training Is Helping People Reclaim Their Ability to Focus How to Give Your Full Attention At the very heart of mindfulness is the practice of training your attention, moment by moment, with compassion and care. For more practice, try A 12-Minute Breathing Meditation to Cultivate Attention. And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Our bodies come in all varieties, and we all have different interests, skills, and abilities. As today's teacher Cara Bradley observes, movement of any kind—from the slightest stretch to the most intense exercise—can be mindful. This simple meditation helps you celebrate your physicality with practices to connect with your breath and your body, expand your awareness, and appreciate the gift of being alive. Cara Bradley is a seasoned mind-body expert dedicated to advancing mind-body education through movement, mindfulness and the science of human performance. She provides evidence-based mind-body approaches to global wellness brands, Fortune 100 companies and top-ranked sports teams, is the author of On The Verge: Wake Up, Show Up, and Shine and the Founder of Verge Yoga and Meditation Center. Cara was voted a "Top 12 Most Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement" by Mindful.org. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Cara Bradley here. Go Deeper Mindful movement comes in all varieties and can be a wonderful way to calm both body and mind. If you want to learn more, start with these resources from Mindful.org: Join the Nanalympics! 6 Ways to Get Playful with Mindful Movement 7 Mindful Movement Practices for Daily Life Swimming, Walking, Running—Why Mindful Movement Can Boost Resilience This Kind of Movement Can Be the Key to Healing Burnout Easy Ways to Make Mindful Movement Part of Your Day For a creative and whimsical way to combine movement and meditation, try: Laughter Yoga: A Gentle Movement Practice to Get the Giggles Going And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

Learning to live with pain and illness is challenging, arduous work. Often, people can go for months or even years without sufficient answers. Life gets turned completely upside down. The body you thought you had suddenly becomes something you don't recognize or know how to work with. This week, meditation teacher and hypnotherapist Juliana Sloane offers an imaginative meditation that invites softness and self-compassion in the midst of discomfort. Juliana Sloane is a Buddhist teacher, hypnotherapist, and coach specializing in Depth Hypnosis, applied shamanic counseling, and client-centered neuroplasticity. She blends ancient wisdom traditions, hypnosis, and evidence-based approaches to help individuals create lasting transformation beyond the conscious mind. She helps clients transcend the limitations of talk therapy and achieve lasting transformation. Based in Santa Fe, NM, she teaches nationally and works one-on-one with clients worldwide. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Juliana Sloane here. You can read our recent interview with Juliana and learn more about her work combining mindfulness, meditation, and hypnosis for deeper healing and transformation with her clients. Go Deeper For more resources on how mindfulness can help you live more fully with illness or pain, check out these resources on Mindful.org: What Unexpected Chronic Back Pain Taught Me: 4 Takeaways That Matter Let Your Pain Be a River: Vidyamala Burch on Living and Teaching With Chronic Pain Pain Opens a Door How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness For more practice creating a sense of safety inside your own body, try: A Meditation for Easing Pain and Inviting Joy And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].

You can find the extended 20-minute version of this meditation here. Want to explore how micro-practices can help shift your patterns in your real everyday life when you're off the meditation mat? Check out Shalini's article, How Micro-Practices Can Be the Bridge Between Your Meditation and Your Choices.

Our bodies are so overworked and often ignored. This guided awareness practice offers space to feel a sense of gratitude for our body, in all of its beauty and mystery. Rashid Hughes (he/him) is a writer, meditation teacher, yoga instructor and a restorative justice facilitator. He is the co-founder of the Heart Refuge Mindfulness Community, a mindfulness community in Washington, DC that is dedicated to inspiring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to live with love and courage. Rashid is an Affiliate Teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC and is also a teacher of the Presence Collective. He holds a Master of Divinity Degree from the Howard University School of Divinity. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week. Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app. Show Notes Find more from Rashid Hughes here. If you are looking for an in-depth resource to help build essential skills to meet a changing and uncertain world with a core of inner strength, join Melli O'Brien and a host of other teachers for The Seven Strengths, a FREE 7-day online course happening this May 13-19. Learn more and register at www.mindfulness.com/the-seven-strengths. Go Deeper For more resources to grow compassion and appreciation for the body, check out these articles on Mindful: What Green Spaces Can Do For Your Body, Your Mind & Your Practice Mindfulness Practices to Get Back in Touch with Your Body How to Befriend Your Body The Science of Embodiment: Connect to Your Body's Wisdom For more practice with meditations to help you befriend and feel at home in your body, try A Meditation for Finding Safety in the Body. And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing [email protected].