General Mindfulness Exercises:
- Free Mindfulness Project: an assortment of many different mindfulness meditations
- Tara Brach – mindfulness talks and meditations, with a new podcast added every week.
- Guided Meditations with Dr. Rick Hanson – author of Hardwiring Happiness (2013)
- Breethe – easy and free meditations that you can download onto your phone, good for adults and children
Mindfulness for Anxiety and Depression:
- Tara Brach Video: Hands off the Control – how to let go of control
- Tara Brach Video: Finding the juice inside the fear – how to lean into the fear versus avoid or run away
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ABCD worksheet – how to identify beliefs and search for more helpful alternatives
- Anxiety Happens – Chad Lejeune’s companion site to his book The Worry Trap, includes explanation of how anxiety works and exercises on how to free yourself from worry and anxiety.
- Passengers on the Bus Video – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) video demonstrates how to not let anxiety take over your bus.
- Guest at a Party Video – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) video demonstrates how to welcome the unwanted guest of anxiety.
- Video on Depression as a Black Dog by World Health Organization
Self-Compassion Exercises:
- Self Compassion.org: Guided self compassion exercises and meditations by Dr. Kristen Neff, scroll down for her interesting Ted Talk that describes the difference between Self Esteem and Self-Compassion.
- Self Compassion Test – Find out your level of self-compassion with this on-line survey by Dr. Kristen Neff.
Mindfulness Podcasts, talks, etc:
- www.dharmaseed.com – Wonderful site with free podcasts from Buddhist meditation teachers in English, french and other languages from all over the world.
- NPR Invisibilia podcast – the secret history of thoughts and how mindfulness helps us to accept rather than change or resist our thoughts.
- Fake it Till you Make it – Social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s Ted talk on how body posture can affect and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.
- All it Takes is 10 Minutes – Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just nothing.
- Values vs. Goals: Short video by Russ Harris describing the ACT therapy notion of focusing on values vs. goals
- Sharon Salzberg: How Mindfulness empowers us, animated video on mindfulness and compassion (great for kids!)
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Tara Brach – Learning to Respond and Not React
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Jack Kornfield – Podcast on Forgiveness
Mindfulness Apps:
- Insight Timer – this wonderful app offers a range of guided meditations, allows you to set a meditation/ yoga timer, keep track of your meditation practice and connect live with thousands of meditators around the world.
- Head Space – Practice the basics of meditation and mindfulness with Take10, Headspace’s free introductory meditation series.
- Gratitude Journaling – Research has shown that purposely bringing our attention to what we are grateful for can shift our mood and attitude. This app gives you reminders and guides for a daily gratitude practice.
- Unstuck – This app is designed to help individuals feeling stuck in a life situation or with a major life decision and offers a life-coaching style approach to take action and make a plan.
Mindfulness Self-Tests:
- Values shopping mall – This exercise will help you identify your core values.
- Self Compassion Test – Find out your level of self-compassion with this on-line survey by Dr. Kristen Neff.
- Happify: Mindful coaching site that guides you to take a happiness level test and then recommends certain podcasts and mindfulness exercises based on your results. There are free options, you just need to set up your account (takes about 3 minutes).
Mindfulness in Your Relationships:
- The Couple Dialogue – How to practice mindful listening
- Non-Violent Communications – Explanation of the 4 Steps (with a video at bottom)