Free guided meditations for mindfulness, stress reduction

The reason to start a somatic movement practice is different than why we begin to meditate. Somatic movement releases tight muscles and meditation calms the mind. But…it’s not that simple.

When muscles chronically tight for years let go, we almost immediately experience easier, freer movement, and pain and discomfort go away. Then other good things happen. When our body relaxes, our mind does the same thing (the mind and body can’t be separated) and anxiety goes down. It’s easier to sense and feel what’s going on in ourselves and respond before problems like a stressful situation or sore muscles spiral.

With meditation, it’s the reverse. As the mind slows down and relaxes, the body starts to do the same (remember that mind-body connection) which is why elements of any somatic movement session involve a body scan. A type of meditation, a scan takes an inside look at the current state of our soma, our body.

Whether you’re a somatic mover, a meditator, or maybe both, I recently discovered this amazing collection of 26 FREE audio meditations produced by Dr. Christiane Wolf, a world-recognized leader in the mindfulness meditation field. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.