Mary comments on a listener's email -- how to listen to these meditations. This episode can bring insights about meditation and enhance your experience. Launched in 2018, Forever35 is ostensibly “a podcast about things we do to take care of ourselves,†as it describes itself in its opener each episode.
Any form of practice contains some discomfort and pain, but it’s not supposed to be torture. Whenever you notice that a thought, feeling, or perception has taken your attention away from the breath, just say to yourself, “thinking,†and return to following the breath. No need to judge yourself when this happens; just gently note it and attend to your breath and posture. To get started, download a binaural beats meditation audio, put on a headset, and listen. If you have a serious mental disorder or brain injury, discuss this with your doctor before giving binaural beats a try. There is some concern that listening to binaural beats could be a problem for anyone who has epilepsy, an irregular heartbeat, or wears a pacemaker.
Boasting a library of meditations at your fingertips, this podcast greets you with a new technique every morning. The show’s silver-tongued host, Mary Meckley, introduces a new weekly theme, whisking you away on a journey toward managing your emotions to live your happiest and healthiest life. For example, lower ranges are best for relaxation and pain reduction, while higher frequency beats in the beta and gamma range are useful for memory improvement.
This means finding music that you enjoy listening to—if you don’t enjoy classical music, for example, don’t choose it. You should also look for music that has a slower tempo, and preferably without lyrics, which can be distracting and can engage your conscious mind—the part of your mind that we hope to slow down. As an added bonus, for many people who are beginners to meditation, or who are perfectionists, music meditation can feel simpler and more instantly relaxing than other forms of practice.
Movement meditation is good for people who find peace in action and prefer to let their minds wander. As the name suggests, this practice is ideal for anyone who requires additional focus in their life. Spiritual meditation can be practiced at home or in a place of worship.
Army Research Lab found experienced meditators preferred silence while novices liked music without a distinct melody. A 2017 study at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center discovered the part of the brain associated with internally focused thought lit up most often on MRI scans when someone heard a song they liked . The road to better health doesn’t have to involve major changes to your lifestyle. Making minor modifications, such as following the guided meditations on these health and wellness podcasts, can help boost your wellbeing and improve the quality of your life.
Or, find some time to experiment with mindful eating using a simple food, like a raisin or an apple. Mindfulness meditation is the practice of actually being present in the moment, which in turn trains us to become more mindful throughout the day, particularly during difficult situations. After a few breaths, invariably, the mind will wander again. What’s important is how we respond when it happens.
Untangle hosts Patricia Karpas and Ariel Garten discuss everything from mindfulness practices to the best foods for brain health, and invite experts to get in on their conversations. While some episodes do include meditation tips, the podcast also teaches you how to train your brain in ways that don't require repeating mantras or staying in one position for a very long time. The phenomena of binaural beats and brainwave entrainment can induce meditation music the same mental state associated with traditional meditation practice, but quickly. The Mindfulness Meditation podcast from the Rubin Museum of Art takes listeners on a mindfulness journey that uses art to teach about relaxation, spirituality, health, and healing. Each week, the museum invites a prominent meditation teacher to join them for a focused talk and a guided meditation centered around a specific piece of art. The Sleep Whispers podcast features weekly, 30- to 40-minute episodes designed to help listeners get more ZZZ’s.
Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment. Don't get too caught up in what you must do, though. Take the time to assess your life and ask yourself if you feel fulfilled. If you don't, try to figure out what you can do to be more fulfilled and enjoy your life more.