Unless you’ve been hibernating since winter (we wouldn’t blame you), you’ve probably heard of meditation and the big benefits that go along with it. In fact, we’ve touted them a bit ourselves. But knowing something is good for us doesn’t always make doing it any easier. In order to take the guessing game out of your meditation practice, we’ve curated a list of the best guided meditations you can find online. No need to download an app or pay for a subscription.
See below for the best free guided meditations for sleep, stress, and so much more.
The 9 Best Guided Meditations to Try Now
Some simple meditations are universal, but if you’re looking for help with a specific aspect of your well-being, we’ve got you covered. We broke these meditation exercises down by category so you can choose the one that best fits your personal needs. Stressing less has never been simpler.
+ More into apps? Try our list of the best guided meditation apps.
1. Sleep
We go a mile a minute during the day, constantly juggling all our goals and responsibilities. With all those balls in the air, it can be hard to get to sleep. If you find yourself lying in bed at night struggling to get some shut-eye, a simple guided meditation might help lull your mind.
Tara Brach, a renowned therapist and meditation instructor, has some incredible free guided meditations on her site, but her sleep guides are where she shines. Her guide “Meditation: Reducing Anxiety and Getting to Sleep” is available in three short lengths (six, 12, and 18 minutes) and will help you shut your mind off from the day.
If you’re looking for more sleep resources, she also has a “Community Wisdom on Sleep” guide that houses a ton of information and resources to help you use meditation to get some Zs.
2. Stress
Busyness is an epidemic in our society. Between work, family, your health, and your side hustle, there’s constant outside pressure that adds stress to our lives. The best guided meditations can relax you and calm your mind, so you can easily combat the stress that comes with being a human in 2019.
Fragrant Heart’s Stress Relief Meditation is about 20 minutes and helps you bring focus to your body and away from those outside stressors. Bonus points: The website has a downloadable link, so you can download to your phone and listen to this puppy on the go.
3. Anxiety
The overwhelming feeling of anxiety can strike at any moment. Meditation has been proven to help alleviate those symptoms and get you back on track. But sometimes we only have a few minutes to capture some calm, so those longer meditations simply won’t do.
Enter the 5 Minute Anxiety Reduction Guided Meditation. This video guides you off the anxiety ledge quickly and effectively, in just a few simple minutes. It’s definitely one to bookmark for when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
4. Gratitude
Studies show that beginning your day with a little gratitude can go a long way to achieving your goals and creating a happier life for yourself. Why not use guided meditation to facilitate your gratitude practice?
This 5-Minute Gratitude Practice on mindful.org (also a great resource for many of the best guided meditations online) is perfect for cultivating gratitude every morning. Pour yourself a cup of coffee (or tea) to enjoy after your meditation, and your day will seem brighter instantly.
5. Breathing
Sometimes, you just need to become more aware of your body and yourself in order to feel refreshed. Another great mindful.org guided meditation, An 11-Minute Awareness of Breath Practice, guides you through one of the oldest meditation practices.
“Sit and Know You’re Sitting” forces you to be aware of your body, your breath, and, ultimately, your mind, which can help you focus, recharge, and rejuvenate.
6. Walking meditation
If you can’t seem to fit a meditation practice into your day, or sitting still with your eyes closed freaks you out, try a walking meditation. You can practice this type of guided meditation on your walk to work, while you walk your dog, or even on a quick stroll during your lunch break.
Mindful.org has a great 10-Minute Walking Meditation that you can fit easily into your day. You’ll be surprised how much better your daily walk becomes as you learn to be more mindful of your surroundings and guide yourself out of the distracted autopilot we tend to run on.
7. Let go of control
When we have goals we want to achieve, it’s hard to relinquish control. We know what we want and we know how to get it done. Unfortunately, that constant need for control can cause a lot of stress. Using a guided meditation to help you let go of the need to control everything can open your mind to new possibilities, people, and ways of doing things.
Deepak Chopra has some of the best guided meditations on his website. His guides can help with everything from dreams to anxiety, but his guided meditation, Let Go of the Need to Control is worth a listen. It’s a little over 10 minutes long and will surely help you be okay with letting go. At least a little.
8. Empowerment
Sometimes you just need a little pick-me-up — a little self-love to get you through a rough patch. Guided meditation can empower you to kick life’s ass and love the life you’ve created for yourself.
This 8-Minute Daily Empowerment & Self Love Meditation will make you feel unstoppable! Use at your own risk.
9. Mindfulness
Do you ever feel like you aren’t present in your own life? That you keep going through the motions and never stop to enjoy the little things? Us too. But becoming mindful of your life and your surroundings is so important if you want to get more enjoyment from your days. Or if you just want to be present with your kids, your friends, or your family without constantly thinking of something else.
The Honest Guys have a great YouTube Channel full of some of the best guided meditations you can find online. Their Mindfulness Meditation, which is about 10 minutes, helps you learn to be completely present and in the moment.
To sum it all up…
Guided meditation can help you stress less and enjoy your life more, which is a win-win in our book. To fully reap the benefits, turn it into a habit, and track it in a simple-to-use tool like a Panda Planner. With space for you to determine and check off a daily habit, Panda Planner makes sure that you start a streak and keep it going. We think it’s a great way to make meditation an easier part of your day.
Your turn: What is the best guided meditation that you’ve done? Tell us in the comments.
For more mindful, check out this easy loving-kindness meditation.
