12 Meditation Practices For Beginners

Are you interested in starting a meditation practice, but you don't know where to begin? Maybe you've felt confused about what you're actually supposed to do, or for how long. Maybe you've tried meditation and become frustrated or even bored. You're not alone! Many people feel the same as you.

That's why The Mindful Movement has put together this list of meditation practices that are perfect for all levels of experience. Some are simple breathing exercises, some combine meditation with movement for those who have trouble finding stillness. And if you don't find what you're looking for, our YouTube channel has hundreds more to choose from.

NEW! Check out our Mindful Movement Kids channel!

1. Calming Guided Meditation for Relaxing 2-1-4 Pattern

The breath practice of a 2-1-4 ratio is very powerful for calming down and experiencing clarity. By exhaling longer than you inhale, you may see reduced anxiety and an improved mood. Today, I will guide you through the brief practice, and after that, you can do it on your own at any time. It is beautiful that you have this tool that you can take with you and practice anywhere. There is a Sanskrit proverb that says, “For breath is life, and if you breathe well, you will live long on earth.”

2. A 20 Minute Mindfulness Breath Meditation for Focus

Create a safe and tranquil environment for yourself and commit to your meditation practice daily and experience the many benefits of consistency. Set aside the next 20 minutes for yourself. Start your day with this breath of life to focus and return to the now and be present.

3. Loving Kindness Meditation or Metta Meditation

Loving kindness meditation, also known as Metta meditation, as a practice can be used in a few different ways. Towards yourself, towards others, towards all beings and as an intentional way of living. In today’s meditation practice, I will guide you through offering loving kindness to yourself, others, and all beings.

There are a number of benefits of this practice, including, but not limited to, uplifting your mood, quieting your inner critic, and increasing empathy. Enjoy this practice with me as your guide today. You can also benefit from an abbreviated version of this practice at any time, revisiting the phrases for yourself or others anytime you need.

4. You can Feel GREAT with a Combination of Mindful Movement and Meditation

 Join Sara for this feel good practice beginning with some self-massage and work to calm the nervous system. We will follow this with gentle stretching in order to prepare for our short meditation. This practice is gentle and would be appropriate for any time of day you need some calming self-care.

If you like, continue the self-inquiry process with one of the two following journaling prompts:
The barrier within ... OR
When I recognize my resistance ...

5. Short Guided Meditation for Precise Focus

If you find yourself having difficulty focusing on a task or your thoughts are scattered, this quick and effective practice may be just what you need to ground yourself and your attention in the present moment.  Follow my voice as I guide you into a calm and focused state.

6. Grounding and Energy Balancing Mindfulness Meditation

Welcome to this powerful and versatile guided meditation practice.  Use this before exercising to connect with your physical experience more effectively.  Release anxiety and stress by improving your inner connection and ground yourself.  Balance your energy and chakra centers by creating a feeling of spaciousness to move and balance your energy.  I will invite you to feel your experience as you let go of the effort of doing.

7. Calm Your Distracted or Overthinking Mind

Enjoy this guided mindfulness meditation.  When your mind is busy and full of thoughts, and you find yourself distracted, you may notice it doesn’t work to simply tell your mind to stop thinking.  In fact, the expectation of a mind free of thoughts is impossible.  This resistance to the experience of thoughts may even cause them to show up more frequently and seem louder.  

In this practice, I will guide you to practice shifting your attention to the quiet part of your mind, rather than expecting the noisy part of your mind to simply stop.  Imagine expecting the chaos and noise of a party to simply stop because you wanted quiet.  Instead, you would leave the chaos rather than asking the it to stop.

8. 10 Minutes to Calm, Breath Meditation

What would the world be like if we all practiced meditation? Whether you are new to meditation or returning to your practice, this 10-minute mindfulness meditation is about going back to the basics to discover the foundations and benefits of meditation. Be in tune with yourself to find peace in your inner world among a potentially hectic and stressful outer world. Let all of that go for now, as you focus on your breath to become present. When you settle in the present moment, you can’t be anxious about the future or regretful of the past.

9. Mindfulness of Body to Reduce Pain and Calm the Mind

This meditation for mindful awareness of your body is about awakening to your physical sensations and offering yourself an attitude of loving kindness and compassion.  Whether you are a beginner of meditation or returning to your practice, during this short mindfulness meditation, I will guide you gently to experience your body with the desire to be awake to the present moment with acceptance and trust.  Let go of expectations and trying and simply allow the present moment to unfold and fully experience it.  Let your awareness effortlessly flow through your body and invite your breath and concentration do the rest to bring about a calm and relaxed state.

10. Mindfulness of Thoughts to Reduce Stress and Anxiety

It is your mind’s job to think, just as it is your stomach’s job to digest the food you eat. When practicing meditation, you may feel like you need to stop your thoughts or clear your mind completely. Your thoughts do not cause suffering, when you attach to your thoughts, and believe they are absolutely true with no other possible reality, this is what causes suffering. Because it is impossible to stop your thoughts entirely, I invite you to shift your intention to one of releasing attachments to thoughts.

Whether your thoughts are scattered and disorganized or intrusive and cyclical, change your relationship with your thoughts to reduce suffering due to undesirable thoughts. Let this practice be your training for dealing with thoughts outside of meditation. Be patient and compassionate with yourself during this process and know that thoughts, like breath will come and go.

11. 20 Minute Meditation for Acceptance and Gratitude

To fully engage with life, it’s important to acknowledge and accept your emotions knowing that your emotions are not you. You can let go of the labels of right or wrong and good or bad. Emotions are simply energy, and when you allow yourself to experience the emotions as they arise, the energy will move through you and the emotions do not need to rule you. Today, I will guide you to first acknowledge your emotions, connect with them and lean into the actual experience of the feeling of that emotion. Only after you feel the feeling can it move through you and then you can begin to awaken to life more fully.

Once you release the energy of the emotion, you will have time to build a feeling of gratitude to shift into a positive energetic state to carry with you after this practice is complete.

12. Short Morning Meditation to Focus on Cultivating Positivity

Before you even get out of bed in the morning, you can set your intentions for a great day. This morning meditation will guide you to focus on cultivating positivity in under 10 minutes.

Remember, the best way to meditate is the way that works best for YOU. Hopefully these meditations will help you in your journey.