Finding a few quiet minutes in a busy day can feel impossible, especially in a city like New York. Mindfulness doesn’t require a retreat or an hour on a cushion, though. With the right guidance, you can practice it in three minutes, on a walk, or even while eating a single raisin.
To support your practice, MindWell NYC offers a free collection of guided meditations recorded by Dr. Rachel Hutt, PhD. Drawn from our Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) series, these recordings range from short breathing exercises to longer sitting meditations, so you can choose what fits your schedule and experience level. Whether you’re new to mindfulness or looking to deepen an existing practice, each recording offers a simple way to slow down, notice what’s happening in your body and mind, and reconnect with the present moment.The Raisin Exercise is a practice in mindful eating that can be done with a raisin or any other food. This exercise can be a good place to start if you are new or newer to mindfulness practice.
The Body Scan is a practice in focusing attention over a sustained period of time, which can improve concentration, calmness, flexibility, and mindfulness. Increasing awareness of your body can also help you to better manage emotions.
The Sitting Meditation is a basic mindfulness of the breath practice that is good if you are just learning how to practice mindfulness or don’t have a lot of time. It’s a great way to start the day in the morning, or a nice way to take a break during a stressful or busy workday.
This is a great practice to use to check in with yourself during the day and to step out of automatic pilot. With practice, it can help with acceptance of the present moment, recognition that things are always changing, and stopping rumination.
This mindful stretching exercise may be a different approach to movement than you are used to and allows you to attend to your body in a different way, particularly if you do or have done yoga before. Attending to the body sensations of stretching and movement can serve as a bridge to this moment, and is something you can practice in any type of movement you do.
The Twenty Minute Sitting Meditation is a sitting practice that allows for opportunities to nonjudgmentally notice where the mind has gone, to bring awareness to the body as a whole, to try sitting with physical sensations that may be uncomfortable, and to use the breath as a way to reconnect to this moment and feel grounded.
The Mindful Walking practice is another way to bring a new awareness to everyday movement and get out of automatic pilot. You can practice it anywhere, and experiment with different speeds and directions.
The Forty Minute Sitting Meditation presents a range of ways to focus attention. It helps to start noticing aversion to an experience, the urge to avoid particular thoughts, and the link between thoughts and emotions. It allows for practice sitting with whatever comes and goes, practice relating to your experience with clarity and directness, and an opportunity to stop struggling and simply be present with various experiences.
The Sitting With Difficulty mindfulness recording allows for practice building up tolerance and exposure to bodily tension related to situations. Over time it can allow you to manage something that feels unmanageable and increase connectedness. It is easier to work with physical sensations and emotions than thoughts, as thinking can become exhausting.
Breathing Space Responsive is best used for people who have been practicing the regular three-minute breathing space and have instances of discomfort in the body and mind. This is a way to approach discomfort and take a few moments to sit with whatever is already there and causing trouble at the moment that it is coming up.
Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique to elicit a relaxation response and calm your body down. It helps to slow down your body, slow down your thoughts, and decrease the intensity of emotions. It can also be helpful to prepare your body for sleep or ground you in the present moment.
Mindfulness is a skill, and like any skill, it grows with regular practice. Try starting with a shorter recording, like the Three Minute Breathing Space or the Ten Minute Sitting Meditation, and work up to longer practices as you feel ready. Feel free to bookmark this page and come back whenever you need a moment to pause.
If you’d like more support, MindWell NYC’s therapists can help you build mindfulness into a personalized treatment plan for stress, anxiety, and other life challenges. We offer in-person sessions at our Manhattan office on Fifth Avenue as well as telehealth. Schedule your free 15-minute consultation to learn how mindfulness-based therapy could help you.