How do beginners learn meditation?

Beginners learn meditation best when they take a meditation course or meditation training. Online meditation classes are just as effective as those that meet in person.The best online meditation courses typically begin by offering guided meditation alongside instructions on how to meditate. Eventually, participants learn to meditate on their own, becoming their own guide.

What are the major types of meditation?

There are two major types of meditation, mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness meditation courses are popular for beginners, as mindfulness meditation is a very good style to begin with. Once the mind has been stabilized by learning mindfulness, a more advanced meditation style, such as awareness meditation, can be practiced with greater ease and understanding.

How long should a meditation class last?

A meditation class should last long enough to give you a good understanding of how to practice meditation, and why. The why helps build motivation, so meditation can become a daily habit. Longer meditation courses that meet daily can also help cement the habit of daily meditation. Once you become aware of the benefits of daily practice, you’re far more likely to keep meditating and progress in your practice.

How often should you meditate?

You should meditate every day, even if for just 10 minutes. The best meditation courses will encourage daily practice, as the benefits of meditation are enhanced when you meditate every day. While some beginners may feel pressure to sit for long sessions, evidence shows that consistency is more important than duration when it comes to changing the brain with meditation.

Online Meditation Courses for All Levels

GET STARTED ON YOUR PATH

Welcome to Mindworks Journeys

Our Journeys bring together teachings, guided meditation and contemplation in progressive levels that build on one another, helping you deepen your practice and understanding over time.

Journey to Well-Being

Journey to Liberation

Journey to Wisdom

Journey to Compassion

Life Navigation Courses

Journey to Well-Being

A nine-level Journey for starting or deepening mindfulness practice. Grounded in Buddhist meditation, the teachings are clear and accessible without reliance on Buddhist terminology, religion or cultural forms.

Start with Level 1: Fundamentals — free, with no credit card or commitment required.

Explore this Journey

A man silhouetted by the sunset points into the sky

Level 1: Fundamentals

Unlock the many benefits of mindfulness with our free introductory meditation training

Level 2: Practice

Expand your mindfulness practice, and its benefits, by taking your meditation to the next level

The sun sets behind a tree in a prairie.

Level 3: Stabilize

Maintain balance and mindful focus in challenging situations

Image of a flower on hard baked earth - a symbol of resilience, which we can apply to meditation practice.

Level 4: Resilience

Cultivate a resilient mind and bring meditative stability into daily life

The sun sets over a beach as the tide comes in

Level 5: Disrupt

Let go of negative thinking patterns and begin to rewire your mind

Two cliffs overlooking the ocean with a large gap between each

Level 6: The Gap

Find freedom of choice within a spacious mind in each and every moment

A field with sheep, with mountains in the background

Level 7: Kindness

Genuinely relate to yourself and others with kind, mindful awareness

A sunrise over mountains with an almost clear sky

Level 8: Confidence

Equally trust in yourself and the universe to live with genuine confidence

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Level 9: Well-Being

Experience the genuine well-being of living with mindfulness and purpose

Journey to Liberation

A nine-level Journey through essential Buddhist teachings and meditation practice, for both new and well-traveled practitioners. Explore suffering and its causes, ethical conduct, karma and the nature of mind, connecting study with meditation and daily life.

Explore this Journey

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Level 1: Taking Refuge

Taking responsibility is the foundation of the Buddhist path

4 lotuses growing in water - an image signifying the Buddha's 4 noble truths

Level 2: Noble Truths

Understand the essential first teaching given by the Buddha

Ringing the gong - it's time to meditate!

Level 3: Meditation

Deepen your practice with a strong foundation in Buddhist meditation

Image of 3 beautiful swans, signifying the 3 trainings of Buddhism

Level 4: 3 Trainings

Traverse the Buddhist path with discipline, meditation and wisdom

image of metal balls, symbolizing karmic cause and effect

Level 5: Karma

Understand karma as a tool to transform your life experience

A man's hand with light arising, a symbol of the reminders in Buddhism to practice the path

Level 6: 4 Reminders

Renew your motivation to practice with the 4 essential wisdoms

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Level 7: Insight

Develop awareness, insight into the nature of mind and the world

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Level 8: Science of Mind

Explore Buddhist psychology to understand mind and perception

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Level 9: Self-Liberation

Find freedom from emotions and beliefs that obscure your potential

Journey to Wisdom

A nine-level Journey through advanced Mahayana teachings and the bodhisattva path, bringing together wisdom and compassion in study, meditation and daily life.

