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Mindfulness & Meditation
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Mindfulness, and meditation practices can help with both the physical and mental aspects of stress and recovery, providing a holistic approach in coping with challenges.Somatic Practices increase awareness of how your body feels and reacts, which can help individuals recognize stress signals early and respond more effectively. Deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and movement work by releasing physical and emotional tension.
Mindfulness Practices encourage staying present, which can enhance concentration and mental flexibility, making it easier to get through challenging situations and find solutions in ways that are helpful.
Meditation Practices have been shown to activate the relaxation response, reducing stress hormones and promoting a sense of calm and well-being.
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Podcasts
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Road to Resilience, from Mount Sinai features stories and expert insights on building resilience in the face of burnout, trauma, and other challenges with a focus on science-backed insights to thrive through challenges.
The Resilience Podcast offers research and tools for resilience in the workplace from the Resilience Institute.
Lessons in Resilience provides practical tips and techniques to build a kinder, more realistic toolkit for handling change, stress, and self-doubt.
Deep Resilience: Melli O'Brien shares key insights and skills each week to help you grow your inner strength, find inner peace, and handle challenges with greater skill.
Thriving Minds is a podcast dedicated to exploring mental well-being and resilience.
The Science of Happiness: From the Greater Good Science Center at UC-Berkeley, this podcast offers research-tested strategies for a more meaningful and joyful life. Episodes have explored topics like gratitude and finding joy through connection with others.
The Science of Awe: From the creators of the series by The Science of Happiness, explore what happens in our bodies and brains when we experience the vast and incomprehensible, and how it changes us for the better.
Brown Girl Self-Care Podcast: Health and Wellness habits for spiritual and emotional wellbeing.
The Gratitude Podcast: Features hundreds of free episodes that provide inspiration for cultivating gratitude with stories, affirmations, and words of wisdom.
How to Find Joy: This podcast features a "joy guide" in, sharing stories and actionable tips for navigating life's messy parts while cultivating a more aligned and joy-filled life.
Podsitivity: This podcast focuses on the good in the world by sharing true stories about hope, kindness, and perseverance from people who lived them.
#SelfCareIRL | Podcast: Explore strategies and ideas for becoming your best self, a podcast by Ty Alexander.
Cultivating H.E.R. Space, hosted by Dr. Dominique Broussard and Terri Lomax, aims to create a safe and supportive environment for women. The podcast addresses a wide range of topics, from personal challenges like health issues to broader societal concerns, encouraging listeners to engage in meaningful discussions and share their experiences. The acronym H.E.R. stands for Healing, Empowerment, and Resilience, reflecting the core mission of the podcast.
The Happiness Lab: Dr. Laurie Santos, a psychology professor at Yale, shares scientific research on what truly makes people happy and provides practical tips for living a more joyful life, based on her university course.
The Mindfulness Podcast (American Mindfulness Research Association): Features discussions with experts on the research and clinical utility of mindfulness, covering scientific findings and diverse applications.
Happiness Break (Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life): A biweekly podcast with guided, research-backed practices designed to cultivate calm and compassion in under ten minutes.
The Tara Brach Podcast: A blend of psychology, mindfulness, and Buddhist principles, offering meditations, teachings, and interviews with educators and researchers.
The FitMind Podcast (How to Train a Happy Mind): Takes a highly scientific approach to mindfulness, psychology, and neuroscience, featuring interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and experts in well-being.
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Apps for Community Support
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The Happy App: Created by happiness.com, this app connects you to a global community where you can share your struggles and offer support to others. The healing power of human connection can significantly elevate your well-being. There are paid and free features available.The free features include:
Live access to a supportive community.
Engagement in conversations about personal struggles and inspiring perspectives.
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Apps for Gratitude, Joy, and Awe
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Happyfeed
This app is a gratitude journal that helps you cultivate joy by making it easy to record good things that happen each day. Research shows that consistently focusing on positives can increase happiness.
Free features include:
The ability to post three good things each day, including photos and videos.
A "Happiness Jar" feature that lets you shake your phone to revisit a random positive memory.
"Throwbacks" that resurface past happy moments.I Am
The app sends daily positive affirmations as reminders to help you shift your mindset.Free features include:
Personalized daily affirmations delivered as notifications.
The ability to save and revisit your favorite affirmations.
A customizable interface with different colors and fonts.
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Meditation Apps
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Healthy Minds
Developed by Dr. Richard Davidson, this app is 100% free and offers structured meditation training based on a four-pillar model of well-being.Medito
A completely free, not-for-profit app with a straightforward interface, Medito offers a beginner course, compassion practice, sleep meditations, and a silent timer.Exhale
EXHALE is an emotional well-being app designed for Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC). The practices in this app are referred to as "soul medicine"- medicine for the depths of our souls. This app was curated by BIWOC so that in your emotional well-being journey, you can lean-in and trust that this space has been cultivated specifically for you.Smiling Mind
Designed with families in mind, this app also has a free adult section for mindfulness practice.UCLA Mindful
Created by UCLA, this app helps manage stress with various meditations, a timer, and podcast-style lessons.Happify
Based on positive psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Happify offers a series of engaging games and activities to help you reframe negative thoughts and build positive habits.Free features include:
A selection of learning tracks focused on happiness, gratitude, and confidence.
