How to read this list
Every practice below shares the same engine (attention goes somewhere, wanders, gets returned) but points it at different targets. Think of them as lifts that work different muscles, not competing religions. Most experienced meditators settle on one main practice and borrow the others as needed.
1. Breath-focused concentration
Attention rests on the breath at the nostrils or belly; everything else is background. The universal starter practice, because the breath is always available and boring enough to reveal how busy your mind is. This is the five-minute method in our beginner guide.
2. Mindfulness (open monitoring)
Instead of one anchor, you observe whatever arises (sounds, sensations, thoughts) without chasing any of it. Trains the noticing itself. Usually easier after some concentration practice; open monitoring with no stability tends to become ordinary daydreaming with better branding. The mindfulness vs. meditation distinction lives here.
3. Loving-kindness (metta)
You rehearse goodwill in widening circles: yourself, a friend, a stranger, someone difficult. Feels contrived for about two weeks, which practitioners are told to expect. The research on it is young but consistent on one point: it reliably shifts mood more than beginners predict.
4. Body scan
Attention moves slowly through the body, part by part. The core practice of MBSR's first weeks and the gentlest entry for anxious minds, since the body gives attention somewhere concrete to stand. Also the one most likely to end in sleep, which is either a bug or the point, depending on the hour.
5. Mantra repetition
A word or phrase repeats, aloud or silently, and becomes the anchor. The mechanism is the same as breath focus with a customized handle. Transcendental Meditation built an organization (and a price tag) around it, but the technique itself is ancient, free, and found in most traditions.
6. Zazen
Zen's seated practice: in its Soto form, shikantaza, "just sitting," awake and upright with no object at all. Deceptively advanced; there's nothing to do, and nothing to hide behind. Context in our What is Zen guide, and a year of the tradition in 365 Days of Zen.
7. Walking meditation
Slow, deliberate walking with attention on the feet and the moving body; Zen calls it kinhin and slots it between rounds of sitting. The answer for everyone who says they can't sit still, and a practice in its own right, not a consolation prize.
Picking your first
Restless body: walking or body scan. Racing mind: breath focus. Harsh inner critic: loving-kindness. Want the least possible doctrine: breath or body scan. Want a tradition with depth behind it: zazen. Then give the choice six weeks of short daily sits before judging, per our habits guide, and let 365 Days of Meditation or the free daily email pace the learning one page at a time.
Common questions
Which type of meditation is best for beginners?
Breath-focused concentration or the body scan. Both give attention a concrete anchor, need no doctrine, and work in five-minute sessions.
Which meditation is best for anxiety?
Body scan and breath practices are the usual clinical starting points; loving-kindness helps when the anxiety is self-critical in flavor. Gentle and short beats intense and long.
Can I mix different types?
Yes, and most practitioners do: a main daily practice plus others as tools (loving-kindness after hard interactions, walking meditation on restless days). Keep one anchor practice so progress has somewhere to accumulate.
How long should I meditate as a beginner?
Five minutes daily for the first weeks. Consistency builds the habit; duration can grow once sitting is something you do rather than something you attempt.