If the thought of Valentine’s Day makes you feel stressed, down, or anxious about your current relationship status, we’ve got the solution.
We teamed up with Meditation Studio to bring you 14 days of short, audio-guided meditations to help you cultivate more compassion in your life—and your relationships. Whether you’re with someone or just looking to be kinder to yourself (self-love #FTW!), these sessions will help you focus on empathy, acceptance, forgiveness, and possibility. The best part? They’re all less than 12 minutes (most are just five!), because you shouldn’t have to rearrange your entire life to practice a little mindfulness.
How to use this list: Do one meditation per day in the order numbered below.
Day 1: Being Open to Possibility
We all want what feels familiar, especially when it comes to relationships. But sometimes, opening yourself up to the unexpected can have even better results.
Day 2: Changing Your Lens
For this practice, think of someone you admire and imagine how they would navigate a tricky situation—then apply the same method to your own life.
Day 3: Communicating Your Truth
If you’ve ever thought, “Why doesn’t anyone understand me!?”—this meditation is for you. Learn how to focus your message so you’ll be heard.
Day 4: Finding Calm in Conflict
When you’re in the middle of an argument, it can be tough to take a step back. But being able to breathe deeply or ask what might be troubling your partner is key.
Day 5: Forgiving and Letting Go
We’re not saying you’ll find complete peace in just five minutes, but this might help you move forward—just a little—in a constructive way.
Day 6: Listening to Understand
Rather than half listening while you formulate a response, the goal today is to be totally present in conversation—and not let your mind wander.
Day 7: Reflecting on Acceptance
Reality check: You can’t make someone change. Instead of focusing on how someone else might make you happy, ask if there’s a way you can meet your own needs.
Day 8: Learning to Forgive
Really forgiving someone means confronting the anger or frustration you might be holding onto.
Day 9: Learning to Empathize
In this meditation, you’ll imagine the things you have in common with others in order to cultivate more compassion.
Day 10: Ending Anger
Whether the harm done to you was intentional or not, it can be tough to let go of hurt feelings. This session will help you do just that.
Day 11: Knowing Self-Love
What do you love about yourself? Or what do other people love about you? Focus on what makes you great, even if that’s tough to identify.
Day 12: Opening the Heart
“Happy, healthy, and at ease.” That’s the mantra for this meditation, which will help you feel more compassionate toward yourself and those around you.
Day 13: Cultivating Positive Energy
If you’ve ever felt like you’re your own biggest critic, listen to this. It’ll help you challenge (and squash) that inner voice of self-doubt.
Day 14: Being Fearless
You’re nearly finished! That means it’s time to recognize your inner power and the freedom that comes from breaking down mental blocks.
Want more zen? The Meditation Studio app has more than 200 meditations just like these, all of which are available for a one-time fee of $3.99. Download it at itunes.com or play.google.com.
