Mindfulness is a great tool to increase self awareness and support growth, healing and well-being. In a previous post I discussed that it can very beneficial to healing from trauma but that you have to start slowly. But for anyone who wants to begin a mindfulness program--how do you start at all? In the previous post I talked about finding a program or a course--but what if you just wanted more information or wanted to understand it more-- or learn about the research or download some practices? Below is a list of the top 5 websites for exploring and practicing mindfulness.

http://www.mindful.org

With sections on how to be mindful at work, at home, and in your life. It has wonderful how-to’s on mindfulness practice and articles from the thought leaders in the field.

http://www.freemindfulness.org

Freemindfulness is a website which gathers resources from a community of mindfulness practitioners. There is a ‘free resources’ section with mindfulness practices to download.

https://goamra.org

For those interested in the research and science behind Mindfulness, The American Mindfulness Research Association was founded in 2013 and is a website that brings together the latest research in Mindfulness. The have a monthly research letter that you can subscribe to.

http://www.pocketmindfulness.com

Pocketmindfulness is a perfect starting place for people who want to try mindfulness but don’t know where to start. Alfred James has created a website which is easily accessible and makes starting easy and fun.

http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has a web page of free mindfulness mediations to download and try. A great place to start or try new things.

Let me know how these resources work for you and feel free to share resources you have found helpful.