Mindfulness has long been taught in community, health and educational centers, monasteries, yoga studios, at an instructor’s personal home or on retreat. These days, there’s increasing access to free, online mindfulness education and resources. Podcasts on mindfulness make mindfulness accessible. Anyone can listen in the car, at home, or while walking through nature.
Typically free, mindfulness podcasts speak to niche audiences such as mindfulness teachers, beginners and kids. Podcasts on mindfulness offer brief, pithy reminders or tips on how to meditate, as well as deep dives into tough subjects such as grief, anxiety and trauma. The best podcasts on mindfulness teach us how to create a life of greater joy and happiness.
So, where should you begin? We’ve compiled a list of the best mindfulness podcasts for 2023. Browse based on topic, category or audience and find the perfect meditation podcast to begin or enhance your personal practice, or to share with a loved one.
Most Popular Meditation Podcasts
The most popular meditation podcasts make it easier to practice consistently. They offer a variety of meditations in brief and longer formats to help us live with greater peace, calm, clarity and ease.
Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - The Rubin Museum of Art
New York’s Rubin Museum of Art specializes in the art of the Himalayan regions, particularly Tibet. Once weekly, the museum invites some of the world’s most renowned mindfulness and meditation teachers to guide practice, often inspired by a piece in the museum’s collection. Past live meditations have been collected into a mindfulness meditation podcast, with new episodes 3-4 times monthly.
The Daily Meditation Podcast
The Daily Meditation Podcast offers a new mindfulness meditation nearly every day of the week. This popular meditation podcast is hosted by Mary Meckley, a certified meditation and yoga teacher. Weekly themes offer meditation practices for modern life and address the most prevalent stressors of our time, including financial woes, self-doubt and fear, sleeplessness and personal health.
Free Meditation Podcasts
The best podcasts for meditation are free and can be found on popular platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and others. Many of the most beloved dharma teachers offer their podcasts for free or by donation.
Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield
Heart Wisdom is mindfulness teacher Jack Kornfield’s podcast. New episodes are released multiple times per month and include meditations and dharma talks on how we may apply mindfulness and Buddhist teachings to our daily lives for greater presence, peace and ease. Recent episodes have included the Path of Parenting, Compassion in a Time of War, and Navigating Change.
Tara Brach Podcast
Mindfulness and meditation teacher Tara Brach is known for her blend of psychology, mindfulness and Buddhist teachings. The Tara Brach Podcast offers a mix of meditations, teachings and interviews with fellow teachers, educators and researchers. A variety of short and long-format episodes are released nearly every week.
Podcasts on Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation podcasts generally combine guided meditation with talks on the benefits of mindfulness and how to deepen your practice or teaching. Our top picks offer this balance of theory and practice.
Mindfulness Exercises
Our own Mindfulness Exercises podcast is centered on mindfulness meditation and its benefits. Weekly episodes include mindfulness meditations led by founder Sean Fargo, as well as excerpts from his teachings to those enrolled in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program. Sean and his world-renowned guest teachers speak to topics that inspire personal practice and help develop skillful means for sharing mindfulness with others.
Mindful Meditations
The latest research shows that just 12 minutes of daily meditation can lead to benefits such as greater calm, creativity, compassion and resiliency. Mindful’s near-weekly podcast offers just that, brief guided meditations. Each is introduced with a quick nod to the weekly theme, which can be explored in greater depth by visiting the online magazine. Guides include well-known names such as Sharon Salzberg, Kristin Neff, and Dr. Jud Brewer among others.
Meditation Podcasts for Anxiety
The best mindfulness podcasts for anxiety offer mindfulness and meditation techniques, alongside other best practices, to help calm the anxious mind. Learning to manage anxiety requires awareness and mindful curiosity.
Anxiety Slayer
The Anxiety Slayer podcast offers supportive tools and tips to help you address stress, anxiety, PTSD and panic attacks. Hosts Shann Vander Leek and Ananga Sivyer explore the topics themselves, or speak with leading experts. 30-minute weekly episodes, and the accompanying courses, include guided relaxations and breathing techniques for greater calm.
Anxiety Coaches Podcast
Gina Ryan hosts the Anxiety Coaches Podcast. Short and sweet 20-minute episodes are released twice weekly. Topics both inspire and relax for a regulated nervous system and more freedom from anxiety, PTSD and panic attacks. Gina draws on mindfulness themes as tools for helping listeners navigate their unease.
Meditation Podcasts for Sleep
Sleep apps may offer only music, white noise or bedtime stories. Meditation podcasts for sleep, however, emphasize meditation for greater relaxation, reduced rumination, and quicker sleep onset.
Listen to Sleep - Quiet Bedtime Stories and Meditations
In this popular sleep meditation podcast, voice actor Erik Ireland tells bedtime stories and guides mindfulness meditations. His soothing voice, recorded in a cozy mountain cabin, relaxes and calms to help you fall asleep faster, and sleep more soundly. New episodes are released every few days to help you maintain a consistent, sleep meditation practice.
Get Sleepy
The Get Sleepy podcast emphasizes bedtime stories read in a slow, soothing voice to encourage sleep. Episodes indicate who your narrator will be, what the theme is and which sounds will accompany the story. Fall into deep relaxation with water sounds, nature sounds, the white noise of the city, or a crackling fire.
Science of Mindfulness Podcasts
Our top picks for podcasts on the science of mindfulness include two well-known podcasts that explore the human brain and the influence of mindfulness and meditation on our neurobiology.
Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson
Dr. Rick Hanson, a past guest on the Mindfulness Exercises podcast, is an author and psychologist best known for his teachings on the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation. In the Being Well podcast, Rick partners with his son, Forrest Hanson to interview world-class thinkers on how to build inner strength, increase overall happiness and generally get the most out of life.
