Mindfulness & meditation exercises
These audio exercises are part of the Mindfulness Center programming. These are mindfulness exercises that you may feel are helpful during and after participation in the Mindfulness Center. You are welcome to practice these exercises if you are not enrolled in the Mindfulness Center, however, it is always best to learn mindfulness by someone trained to teach these skills.
For the following exercises you can sit in a chair or on a cushion on the floor, or if you prefer lying down, find a comfortable position on a mat or on a bed.
Mindfulness exercises
Dr. Yabko's exercises
Mindful grounding
The purpose of this exercise is to introduce the concept of mindfulness and how to do so in a quick and easy way. This exercise is not generally covered in any our Mindfulness Center classes but feel free to give it a try. Listen to the Mindful grounding exercise.
The body scan
The body scan is an exercise in which lying down is usually best. We will guide you through the body with interest and curiosity. This will include what to do with difficulties that may arise in the body (i.e., pain, emotions, other sensations). Listen to the body scan exercise.
Mindfulness of breathing
This is the hallmark exercise of most mindfulness practitioners and the classes that we offer. In this exercise you will learn more about how your mind and body interact and how to begin to let go of thoughts, sensations, and noises in the environment. Listen to the mindfulness of breathing exercise.
Loving kindness
Loving kindness meditation is a traditional form of compassion training. If this does not seem to “work” or you do not feel anything from the practice, don’t worry, this is very common. This is a practice of planting seeds and the more you practice, the more you water those seeds and eventually train the mind to be more compassionate to yourself and others around you. Listen to the loving kindness exercise.
Three-minute breathing space
A hallmark exercise of the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy course that provides a brief way to practice mindfulness to both extend mindfulness to your daily life and to deal with difficulties as they arise. Listen to the three-minute breathing space exercise.
Mindful movement
A moving mindfulness exercise that incorporates breath with movement to help with aches and pains and to experience mindfulness in a slightly different way. Listen to the mindful movement exercise.
Dr. Marchand's exercises
(click link to listen to exercise)
General meditation instructions
Sitting meditation with focus on the breath
Sitting meditation with watching thoughts and emotions
Compassion exercises
Compassion exercises are intended to help you develop care for yourself and others, a sense of a shared human experience, and awareness of when you are suffering. The exercises are practiced and thoroughly discussed in our Mindful-Self Compassion class.
(click link to listen to exercise)
Giving and receiving compassion
Click here for a complete list of compassion exercises from the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.
Additional exercises
The following exercises will give you a variety of different options to supplement the above mindfulness and meditation exercises. These exercises are provided courtesy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention at the University of Washington.
(click link to listen to exercise)
Brief sitting meditation (female voice)
Brief sitting meditation (male voice)
Guided practices in Spanish
This exercise is provided courtesy of the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness.
30-minute body scan by Luis Morones (Spanish language)