Print PageExercises
Click the name of an exercise to learn more or listen in....
Relaxation Exercises
- Relaxation Breathing (a good place to start!)
- Active Progressive Muscle Relaxation 1
- Active Progressive Muscle Relaxation 2
- Active Progressive Muscle Relaxation With Music
- Passive Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Insomnia Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Nature Visualisation
- Safe Place Visualisation
- Autogenics
- Autogenics With Music
- Clear the Deck Exercise With Music
Mindfulness Exercises
- Mindfulness Introduction
- Mindful Soundscape
- Body Scan
- Body Scan 2
- Mindful Body Scan (recorded live)
- Sitting Mindfulness
- Sitting Mindfulness 2
- Sitting Mindfulness 3
- Moving Mindfulness
- Mindful Movement 2
- Mountain Meditation
Audio Tracks for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Patients of Beaumont Hospital
Relaxation Breathing
Learning how to breathe slowly and fully is a great place to start your relaxation training. Take it nice and slow while you are learning—nobody gets it the first time. Practice 3-4 breaths a few times a day for best results.
Relaxation breathing (5 min)
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Active Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This exercise asks you to go through your body slowly tensing your muscles, and then relaxing them. It has good research evidence for teaching people how to control the effects of stress on the body and how to notice the difference between a tense and a relaxed muscle. We have two options without music, and one with music. Practice once a day for best results. If you experience pain, switch to the Passive Progressive Muscle Relaxation.
Active progressive muscle relaxation 1 (15 min)
Active progressive muscle relaxation 2 (18 min)
Active progressive muscle relaxation with music (28 min)
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Passive Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This exercise takes you slowly through your body and encourages you to relax each muscle group at a time. It is good for learning how to notice tension in your muscles and release it. If your body is painful in places, this is a good exercise to try.
Passive progressive muscle relaxation (18 min)
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Insomnia Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This is a muscle relaxation exercise with a focus on helping you to relax into sleep. It helps you to notice where your muscles are tense and to relax them, as you think about gently falling asleep.
Insomnia progressive muscle relaxation (28 min)
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Visualisation
When our minds are very active, and we have a lot to worry about, sometimes it can help to take a break and think about a peaceful scene. Imagining or visualising a place that gives us a sense of peace and safety can change the way we are feeling and help us to relax. Having a safe place to think about can help us settle our minds.
Visualisation of nature (11 min)
Visualisation of a safe place (10 min)
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Autogenics
Autogenics is a technique to help us relax by repeating the words ‘heavy’ and ‘warm’ to ourselves again and again. It is based on research that shows it is difficult to feel anxious or tense when we are also feeling heavy and warm. Autogenic training is similar to hypnosis in that you enter a very relaxed state.
Autogenics (28 min)
Autogenics with music (16 min)
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Clear the Deck
Sometimes to focus our heads we need help clearing worrying or distracting thoughts away. This exercise helps us to pack away our distressing thoughts to focus on the task at hand: relaxing. If you are having trouble because of worry, try this exercise to help.
Clear the deck exercise with music (6 min)
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Introduction to Mindfulness
This is a short explanation of what mindfulness is—the art and practice of being in the moment and not judging. This introduction is a recording from the Beaumont Hospital Morning Mindfulness programme. Listen in if you have never done mindfulness or meditation before.
Introduction to mindfulness (3 min)
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Soundscape
Mindfulness practice includes being aware of the sounds around you. This is a twenty minute exercise in paying attention to what you are hearing without worry or judgement. This recording is part of the Beaumont Hospital Morning Mindfulness programme.
Soundscape (20 Min)
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Mindful Body Scan
It can be very helpful to sometimes just listen to what is happening in our body, without judgment or worry. This twenty minute exercise helps us to pay attention to our whole body with a sense of acceptance. This recording is part of the Beaumont Hospital Morning Mindfulness programme.
Mindful body scan (20 min)
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Body Scan 2
This longer body scan allows you to explore whatever is happening in your body in a mindful way; on purpose, in the moment, and without judgment. Follow the guidance throughout your entire body and notice what is already present for you.
Body Scan 2 (46 minutes)
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Live Mindful Body Scan
This exercise was recorded live with a group of people practicing Mindfulness. It encourages us to listen to what our whole body is feeling in the moment, without judgement.
Live Mindful Body Scan (41 Min)
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Sitting Mindfulness
This exercise is a twenty minute sitting mindfulness meditation, which begins and ends with bells. There is some talking, but you should also expect long pauses. Mindfulness helps us to stay in the here and now and learn how to accept things as they are in the moment. This recording is part of the Beaumont Hospital Morning Mindfulness programme.
Sitting Mindfulness (20 Min)
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Sitting Mindfulness 2
Sitting Mindfulness 2 and 3 are longer sitting mindfulness meditations, which begin and end with bells. There is some talking, but you should expect long pauses to encourage awareness of your own experience. Mindfulness practice is about focusing on what is happening for us in the here and now.
Sitting Mindfulness 2 (28 minutes)
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Sitting Mindfulness 3
Sitting Mindfulness 2 and 3 are longer sitting mindfulness meditations, which begin and end with bells. There is some talking, but you should expect long pauses to encourage awareness of your own experience. Mindfulness practice is about focusing on what is happening for us in the here and now.
Sitting Mindfulness 3 (38 minutes)
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Moving Mindfulness
Meditation can happen when our bodies are in motion, not just sitting or lying down. This exercise describes a practice of mindful walking and goes on to lead a gentle stretching yoga meditation. Remember to pay attention to what your body is telling you and be gentle with yourself.
Moving mindfulness (18 min)
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Mindful Movement 2
This exercise describes a number of stretches and movements to complete in a mindful way. Please remember to care for yourself during the exercises. If there is a particular stretch that seems difficult, remember that it is also possible to return to a lying down or sitting position, and imagine doing the stretch with your mind's eye.
Mindful Movement 2 (48 minutes)
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Mountain Meditation
This is a mindfulness exercise in which you are asked to imagine a mountain in your mind. Through guidance, you will explore the differences of the mountain throughout a day and over different seasons.
Mountain Meditation (17 minutes)
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