Relaxation
Use this breathing exercise to relax and uncover a sense of stillness beneath whatever thoughts, feelings, or external distractions you might be facing.
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About your teachers
- More about Andy
A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
- More about Eve
Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.
- More about Dora
As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.
- More about Kessonga
Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
- More about Rosie
Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
Look after your mind
Proven guided meditations and programs to help you stress less, sleep more soundly, and better navigate life’s challenges
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Studies show that using Headspace for 30 days can reduce stress, increase resilience, and improve overall well-being
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Access our library of meditations, breathing exercises, and guidance videos for stress, sleep, focus, everyday anxiety , parenting, and more.
Member reviews
Hear from some of our members
Your app brings so much peace and tolerance to our home.
Rachel
UK
Changing my thoughts has allowed me to change my life.
Davide
London
The stress and loneliness courses … taught me how to comfort myself.
Alicia
Canada
Headspace provides me with … a connection to myself, and a disconnection from negative thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Keri
UK
Frequently asked questions
Relaxation doesn’t always come easily or naturally for most of us, due to the busyness of life and the busyness of the mind. Even when we’re on vacation, it can take a few days to unwind. Getting better at relaxation takes practice, and that’s why a relaxation meditation is a good place to start because it cultivates stillness and calmness, even if it’s only for 10 minutes a day. That calm is cultivated by sitting somewhere comfortable, closing your eyes, and focusing on the breath — that’s all there is to it. No matter how many or how often thoughts or feelings arise, you simply acknowledge them and return your attention to the breath. Rinse and repeat. With practice, meditation becomes the gateway to relaxation, for mind, body, and soul.
A relaxation meditation induces what is called “the relaxation response”. By using the breath to anchor awareness in the moment, meditation is a tool that’s been shown to help manage and ease stress because it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and, as a result, stops the release of stress hormones like cortisol. Your heart rate decreases and your blood pressure lowers, and you start to feel calmer. A 2018 study found that people who used the Headspace app for 10 days saw a 12% decrease in stress; after 30 days, they reported a 32% decrease.
When you truly relax and sleep, the mind drifts into a place of non-awareness. For a lot of people catching their Zzz’s, they disappear into a dream state. With meditation, there is an intention to stay alert, awake, and focused (on whatever object of focus is being used) as you bring your full presence to the present moment. This way, the mind stays anchored to a place of awareness. A relaxation meditation seeks to find that sweet spot between relaxation and focus — relaxed enough to ease down but focused enough not to fall asleep.
One of the simplest ways to relax is to take some deep diaphragmatic breaths, also called belly breathing. By shifting your breathing rate, you stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, and trigger a calming response. The other way is to rely on a relaxation meditation (which has the same calming effect on the nervous system) because you are focused on the breath to keep you anchored to the present moment, letting go of all distractions. Simply sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths to start with, and then return to your natural rhythm of breathing. Place your attention on each breath — the rise and fall of the chest — and use that rhythm as the object of focus to return to each time a distracting thought arises.
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