Interactive games like "Uplift," where you tap positive words on hot air balloons to train your brain for optimism.
Journaling tools for tracking what you're grateful for and what you're looking forward to.
Blackfullness - Mindfulness App
Offers culturally rooted practices that restore peace, reduce stress, and reconnect us to joy. This is how we thrive - softly, boldly, and fully.Insight Timer
This app offers an extensive free library of guided meditations, talks, and courses from popular meditation teachers. Its focus on mindfulness helps users reduce anxiety and stress.Free features include:
Access to over 100,000 guided meditations and sleep programs.
An in-app social community and discussion groups.
A simple meditation timer for unguided sessions.
Alkeme
Health is the destination for the Black community to access the wellness tools needed to empower, heal, inspire, and thrive today while improving generational health for tomorrow.Labyrinth
For thousands of years labyrinths have provided a place for meditating, finding peace and tranquility, making a pilgrimage, and enhancing creativity. Use your finger to trace the path. Begin at the entrance and journey to the centre, then return relaxed, rejuvenated, and replenished. Pause, reflect, meditate, and when ready, return outwards retracing your path. -
Unplug
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Unplugging isn't just relaxing; it is a restorative process that helps the brain reset and process information. There are many ways to unplug, from playing games to watching your favorite shows or just being in nature. Unplugging can help calm the nervous system and improve emotional regulation. Playing is one way to unplug. Play has profound developmental and psychological benefits at all stages of life. Play can be simple things, like doodling, solving crosswords, or tossing a ball with a friend. Play can also be reading a book, team sports, or being creative through photography, drawing or creating a presentation. The benefits of play are in the personal experience and joy it brings. Learn about the benefits of Play.Now, go ahead and play:
- Play Sudoku
Just want to hang back? Watch something you enjoy:
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How It’s Made
PIPE CLEANERS: https://youtube.com/shorts/wT7i9ImgmK0?si=l_JPZi6BF2gJSL94
ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: https://youtube.com/shorts/UHOCcyAB3ck?si=JsuSGFBhJj6vwbRG
PAPER CUPS: https://youtube.com/shorts/B4sB7l5vcAw?si=Ph6cSyCi1kzu33Zt
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Bob Ross
Or listen to something that brings you joy:
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Move
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Movement releases feel-good brain chemicals (endorphins, dopamine, serotonin) and reduces stress hormones like cortisol. It can help regulate your nervous system. This can help improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, and enhances self-esteem. For individuals impacted by trauma, a body mind disconnect can occur. Movement helps restore the mind body connection.
Learn more about the benefits of movement or Why Yoga? View insights and research on the benefits of Yoga.
Ready to give it a try?
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Create
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Creativity can help reduce stress and make us feel more relaxed. When we are involved in a creative task, we may enter a "flow" state where we lose track of time and feel deeply focused. This state can lower stress hormones and boost our mood, leading to a sense of accomplishment and well-being. Regularly doing creative tasks helps our brains stay flexible and strong by forming new connections. This helps in keeping our minds sharp and can help protect against memory problems as we age.Learn more about why the brain loves being creative.
Ready to get creative?
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Awe, Joy, & Hope
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Cultivating awe, joy and hope help your brain and body stay balanced, making it easier to handle stress and find joy in life’s moments that you can call upon even in times of intense stress or adversity. When your nervous system is calm and balanced, you feel better and can deal with the challenges ahead, looking at all you have accomplished and all there is for which to be grateful. These experiences further enhance and strengthen resilience. Awe can shift focus from self to a broader context, reducing stress and enhancing emotional regulation. Joy stimulates the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine, which enhances mood and supports a healthy nervous system. Joyful experiences can buffer against stress, helping maintain a balanced autonomic nervous system. Hope fosters motivation and effective coping strategies, enhancing resilience and reducing stress-related nervous system activation. Cultivating hope can increase levels of serotonin and other chemicals that promote a sense of well-being.
Learn more about the science behind it all: The Science of Hope, The Science of Awe, Science of Joy, and how Science Explains Happiness.
Give it a try:
- The Science of Wellbeing: A free ten-week online course through Yale
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Care
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When you think of self-care, meditation, getting a massage or playing music are some activities that may come to mind. These activities are external, happening outside of your body. Yet stress is experienced internally; it is felt inside the body, and it impacts individuals differently. Your nervous system controls everything you do – walking, thinking, feeling, and breathing.Self-care practices care for your entire nervous system – both your body and your brain. When self-care becomes part of your routine, research suggests that you can reduce stress and feelings of emotional, mental, and even physical exhaustion that can be caused by prolonged stress. Enhancing your emotional self-awareness through regular self-care can create balance in your life.
Learn more about the link between self-compassion and physical health or read about the Science of Self-Compassion.
Ready to start? Take a look at the resources below.
