Meditation can be challenging, whether you are a total beginner or an experienced meditator. Dr. Matthew Tift draws on his experience teaching meditation and yoga to guide you towards peacefulness and clarity. Born from Midwestern sensibility, this meditation podcast does not take itself too seriously. Slow down, settle in, and experience the wholesome effects of guided meditation that is pretty good.
Audio file
In this meditation, we explore the vital space between stimulus and response, encouraging mindfulness over autopilot. By reflecting on daily stimuli and our reactions to them, we cultivate calm and learn the importance of pausing to create awareness and intention. The practice emphasizes breathing, noticing sensations, and envisioning the potential within moments of stillness. Ultimately, it invites us to carry this awareness into our daily routines, enhancing our ability to respond thoughtfully to life's challenges.
Audio file
At the start of a meeting, or whenever it feels right, I find it helpful to pause and take a moment to fully arrive. A few deep breaths can work wonders to reset the nervous system, helping us center ourselves and be present. This recording captures one of those moments at the start of a recent meeting, offering an invitation to pause, breathe, and reset.
77. Cultivate Calm
Audio file
This rejuvenating meditation is designed to foster inner peace and tranquility. It incorporates relaxation techniques, mindfulness practices, and loving-kindness meditation to help you ground yourself, alleviate stress, and cultivate a sense of calm. Take this time to prioritize mental and emotional well-being while enhancing resilience.
Audio file
Yoga Nidra, also known as yogic sleep, is a guided meditation that induces a state of deep relaxation. It can be a wonderful practice for stress relief. In this practice, you will imagine a peaceful place where you feel completely safe and relaxed.
75. Pure Awareness
Audio file
Connect to the present moment. Explore the depths of your consciousness. Discover the peace and clarity that arises from simply being in pure awareness.
74. Just One Breath
Audio file
In any moment, you have an opportunity to pause, reflect, and pay attention from the beginning to the end of one inhalation. Or one exhalation. You don't need to commit to any more. Yoga teaches us that there is nothing you need to grasp.
This episode explores the benefits of one-breath meditation and offers suggestions for how to practice (hint: it's very easy!) and how to remember to pause.
Audio file
Our society conditions us to be "human doings" rather than "human beings." But what might it be like to let go of our TODO lists, our goals, and our compulsion to always be "doing"? In this meditation we pause to feel the body and attune to our feelings in this moment.
To leave a comment about this episode, visit matthewtift.com/prettygood/73. The theme music is "Maxixe" performed by Edson Lopes under CC BY 3.0.
Audio file
Whether you call it loving-kindness meditation, metta meditation, well-wishing meditation, or something else, this kind of meditation has been shown to increase positive emotions, decrease negative emotions, increase empathy, and a whole lot more. In this practice we will cultivate feelings of kindness, goodwill, and warmth towards others.
To leave a comment about this episode, visit matthewtift.com/prettygood/72. The theme music is "Maxixe" performed by Edson Lopes under CC BY 3.0.
71. Youer than You
Audio file
Many of us get so wrapped up in ideas of trying to "become"" or to "get rid of" that we fail to notice the moments in our life. This meditation uses a quote by the wise sage, Dr. Seuss, to help us wake up to the present moment: "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you!"
To leave a comment about this episode, visit matthewtift.com/prettygood/71. The theme music is "Maxixe" performed by Edson Lopes under CC BY 3.0.
70. Rays of Light
Audio file
This guided meditation uses imagery to relax the body. Your mind is represented as blue sky illuminated by rays of light. This practice is intended to bring about feelings of nourishment, protection, and relaxation.
To leave a comment about this episode, visit matthewtift.com/prettygood/70. The theme music is "Maxixe" performed by Edson Lopes under CC BY 3.0.