Healing Practices, Meditation

Very Short Meditations For Low Capacity and/or For Beginners

October 18, 2025 / 0 Comments

When I first began a meditation practice I had an extremely low capacity and was at a pretty severe level of illness.

I had to start somewhere and at the time that somewhere was one minute of meditation. This eventually changed to two, three, four, five and so forth.

With such low capacity, finding enough meditations that fit in to these categories that were tolerable was extremely difficult.

During this period of time, I ended up doing a mishmash of silent meditation and just a handful of tolerable meditations I had painstakingly found through trial and error.

Having been through that experience, I wanted to create a quick resource for those who may be in the same situation.

These lists can also be used by those who would like short meditations that can be done during a flare up.

Below is the list of meditations I wish had been available to me during that time.

The Lists of Very Short Meditations

All meditations listed have been practiced by me and have been vetted for having either no music at all or low background music, tolerable or soothing voices, concepts I found helpful during such levels of illness and low capacity including: self compassion, grounding, hope, acceptance and more.

Suggestion: if low capacity, find a few from the lists that you like and stick with those for a while. Our bodies often find safety and relaxation in repetition and consistency.

If you’d like to have the condensed list of all meditations below ordered by time (75 meditations total) click through to the following playlist: Very Short Meditations on Insight Timer by Claudia C.

Note: One asterisk * = low background music. A double asterisk ** = has soft bell(s)

One Minute Meditations

One Minute Meditation by Robin Rice – for fight and flight nervous system calming.
One Minute Meditation by Dominey Drew – a meditation for trust.
One Minute Meditation by John Starmer – to calm and recenter.
Safety & Self Trust Affirmations by Heidi Shah – affirmations.
Brief Meditation by Tara Brach – to arrive & be present.
1 Minute Meditation by Robin Rice – you are enough.
One Minute Meditation by Jillian Simpson – for self love.
Mindful To-Go by Adam Dacey – present moment awareness.
1 Minute Meditation by Robin Rice – letting go.
*One Minute Meditation by Faye Barry – grounding & awareness + 3 simple affirmations.
*One Minute Mental Floss by Richard Scott – relaxation.
No Mud. No Lotus by Gretchen Schutte – to regroup and move forward.
1 Minute Mindfulness by Dominey Drew – reconnecting with mindfulness.
One Good Minute by Lisa Hubler – grounding.
1 Minute Meditation by Robin Rice – calling forth inner strength & self.
One Minute Meditation by Bodhipaksa – focus on breath.
**You Will Get Through This by Barbara Gibson – resilience and hope.
*One Minute of Self Compassion by Wellness on The Farm – self compassion.
**One Minute Magic by Estelle Godsman – letting thoughts go.

Two Minute Meditations

Restore Balance & Presence by Alison David – presence & grounding.
2 Minute Meditation by Bodhipaksa – breath mindfulness.
Two Minute Meditation by Courtney Witt– grounding & reconnecting.
2 Minute Grounding by Wade Brill – grounding & nervous system settling.
**2 Minute Meditation by Elizabeth Pyjov – Self compassion.
Resting In Deep Safety by Loch Kelly – sense of safety & calm.
*Two Minute Gratitude by Chelsea Pottenger – gratitude, morning intention setting.
*Two Minute Pause by Luke Jones – sense of safety, pause.
*Accept Your Feelings by Karena Neukirchner – self compassion, acceptance, affirmations.
2 Minutes Surrender Meditation by Jac Godsman – acceptance, surrender, relaxation.
Surrender by Victory Jones – less resistance, pause, tension release, acceptance.
*2 Minute Meditation by Kris Lingham – pause, rest, reset. give self gentleness.
2 minute Meditation by Scott Langston – Just be. Present moment.
*Relax in 2 minutes by Leslie Erhardt – surrender & relax.
*Memory Break by Andrew Johnson – joy, happiness.
2 Minute Meditation by Integrated Tantra – reconnect.
You Are Supported by Barbara Gibson – grounding during challenging times.
2 Minute Gratitude by Julie Mallari – gratitude practice.
2 Minute Loving Kindness by Michelle Cashman – metta/loving kindness.
Sos 2 Minute Pause by Mary Lovegrove – mindful pause to calm & steady.
2 Minute Meditation by Jamila Knopp – relaxed breathing focus to calm.
**SOS: ABC by Peter Dawson – for times of high stress.
Restore Balance & Presence by Alison David – somatic balance & presence.

Three Minute Meditations

3 Min Practice for Inner Peace by Israa Jm – inner peace
*3 Minute Pause by David Gandelman – mindful pause for calm & steady.
*3 Minutes To Ground Yourself by Robert Cox – grounding by breath & allowing.
*3 Minute Meditation to Reduce Stress by Joe Stuczynski – stress reduction
Brief Loving Kindness for Self & Others by Happiness Insight – metta (loving kindness)
3 Minute Body Scan by James Mitchell – a short body scan
SOS for Anxiety & Fear by Marisa La Fata – somatic self holding short practice
3 Minute Micro Meditation by Briony Gunson – gentle somatic calming & body needs inquiry
*I Am Safe Affirmation by Aloha Jacqueline – Safety affirmations with piano background
I Call My Energy Back by London Porter – inner safety & healing restoration
*Become Calm in 3 Minutes by Ian Tucker – calming meditation for times of high stress, fear or difficulty
Allow Yourself The Time To Pause by Dr. Lauren Tober – a short gentle pause for acceptance & allowance
**This Too Shall Pass by Perspective Health & Wellbeing – an emergency moment of calm
Turn Stress to Compassion by Dr. Candice Mowrey – compassionate release of stress

Four Minute Meditations

Mindful Body Scan by Donna Harrington – a short body scan
Sacred Pause by Kailey Murphy – a soothing present moment pause
*Right Now, It Is Like This by Barbara Gibson – allowing and acceptance
Safety Bubble Imagery by Dan Roberts – for safety and protection
Health & Harmony Meditation by Denise Christie – for relaxation & balance
I Deserve Peace by Amrit-Sadhana Boyd – somatic meditation for anxiety & safety
Let Go Of Worry by Lynn Fraser – somatic meditation for rumination, worry, fear

Five Minute Meditations

Mini Meditation by Brittany Masson – intention setting
*5 min calm by Yogi Bryan – anxiety relief, calming
*5 Minute Meditation by Skylar Liberty Rose – starting over, resilience
*Everything Is Going To Be Okay by Nathan O’Neill – safety, reassurance
Smile Meditation by Amy Bieganek – for calming, peace
*5 Min Body Scan by Jenny Mayo – for relaxation & sleep
Resting by Lynn Fraser – for relaxation & sleep
*Being With Painful Feelings by Barbara Gibson – reassurance, resilience
ABC’s of Self Compassion by Emma Donovan – self compassion, difficult emotions
Please Keep Going by Naomi Padi – resilience, reassurance
5 Min NSDR Tranquil Forest by Nikolina Kerner – a non sleep deep rest in the forest
5 min Nervous System Rest Relaxing Forest by Nikolina Kerner – nervous system relaxation
You Are Safe by Colin Stuart – safety, relaxation, stress relief
Simple Body Scan by Rachel Korb – gentle body scan.

I hope these meditations will help you on your journey and will provide hope, comfort and ease.

Remember, every meditation counts and there is no such thing as perfect meditation.

I believe in you friend, you have got this!