Mindfulness is often defined as moment-to-moment nonjudgmental awareness. According to research, this state can help reduce stress, enhance emotional regulation, reduce anxiety and rumination, and improve cognitive function. Studies also support potential of mindfulness to improve sleep, lower blood pressure, assist in pain management, and reduce inflammation. The good news is that this state can be cultivated — the realistic news is that it takes practice.

Practicing mindfulness can be a way to observe your thoughts, emotions, and reactions without judgment, fostering a greater understanding of your inner experience, and learning to relate to yourself and the world around you with more calm.

Here are my favorite collections of guided mindfulness practices:

UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness

What I love about this collection: I’ve seen this collection grow from a couple of body scans to a rich and diverse collection of exercises. It includes meditations in Spanish, Seated Meditations, Movement Meditations, and meditations focused on addressing medical discomfort.

Most of these practices range from 5 to 45 minutes and include a variety of styles, from more embodied to somewhat more cerebral.

Stanford Mindfulness + Meditation Resources

What I love about this collection: It offers a variety of specific meditations on different medical conditions (pain, headaches), procedures (surgery, chemotherapy), and more general emotional states and stress.

Most of the meditations here are accompanied by gentle music and last 15 minutes to 1 hour.