Relaxation

Collecting Art, take a look Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD is a former physician, internationally known mindfulness and Insight Vipassana meditation teacher. She is passionate about translating ancient wisdom teachings into accessible and applicable modern-day language. She is the author of Outsmart Your Pain – Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to Help You Leave Chronic Pain Behind and the co-author of the classic training manual for mindfulness teachers A Clinician’s Guide To Teaching Mindfulness. Christiane is the lead-consultant and teacher trainer for the VA’s US Department of Veteran Affairs National Mindfulness Facilitator Training and a senior teacher at InsightLA.

Collecting Art, take a look The best mindfulness methods are the ones that work for you. Balancing work, relationships, and all that comes with life in the real world is a truly impressive feat—one that’s supported greatly by simple mindfulness practices. Discovering tools that allow you to be more present throughout your day is among the quickest ways to elevate your existence, and 2025 brought some new go-to tricks that we intend to take from the present into the future. The routines we picked up this year were all about optimizing our lifestyles to create more room for awareness. That means instead of waiting for for perfect stillness, we try to meet ourselves exactly where we are. From active takes on meditation to stacking new habits on existing routines, these ideas can help make your everyday life more intentional. 5 Helpful Mindfulness Practices We Learned in 2025 Living mindfully should be a relatively simple endeavor. Take what works for you and leave the rest. 1. Habit ...

Collecting Art, take a look In 2025, mindfulness teacher Andrew Safer tracked the effects of attention training for workshop participants with ADHD. What he learned has implications for all of us. It seems that distraction is the oxygen we breathe nowadays, with infinite bits of information at our restless fingertips. Each time I open my Edge browser, captivating news headlines and flashy images assault me. Half the time, I forget where I was headed! Is the effort to maintain control of our attention a fool’s errand? Nicholas Carr, in his best-seller, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, notes that more than a few top journalists have stopped reading books because 1 they can easily find the information they need at Wikipedia and other online sources, and 2 their attention spans have withered. Mindfulness meditation nudges us in the opposite direction. Rather than surround ourselves with endless options, we simplify. The practice has us paying attention to this pre...

Collecting Art, take a look Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg is a leading figure in body horror, a film genre that explores disturbing and often grotesque aspects of the human body. Films such as The Fly 1986, eXistenZ 1999 and Crimes of the Future 2022 depict scenes of physical mutilation, illness and technological invasion to represent deeper fears about identity, society and the human condition. Through intense bodily imagery, Cronenberg’s films raise powerful questions about human relationships with technology and nature. As our relationship with technology rapidly evolves alongside escalating environmental catastrophe, there is a timely significance in these ideas. His latest film, The Shrouds, evokes the writing of Stacy Alaimo, a scholar known for her work exploring the connections between the human body, the environment, and the social forces that shape both. Alaimo’s work combines feminist and materialist ideas and examines how our bodies are physically connected to the w...

Collecting Art, take a look In this 2-minute video, meditation teacher Christiane Wolf explains what “formal” and “informal” mean when it comes to mindfulness. If you’ve heard the terms “formal mindfulness” or “informal mindfulness,” you might have been left scratching your head. Yes, it is—and it can still refer to different kinds of practices. In this short video, meditation teacher and author Christiane Wolf offers simple definitions of formal and informal mindfulness. Within each of these terms, there’s an abundance of ways to come home to the present moment. As Sharon Salzberg wrote in her book Real Happiness: “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” What Is Formal Mindfulness Practice? Formal practice is what we call every type of practice where you really take the time to do nothing but this particular practice or meditation at that moment. Formal mindfulness meditation usually includes a clear structure or framework, such as steps to follow, a begin...

