Audiorecordings for Making Friends with Yourself

In the Moment Practices (also called “Informal Practices”)

This group of practices are super helpful because you can do them in the moment when you’re feeling upset or stressed. They can be made really short – even shorter than they are here. Here the audios are lengthened a bit so you can see all the different parts to the practices.
 

3 Soothing Breaths

This mindfulness practice uses your breath as an anchor to bring you back to the present moment. It’s the informal variation of the formal practice Affectionate Breathing, and you can do it at any moment when you’re starting to feel stressed – or anytime at all!

A Moment for Me

Use this in a moment when you’re having a hard time. With practice, you can go through the three steps quickly. It’s a quick and easy way to bring a little kindness to yourself in the moment when you need it.

Here and Now Stone

This mindfulness practice uses a small polished stone to bring your attention to the present moment. It’s a great practice to do if you’re starting to feel anxious, hurt, or upset. It works great in bringing you out of your spinning thoughts and emotions and back into what’s really happening in the moment.

Soles of the Feet

Another great mindfulness practice that will help ground you when your emotions start spinning out of control.

Soothing Touch

A great practice to do when you need a little comfort right now. We comfort our friends all the time by giving them a hug or a pat on the back, but don’t think of doing the same for ourselves. But you can! Why not?

Palm of the Hand

This is yet another mindfulness practice that works really well in taking you out of your worrying thoughts and into the present moment.

Soften-Soothe-Allow

A great practice to do when you’re really hurting or really struggling in some way. It’s also called “Working with Difficult Emotions” and involves labeling your emotion, finding where it is in your body, and then working with to soften it and allow it to relax rather than resisting it.

Formal Practices

These group of practices are called “formal” practices because you put aside time each day – maybe 5 to 15 minutes – to do them. Formal practices help you remember to do the informal practices when situations arise in your daily life that are stressful.

Affectionate Breathing

This practice uses your breath to anchor your attention so that you’re not “in your head” but connected with something that is really going on right now … which is the simple physical sensation of your breath.

Compassionate Body Scan

Like Soles of the Feet or Palm of the Hand, this practice brings your attention to the physical sensations in your body with warmth and curiosity. It’s no big deal – you’re just noticing what you’re feeling in your body with an attitude of tenderness. Most people find it super relaxing. It’s a great practice to do if you’re having trouble falling asleep!

Compassionate Friend

A favorite of many teens, this guided practice takes you on an imaginary voyage … you’ll need a little imagination to do this one! The ending may be a bit of a surprise ….

Music Meditation

Another favorite of teens! You’re simply making a point to pay attention to each tone of the music. And if you don’t like this music, no problem. Choose a piece of music that you like! Make sure it’s instrumental – no words – and is relaxing.

A Person Just Like Me

A great practice to do for anyone in your life – a parent, someone you don’t know well, someone who is kind of annoying to you, or even the super popular kid at school.

Lovingkindness practices

Lovingkindness practices allow you to set your intention to wish yourself and others well. Research has shown that when we do these practices regularly, we feel better – we’re overall happier. Feel free to pick and choose whichever of these practices most appeals to you.
 

Lovingkindness for Someone You Care About

This is probably the best lovingkindness practice to start with. We begin by wishing someone well – someone we care about – and then bringing ourselves in.

Lovingkindness for Ourselves

This is a great practice to do at some point after you’ve done Lovingkindness for Someone You Care About for a while.

Lovingkindness for My Small Self

This is another lovingkindness practice which some people really like. It involves imagining yourself as a young child.