15 Free Online Meditations to Help Guard Your Energy
A consistent meditation practice is a game-changer
In my backyard, I sit upright on a gray deck chair. My bare feet are grounded squarely on the Earth. I feel small blades of dry grass in between my toes. I am settled, wearing blue jeans, a black ball cap, and a t-shirt that says Des Moines: Hell Yeah. (P.S. - I’m from Iowa)
I faintly hear speeding cars racing to work on the freeway in the background. The early morning sun sprinkles its rays while I relax under the shade of a purple flowered jacaranda tree. My hair, mustache and goatee are un-showered and unkempt. I prepare to close my eyes. I remove my blue glasses and place them on the circular glass side table.
My backyard is a sanctuary for my practice. Wearing ear buds, I push play on my iPhone to begin my morning meditation. I am ready for my daily ritual of thirty minutes of meditation.
A few years ago I discovered my own system for creating a regular meditation practice. I started small. Gently starting to mediate for five minutes, then ten minutes, eventually up to twenty minutes, and even forty minutes.
Mediation is a regular part of my self-care tool kit. Emotional exhaustion is real.
Whether it’s finding calm during a stressful day, sleeping more deeply at night, or relaxing my body before opening up my email inbox — starting a consistent meditation practice was a game-changer.
In my last newsletter, I shared a FREE 22 minute Breathwork practice available on the Breathwork with Ryan podcast. You can listen right here via Substack. You can also follow the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts.
If you live in Southern California, you’re invited to the next Breathwork with Ryan full Moon outdoor class on March 7th! We are doing it on every full moon.
RSVP to Full Moon Breathwork here on March 7th (Tuesday) at 6:30 pm in West LA!
Over the years, I have scoured YouTube and Soundcloud for free meditations. Today I want to share with you, 15 meditations to help your practice. Scroll down for those meditations, if you’d like.
Meditation can be a radical tool for self-discovery, self-awareness, and finding calm. It is a gateway to go deeper in your life, and enjoy yourself while doing it.
Starting to meditate can open you up to new consciousness, and be a gateway to living a more open life, and even teach you to love yourself just a little bit more.
15 Meditations to Help Guard Your Energy
Day 1 | 5 minutes | Heather Hayward | 5 Minute Guided Meditation for Beginners
Day 2 | 5 minutes | Heather Hayward | Sensation of Breath
Day 3 | 5 minutes | Heather Hayward| Counting Meditation
Day 4| 5 minutes | Jack Kornfield | Walking Meditation
Day 5| 7 minutes | Jack Kornfield | Gratitude
Day 6 | 8 minutes| Jack Kornfield | Letting Go
Day 7 | 9 minutes | Jack Kornfield | Breathing Meditation For Beginners
Day 8 | 9 minutes | Tracee Stanley | Radiant Healing Meditation
Day 9 | 10 minutes | Tracee Stanley | Deep Sleep
Day 10 | 11 minutes | Tara Brach | Self-Compassion
Day 11 | 12 minutes | Jack Kornfield | Loving-Kindness
Day 12 | 13 minutes | Heather Hayward | Positive Action
Day 13 | 13 minutes | Tara Brach | Opening and Calming
Day 14 | 13 minutes | Shannon Algeo | Back to Sleep
Day 15 | 15 minutes | Tara Brach | Basic Mindfulness
Whether it’s finding calm during a stressful day, sleeping more deeply at night, or relaxing my body before opening up my email inbox- starting a consistent meditation practice has been a game-changer.
Some good stuff:
I’m going to experiment with providing links in the newsletter to stuff that I am reading, listening to, or watching. These are links to videos, books, and podcasts that I am currently vibing to.
Mushrooms are probably the most underrated, understudied, and misunderstood organisms on Earth. What a Mushroom Lives For, by Michael J. Hathaway, is a great audio listen. The book calls mushrooms world makers, as fungi helped to create the majority of the green that we see on Earth. The book explores one specific world making mushroom, the matsutake. This mushroom is a prized delicacy in Japan, and it is reshaping communities in China - where it is found. The book challenges the concept of human exceptionalism and human supremacy. I love mushrooms. You can learn to love them too (if you don’t already).
Gaslit Nation’s podcast on the East Palestine, Ohio environmental disaster. On February 3, a massive derailment of a freight train containing hazardous chemicals led to the release of toxic chemicals in the midwest. Host, Andrea Chalupa gets real about how neither political party is helping fight corporate greed, citing this train derailment as another example. Gaslit Nation speaks the hard truths. Politicians wear “rose colored glasses” while stating that “everything will be okay.” When anyone paying attention realizes it’s not okay. Andrea asks if Bernie Sanders needs to primary Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary, if we want any real change. [I agree that a progressive politician needs to primary Joe Biden if we are going to evolve the country]
David Jolicoeur a.k.a. Trugoy the Dove a.k.a. Plug Two recently passed away. As 1/3 of the hip-hop group De La Soul, he was just 54 years old. He had candidly discussed his past congestive heart issues. Anyone who remembers hip-hop from the last millennium recognizes this song, Me Myself and I. Why Are So Many Golden Age Rappers Dying Young? is a good starting point if you’re like me, and wondering why so many hip-hop artists are tragically dying in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.
Coming to you from unsettled and stolen Tonga land.