Collecting Art, take a look Explore this mindfulness practice to foster forgiveness and let go of the tendency to add to suffering during challenging situations. Two monks are walking down the road. They arrive at a muddy stream crossing, and a well-dressed woman declares without introduction, “Don’t just stand there. She says nothing, not even a thank you. The two monks walk all day. The whole time, the younger one stews in his mind—How could he pick her up? And she was so rude, someone should say something to her, she didn’t deserve our help. Finally, arriving at the inn for dinner, he can’t hold himself back. “What were you thinking?” he asks his friend. “Wow, I put that woman down hours ago, but you’ve been carrying her all this time!” Why We Carry Anger and Resentment So what does that mean in real life? There’s an actual experience that can be trivial or even traumatic. We add to the suffering with judgment, anger, and blame. It’s sometimes referred to as adding a second arr...

Collecting Art, take a look In this week’s guided meditation, teacher and author Melli O’Brien offers a practice to unwind anxiety by connecting with a gentle and steady awareness when you are feeling stressed. Often the toughest part of experiencing anxiety is just the sense of being helplessly caught up in the thought loops that keep us feeling stuck and stressed. It’s tough to unwind anxiety, and we long for the kind of support that could actually help escape the tangle of those anxious webs. In this week’s guided meditation, teacher and author Melli O’Brien offers a practice that uses gentle, steady awareness to help you find your calm center again when you’re feeling wound up with stress or anxiety. SOS Meditation to Unwind Anxiety Read and practice the guided meditation script below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to the audio practice.,

Collecting Art, take a look Youve probably heard that mindfulness reduces stress levels. Shamash Alidina shares the research—plus, a meditation you can turn to anytime. You’ve probably heard that mindfulness reduces stress. But how does it actually help you do that? Mounting scientific evidence from hundreds of universities—including dedicated centers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the United States and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom—strongly suggests that mindfulness gently builds an inner strength, so that future stressors have less impact on our happiness and physical well-being. Here are nine ways mindfulness can help you manage stress, plus a guided meditation to start experiencing the natural calm that mindfulness can bring: Nine Ways Mindfulness Reduces Stress You become more aware of your thoughts. That way, your stress response is not initiated in the first place. You don’t immediately react to a situation. Instead, you have a moment ...

Collecting Art, take a look In 2025, mindfulness teacher Andrew Safer tracked the effects of attention training for workshop participants with ADHD. What he learned has implications for all of us. It seems that distraction is the oxygen we breathe nowadays, with infinite bits of information at our restless fingertips. Each time I open my Edge browser, captivating news headlines and flashy images assault me. Half the time, I forget where I was headed! Is the effort to maintain control of our attention a fool’s errand? Nicholas Carr, in his best-seller, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, notes that more than a few top journalists have stopped reading books because 1 they can easily find the information they need at Wikipedia and other online sources, and 2 their attention spans have withered. Mindfulness meditation nudges us in the opposite direction. Rather than surround ourselves with endless options, we simplify. The practice has us paying attention to this pre...

Collecting Art, take a look This week, Christiane Wolf offers a guided practice to meet your own body in pain and relieve that sense of isolation by internally connecting with others who understand your experience. Having chronic pain often feels incredibly lonely. You might not know anybody else who has the same condition. In addition, most people you’re close to, even though they might be well-intentioned, might not understand what you’re going through. But the fact is that probably thousands and thousands of people all over the world know exactly what you’re feeling. In this meditation, Christiane Wolf offers a guided practice to meet your own body in pain and relieve that sense of isolation by internally connecting with others who could relate to, have empathy for, and care deeply about your experience. A Meditation to Meet the Body In Pain Read and practice the guided meditation script below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to the audio practice. Start by finding a co...

Collecting Art, take a look One of the hardest parts of life for me, and I think for everyone I know, is that it’s always changing—and sometimes in unpleasant, unpredictable, and unplanned ways. And when changes happen like this, things that we don’t want to happen—someone we love dies or we have a breakup or a divorce, maybe an injury or an illness of ourselves or others, or even getting fired—then we struggle not only from the pain of this loss, but from the unexpected nature of it. Part of the reason for this upset is because so little is in our control. One of the hardest parts of life for me, and I think for everyone I know, is that it’s always changing—and sometimes in unpleasant, unpredictable, and unplanned ways. Everything is impermanent. It’s always changing, coming together and falling apart. But paradoxically, when we can accept that everything is not up to us, and we stop trying to control what we can’t change or trying to predict what we can’t predict, then we can feel ...

