Stress and Relaxation
Here are some resources that you might find of interest. Use your own judgment if you choose to pursue any of these resources—what is helpful to one person may not be a fit for you or your relationship.
Guided Meditation
- Belleruth Naparstek sells guided meditations for depression, sleep, stress, pain, post-traumatic stress, military personnel, and many other situations. You can find her recordings and other similar recordings here.
- Hypnosis CDs by Marc Schoen that you can purchase to help you lower your stress and potentially improve your overall health. This is something to use at home, not when you are driving or need concentration!
- Self-Compassion Practices by Kristen Neff: Free guided listening to practice being kind to yourself.
- More self-compassion by Christopher Germer: These are also free and support you talking kindly to yourself – which helps us deal kindly with others.
Mindfulness Practice
- Mindfulness for Beginners: A CD by Jon Kabat-Zinn that teaches the basics of mindfulness meditation. The link will take you to the audiobook at the Hennepin County Library if you’d like to order it for free.
- Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn on YouTube. Listen to Jon Kabat-Zinn and learn more about mindfulness and meditation.
- The Mindful Way Through Depression: This book by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn teaches mindfulness (a form of meditation) as a way to combat depression.
- Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief: Guided Practices for Reclaiming Your Body and Your Life (2010): A CD/audio download by Jon Kabat-Zinn that teaches mindfulness as a way to manage pain.
Local (Minnesota) Mindfulness Classes
- Compassionate Ocean Dharma Center
- University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing
- Seeds of Mindfulness (Judith Lies)
Odds & Ends
- The Greater Good in Action site come from the University of California at Berkeley. They provide scientifically proven strategies for making life more meaningful and happy.
- Stress: Portrait of a Killer: A DVD by National Geographic featuring the work of Robert Sapolsky on the biology of stress and the specific ways it affects our health.
- Pregnancy and Postpartum Support MN: A resource for Minnesota moms who are having trouble with sadness, sleeping, feeling overwhelmed, having anxiety, or having troubling thoughts.
- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: A book by Robert Sapolsky (2004): A book on stress that will make you rethink how you are living and what stress is doing to your body and brain. The link will take you to the book at the Hennepin County Library if you’d like to order it for free.
- Maintaining Long Distance Relationships: A website recommended by a reader for those whose partners travel.