All In The Mind with Sana Qadar
All in the Mind is a weekly BBC-produced podcast that explores all things related to the mind, brain and behavior, including mindfulness and meditation. Get to know your mind better with topics that range from addiction to mental illness, bias and artificial intelligence. New episodes are released every Sunday on ABC.
Meditation Podcasts for Beginners
If you’re new to mindfulness and meditation and want some solid guidance on how to get started with personal practice, these best meditation podcasts for beginners will have you headed in the right direction.
The Mindful Minute
Meryl Arnett is a mother, meditation teacher and the creator of the Mindful Minute podcast. Weekly episodes begin with an inspirational talk, followed by a 20-minute guided meditation. Meryl’s meditations are accessible to beginners, while her talks cover mindfulness topics on how to live with greater awareness, ease and joy.
Mindfulness For Beginners
Shaun Donaghy hosts Mindfulness for Beginners, a popular podcast that introduces the foundations of mindfulness and meditation in weekly 30-minute episodes. Sean teaches on behalf of Plum Village, a charitable community established by Thich Nhat Hanh. Talks and guided meditations aim to create a calmer, happier you and a kinder, more loving world.
Meditation Podcasts for Kids
Mindfulness and meditation are beneficial for kids, too. The best mindfulness podcasts for kids make meditation fun and age-appropriate. Many combine movement with short segments that invite children to learn more about their own minds.
Peace Out
The Peace Out podcast for kids is produced by Chanel Tsang, a Montessori educator and yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher who has worked with children and families for over 20 years. Each 15-minute guided relaxation story offers a mindfulness lesson partnered with movement. These active, bite-sized meditations are perfect for young children.
Like You: Mindfulness for Kids
The Like You podcast empowers kids with mindfulness exercises, affirmations, stories and music to support mental and social-emotional health and well-being. The podcast was created by a father of two girls to help them explore feelings, and build self-esteem, empathy and imagination. Episodes are released monthly and range from 12-20 minutes.
Interview-Based Mindfulness Podcasts
Our favorite interview-based podcasts invite a diverse cohort of mindfulness and meditation teachers to share their practice and experience with the world. Sharon Salzberg and Tami Simon are both long-time experts in their field who attract some of the world’s most interesting guests.
Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg
Internationally renowned mindfulness teacher Sharon Salzberg interviews a variety of wise voices in her Metta Hour podcast. Monthly episodes have included guest teachers such as Yung Pueblo, Zainab Salbi, Cecilia B. Loving and Gabor Maté, who was also a past guest on the Mindfulness Exercises podcast.
Insights at the Edge
Sounds True, the famed publisher of mindfulness, meditation and spiritual teachings, has a podcast, Insights at the Edge, hosted by founder Tami Simon. The weekly podcast interviews leading mindfulness, meditation and spiritual teachers. Past episodes include Acharya Shunya on the Sovereign Self, Sheryl Paul on the Wisdom of Anxiety and Wim Hof on Cold as a Noble Force.
Happiness Podcasts
We turn toward mindfulness practice to minimize our pain and increase our happiness. The best podcasts for happiness offer practical, evidence-based tips and insights on how to live with more joy. A big part of that journey is integrating meditation and mindfulness into our daily lives.
The Science of Happiness
Psychologist Dacher Keltner, UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and PRX have teamed up to produce the Science of Happiness podcast. Weekly episodes explore practical, evidence-based strategies for better living. Recent topics include how to practice gratitude when you’re not feeling thankful, why synchronized movement feels joyful, and why rumination can sometimes be a good thing.
Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris
Dan Harris was a journalist for ABC News when he had a panic attack on live television. The life-changing incident sparked a journey deep into mindfulness, which he has shared with others via his book, meditation app and podcast, Ten Percent Happier. New podcast episodes are released every few days and are geared towards offering relatable wisdom to help you meet life’s challenges with greater resilience and ease.
How We Picked The Best Mindfulness Podcasts
Podcasts are popping up everywhere these days, and for good reason. If personal growth and development are your thing, podcasts make it easy to access wisdom wherever you are. But there’s no shortage of those willing to record their advice, and it’s not always easy to know to who to lend your time.
When choosing the best mindfulness podcasts for 2023, we did our best to ensure our top picks met the following criteria:
Authenticity is of the greatest importance to us. We looked for hosts and guests who walk their talk, and selected podcasts that share authentic, evidence-based mindfulness and meditation practices.
Why Listen to Mindfulness Exercises Podcast?
Whether you’re engaging in mindfulness and meditation solely for personal practice, or as someone who shares mindfulness with others, it’s important to have a teacher. Mindfulness podcasts give us access to the world’s best teachers anytime and anywhere, often for free.
Staying curious and spending our free time exploring our mindfulness practice from new angles and new voices helps expand our knowledge. Our time is precious, and a serious practitioner understands that continued self-study, contemplation and mindful inquiry are the most beneficial ways to use this time.
Exploring the world of meditation podcasts allows us to dive more deeply into current practices, learn new ones, and better understand both ourselves and others for a more meaningful life.
The Mindfulness Exercises podcast in particular, combines the best of the above. 30-minute episodes give voice to the world’s most well-known experts in mindfulness and meditation. Each offers insight, practical tools and tips for all levels, from new practitioners to mindfulness teachers. Brief meditation-only episodes complement the longer-format releases for experiential learning.
Final Words
It’s not always easy to integrate mindfulness into our daily lives, but the best podcasts for mindfulness help us do just that. If we want help practicing more consistently, we can turn to a podcast for meditation. If we want help remembering to be more mindful, we can listen to someone talk about mindfulness while we’re doing the dishes, commuting to work, or walking the dogs. The right podcast for mindfulness will meet us where we’re at, and at the same time, take us somewhere we haven’t been before.