Collecting Art, take a look Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app. To state the obvious, there’s a lot going on in the world. Between the demands of everyday life and the emotional intensity of global and local events, our systems are overwhelmed. And, for many of us, it’s become too much to carry by ourselves. So in this gentle guided 7-minute meditation for anxiety, you’re asked to do something radical—set it all down. You’ll practice releasing all the things you feel responsible for juggling—your worries, your responsibilities, the pressure you place on yourself to keep it all together. You’ll explore what it feels like to hand everything over, even if just for a few minutes. This isn’t about ignoring reality or spiritually bypassing. It’s about reminding yourself that you’re not meant to do it all on your own. When you allow what’s too heavy for you to carry any longer to be supported by others ...

Collecting Art, take a look This week, Christiane Wolf offers a guided practice to meet your own body in pain and relieve that sense of isolation by internally connecting with others who understand your experience. Having chronic pain often feels incredibly lonely. You might not know anybody else who has the same condition. In addition, most people you’re close to, even though they might be well-intentioned, might not understand what you’re going through. But the fact is that probably thousands and thousands of people all over the world know exactly what you’re feeling. In this meditation, Christiane Wolf offers a guided practice to meet your own body in pain and relieve that sense of isolation by internally connecting with others who could relate to, have empathy for, and care deeply about your experience. A Meditation to Meet the Body In Pain Read and practice the guided meditation script below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to the audio practice. Start by finding a co...

Collecting Art, take a look The best mindfulness methods are the ones that work for you. Balancing work, relationships, and all that comes with life in the real world is a truly impressive feat—one that’s supported greatly by simple mindfulness practices. Discovering tools that allow you to be more present throughout your day is among the quickest ways to elevate your existence, and 2025 brought some new go-to tricks that we intend to take from the present into the future. The routines we picked up this year were all about optimizing our lifestyles to create more room for awareness. That means instead of waiting for for perfect stillness, we try to meet ourselves exactly where we are. From active takes on meditation to stacking new habits on existing routines, these ideas can help make your everyday life more intentional. 5 Helpful Mindfulness Practices We Learned in 2025 Living mindfully should be a relatively simple endeavor. Take what works for you and leave the rest. 1. Habit ...

Collecting Art, take a look People often use the words empathy and compassion interchangeably—and certainly they share important qualities. But there is a subtle difference between empathy and compassion, and studies show that mindful attention might be key to making sure that our efforts to help are coming from a healthy, aligned place. Here’s a deeper look at how mindful qualities like present-moment attention can help us genuinely be of greater service to others, and how mindfulness can help us feel good about helping. People naturally tend to empathize with others, report C. Daryl Cameron and Barbara Fredrickson in the January issue of the journal Mindfulness. But empathy can go wrong when it leads to distress. We might help out of guilt, obligation, or co-dependence. Or sometimes, in the absence of strong boundaries, we might unknowingly absorb the feelings of someone in trouble, and if we can’t deal with those feelings of suffering, we might turn away altogether. There is anoth...

Collecting Art, take a look People often use the words empathy and compassion interchangeably—and certainly they share important qualities. But there is a subtle difference between empathy and compassion, and studies show that mindful attention might be key to making sure that our efforts to help are coming from a healthy, aligned place. Here’s a deeper look at how mindful qualities like present-moment attention can help us genuinely be of greater service to others, and how mindfulness can help us feel good about helping. People naturally tend to empathize with others, report C. Daryl Cameron and Barbara Fredrickson in the January issue of the journal Mindfulness. But empathy can go wrong when it leads to distress. We might help out of guilt, obligation, or co-dependence. Or sometimes, in the absence of strong boundaries, we might unknowingly absorb the feelings of someone in trouble, and if we can’t deal with those feelings of suffering, we might turn away altogether. There is anoth...

