The Goal is the Daily Dozen
12 minutes a day
GETTING STARTED
Resources for those new to Meditation
TEN GOOD SITES FOR FREE MEDITATIONS
Seems like we rarely go a day without hearing about the benefits of regular meditation.
Reduced stress, better decision making, decreased blood pressure, improved mindfulness… there really isn’t that much it doesn’t help with.
We all know the benefits, and many of us try really hard to meditate regularly, but the reality is it is a struggle getting started for most people, like physical exercise after 21-30 days of being consistent, you begin to feel the benefits.
I found this meditation list created by Luke Jones, which is a wonderful resource so you don't have spend time searching. He has listed several free guided meditation tracks, the different types of meditation available, the average length of each meditation, and whether the tracks are downloadable.
Ready to get mindful? Let’s do it!
Many other Free Meditations on the 'Insight Timer'app
Free Guided Meditation Sites
Number of tracks: 50
Meditation styles: Loving kindness, mindfulness, forgiveness, sleep, mantra, healing, children.
Length: 1 – 30 min (average 15 min).
Download: Yes, paid.
Fragrant Heart is one of my favorites, partly because of it’s cool name, but mainly because of the quality of the guided meditations. The tracks are separated into clear categories, with lots of different styles. Each meditation is available with or without background music too, which is a nice touch. Some tracks are as short as a minute, which is great for beginners, and they also provide a free guided meditation course too.
Number of tracks: 100+
Meditation styles: Loving kindness, mindfulness, forgiveness, sleep.
Length: 10 – 40 min. (average 25 min).
Download: Yes, free.
Tara has a library of at least a hundred guided meditation tracks to keep you going, all various styles, with a new one added each week. The site is really user friendly, and the tracks are all good quality too. No music, just a calming voice guide you through. Nice and simple.
Number of tracks: 30
Meditation styles: Loving kindness, mindfulness, relaxation, sleep, healing, children.
Length: 9 to 60 min (average 20 min).
Download: Yes, paid.
Do Yoga with me is a great site. Along with yoga videos, they’ve got a great library of guided meditation tracks too. Again, a wide range of styles and high quality recordings.
4. The Free Mindfulness Project
Number of tracks: 30
Meditation styles: Mindfulness, healing, gratitude, body scan, moving.
Length: 3 to 45 min (average 20 mins)
Download: Yes, download only (free)
Many different types of mindfulness mediation by various teachers. All tracks are free to download and distribute non-commercially, which is really cool. One slight downfall is you can’t listen to the meditations online – you have to download them.
Number of tracks: 16
Meditation styles: Mindfulness, healing, gratitude, sleep.
Length: 5 to 60 min (average 15 min).
Download: Yep, free.
A good site with a wide range of meditation styles and high quality audio.
6. UCLA Free Guided Meditation
Number of tracks: 8
Meditation styles: Loving kindness, mindfulness, sleep.
Length: 3 – 12 mins.
Download: Yes, free.
Simple and clear. Most tracks are quite short, but could be good for someone who’s just getting into forming the meditation habit.
Number of tracks: 50
Meditation styles: Mindfulness, relaxation, healing, loving kindness, sleep.
Length: 8 to 25 min (average 18 mins).
Download: Yes, free.
One of the most popular meditation podcast on iTunes right now. It’s not updated all that regularly, but there’s still plenty to choose from. Again, there’s a wide variety of styles available.
Number of tracks: 28
Meditation styles: Mindfulness, relaxation, healing, grief, sleep.
Length: 8 to 25 min (average 20 mins)
Download: Yes, free
Another great podcast with lots of different meditation styles. Headphones are recommended.
Number of tracks: 40
Meditation styles: Mindfulness, relaxation, loving kindness, body scan.
Length: 5 to 50 min (average 20 mins)
Download: Yes, free
Audio Dharma is a massive resource, with around forty free meditations, as well as talks and videos.
Number of tracks: 5
Meditation styles: Mindfulness, calming.
Length: 5 to 20 min
Download: Yes (on mobile)
Calm.com is a bit different to the rest of the sitesmentioned. You can either choose the simple guided meditations (which range from 2 to 20 mins) or go solo and use the meditation timer. You also get to select your background noise from a range of natural environments. Calm is available online, or as an app for your iphone or Android device.
Meditation list developed by Luke Jones
ADDITIONAL SITES
UCSD Mindful Meditations & Classes
Kristen Neff - Self Compassion & Loving Kindness Meditations and Exercises