For practitioners wishing to deepen their practice for the benefit of all beings.

Explore this Journey

An image of a bodhisattva - Journey to Wisdom path of a bodhisattva level 1

NEW!

Level 1: Path of the Bodhisattva

Realize your true nature by cultivating great compassion

NEW!

Level 2: Heart of Awakening

Align your activity with the open heart and mind of bodhicitta

Journey to Wisdom Level 3 shows an image of a bodhisattva who aspires to benefit all beings

NEW!

Level 3: Bodhisattva Vow

Commit to benefitting all living beings with the path of a bodhisattva

Journey to Wisdom Level 5, An image of a candle, the flame of wisdom for the six perfections in Buddhism

NEW!

Level 4: Six Perfections

Embody the perfected qualities of a bodhisattva in your heart and action

NEW!

Level 5: Perfection of Meditation

Traverse the stages of meditation to realize the nature of all things

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Level 6: Perfection of Wisdom

Find freedom from emotions and beliefs that obscure your potential

An image of 7 rocks piled up, a metaphor for Level 7 Lojong 7 points of Mind Training in the Journey to Wisdom

NEW!

Level 7: Lojong Mind Training

Practice the 7 points of Mind Training and apply them in daily life

NEW!

Level 8: Slogans of Mind Training

Join theory and practice together in everyday life challenges

Journey to Wisdom Level 9, An image of a Buddha touching the ground, a symbol of fruition of the Buddhist path to wisdom

NEW!

Level 9: Fruition of the Path

Embrace the transformation of confusion into wisdom

Journey to Compassion

A six-level Journey through lovingkindness, compassion and tonglen, bringing heart-centered practice into your relationships and daily life.

For practitioners who have completed another Mindworks Journey.

Explore this Journey

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Level 1: Understanding

Connect to lasting happiness by understanding how to deeply touch your heart

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Level 2: Equanimity

Open your heart to genuine love and compassion and share it equally between yourself and others

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Level 3: Lovingkindness

Discover the expansive benefits of wishing happiness and well-being for all others

Oil landscape painting showing sea, mountains and sunny sky.

Level 4: Awakened Heart

Experience the powerful transformation that arises from training both mind and heart

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Level 5: The Leap

Stabilize the glimmer of selflessness by exchanging places with others

Level 6: Compassion

Benefit yourself and all others through courage and boundless compassion

Life Navigation Courses

Courses that bring meditation into everyday life challenges. These courses may be taken on their own or alongside a Mindworks Journey.

Explore these Courses

Addiction and Forgiveness

Appreciate forgiveness as vital for sustaining recovery, whether your own or another’s

Course in Happiness

Experience presence as the basis of well-being through daily meditation practice

Relationships are fertile ground and can be worked with in meditation

Improving Relationships

Connect to your most authentic self to become available for meaningful connection with others

Meditation for Parents

Parent with greater perspective and patience with the insight of meditation practice

Meditation Essentials

Experience more joy, clarity and ease with an authentic, complete meditation training

A plant being watered as it grows from soil

Mind Body Health and Harmony

Nourish the body and mind connection by harnessing the power of meditation

Bart Mendel, Founder of Mindworks & Meditation Teacher

The Mindful Executive

Let a greater sense of meaning and purpose become the drivers for your success

Psychology, Modern Trauma Theory & Meditation

Psychology of Addiction

Understand the causes of addiction and how meditative intervention helps recovery

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Working with Emotions

Embody a healthier relationship with your emotions through meditation

Working with Stress

Reduce stress and anxiety with the proven coping skill of authentic meditation

SUPPORTING YOU ALONG THE WAY

Mind Trainers: Your Trusted Guides

Mindworks courses bring together teachings from experienced Mind Trainers within a progressive path of study and practice. Their different perspectives help illuminate the teachings and their application to daily life.