Collecting Art, take a look Riding a motorcycle demands total presence. It’s a matter of survival. After all, a wandering mind could lead to disaster. But it’s not fear or panic that sharpens my attention. As a clinical psychologist, I understand fear well. I know how danger activates the fight-or-flight response. And yet, paradoxically, it is on my motorcycle that I feel most calm. This is where I experience the greatest joy. It is where I find what I would describe as a state of mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, on purpose and without judgment. In psychological therapy, it is usually cultivated through meditation. People are encouraged to sit quietly, focus on the breath and observe thoughts and sensations as they arise. Mindfulness is not an “in the moment” technique to reduce immediate distress. It is a skill developed through regular practice. Research shows that it activates brain areas involved in emotional regulation and focu...

Collecting Art, take a look The next time they try to kiss your face while you’re in corpse pose, let them. There’s so much we can learn from our pets and how they approach life. While we may spend hours doom-scrolling through Instagram, wondering how our old college buddy can afford to seemingly be on perpetual vacation hint: no student loans, they know how to live in the moment. From lounging on a sun-drenched floor to watching the outside world from the windowsill, they know how to focus on the things that really matter, and there is never a hint of FOMO passing through their mind. It’s not a stretch to say our animal companions might be experts in practicing mindfulness. For the uninitiated, mindfulness is a form of meditation with roots in Buddhist philosophy. It involves honing in on our present thoughts, feelings, body, and surroundings, and experiencing them without judgment. There’s growing evidence that supports the potential for mindfulness to improve stress, anxiety opens...

Collecting Art, take a look Meditation has become a popular subject on self-improvement podcasts, corporate strategy days and health campaigns. But beyond the buzz, there’s a growing scientific and clinical interest in meditation as a tool to regulate attention and promote relaxation. These are increasingly recognised as central to wellbeing in a world of constant notifications, high demands and information overload. Mantra meditation has roots in ancient contemplative traditions across many cultures. At its simplest, a mantra is a word, phrase, or sound repeated silently or aloud to focus the mind, steady attention and support relaxation. Depending on the tradition, mantras may carry deep spiritual, linguistic or energetic significance. But in a more personal or secular practice, you might choose or create a mantra that’s meaningful only to you. It’s important to note that mantra meditation is distinct from focusing on breathing. While both help develop concentration and awareness, ...

Collecting Art, take a look In this guided meditation, Kim Armstrong walks you through a simple practice to expand your capacity for gratitude in the everyday moments of life. We often think about gratitude as happening in response to “good” things, especially if those moments or events are also significant—a new job, a windfall, an amazing vacation. While these high points can easily spark positive emotion, a daily gratitude practice can go much deeper. For instance, what about moments that aren’t grand or overtly happy, but are small and emotionally neutral? What does it feel like to notice, take in, and consciously appreciate even the basic things we do every single day? This week, join Kim Armstrong as she leads a gratitude visualization practice. This gentle meditation invites you to shift your gaze inward and discover the often-overlooked moments of joy and contentment that punctuate your day. By focusing on these simple yet profound experiences, we grow our capacity for grati...

Collecting Art, take a look Metrobank has launched Moneygurado, a campaign in line with its goal of instilling financial mindfulness among Filipinos and a docuseries that brings practical money guidance closer to Filipinos by grounding it in real-life stories, cultural realities, and everyday experiences. Derived from “manigurado,” which means “to make sure” in Filipino, Moneygurado blends “money” and “sigurado,” capturing the goal of being confident, informed, and protected in every financial decision. It brings together everyday money management and fraud awareness, while taking a different approach—starting not with rules or tips, but with real Filipino experiences that reflect how people think and feel about money. This builds on Metrobank’s long-standing advocacy of helping Filipinos grow and take control of their finances by translating concepts into everyday behaviors: planning ahead, spending with intention, protecting what they have, and staying open to opportuni...