There’s no doubt about it: The past year has been one of the strangest, most anxiety-inducing years we’ve ever seen. If you’re finding yourself in a tangle of anxious thoughts or experiencing some of the physical symptoms associated with anxiety, know that you’re not alone—many of us are right there with you. That being said, there’s quite a bit you can do about anxiety, from speaking with a mental health professional (always a good idea!) to getting regular exercise and trying your best to get enough sleep. Another idea? Start meditating. Studies show that meditation is correlated with lower levels of anxiety, so why not get started today? Here are 15 of our favorite meditations, specifically aimed at taming anxiety—so get ready to start feeling a lot calmer today.
Guided meditation for anxiety
This meditation is all about acknowledging feelings and feeling peaceful at the same time—a tool many of us need to learn how to feel difficult emotions yet stay calm. It’s one part relaxation, one part cognitive behavioral therapy, all in one short video.
10-minute meditations for anxiety
BuzzFeed’s Goodful channel put together this 10-minute meditation that encourages you to anchor yourself through breathwork and release unwanted feelings. It’s not so much about clearing your mind, but learning to think of a situation more objectively. He ends it with silence and soothing music. This meditation is from the creators of the mobile app, Calm. It guides you through a basic meditation to help your mind unwind as you become more aware of your body. The video is a calming mountain lake that provides some visual relaxation as well.
Meditation for sleep and anxiety
Instead of trying to calm your mind by forcing you to breathe and clear your thoughts, you can simply listen to this meditation and in turn, alleviate anxiety. The meditation, brought to you by the late Dr. Wayne Dyer, an authority on self-care, features affirmations that can help your mind fixate on positive messages.
Meditation for anxiety and depression
Ideal for beginners, this 15-minute meditation with YouTube yoga sensation Adriene Mishler will give you just what you need to unwind. Learn how to practice breathing and, in doing so, watch your anxiety diminish.
Meditation for pandemic anxiety
A calm mind is a health mind—and this meditation will help provide you with the inner peace you need, if only for about 10 minutes. There’s not a lot of talk in this guided meditation. Instead, the soothing background music does the trick to melt your worries away. Kristin Lothman, a mind-body counselor with Mayo Clinic’s Department of Integrative Medicine and Health, provides a meditation example for coping with anxiety related to COVID-19. The video features her guiding you through the meditation, so don’t expect any delta wave music or trippy graphics, but it certainly gives beginners the foundation to start a solid meditation practice, or just help you unwind from stress—COVID-related or not.
Five-minute meditation for anxiety
If you’re in the mood for a quick way to manage anxiety—or in the midst of a panic attack and need to calm down—this meditation is great. The voice is soothing, and the video includes mesmerizing visuals reminiscent of watching a lava lamp.
Body scan meditation
John Kabat-Zinn is a leader in mindfulness meditation. This one provides a simple guided exercise to help you scan your body. In mentally doing so, it provides almost-instant relaxation as well as the chance to become more present in your body.
A clutter-clearing meditation
Slow down and let your mind know that it can stop working. This session aims to help you clear your mind, which allows you to release anxiety and then reap all the benefits of meditation.
A meditation that uses binaural beats
Sometimes you don’t have to know how to clear your mind to experience all the positive benefits of meditation. This meditation uses binaural beats, which are different frequencies that play in your ears to create a relaxing effect.
A meditation for anxiety series
Jay Shetty is a former monk with an infectious personality who can help you relax just by listening to him. This is the first episode of his 20-day live meditation series.
A positive energy meditation
Gabrielle Bernstein, the famed self-help guru, put together this upbeat affirmation meditation that features a video with positive images including the narrative’s text.
A meditation for the morning
This 14-minute meditation is led by Deepak Chopra, an alternative medicine advocate, who guides you through a brief meditation focused on repeating some chants for relaxation. The relaxing visuals are definitely enough to help you unwind as you listen.
A meditation for body awareness and self-acceptance
Not only will this guided meditation help you relax and alleviate anxiety, it will also uplift you. The “story” helps build better body awareness, which is how to improve your ability to quickly slip into meditation and get the most from it. Next, get familiar with how to start adaily meditation practice.
