In our day-to-day work with people who stutter here at the American Institute for Stuttering, we often introduce our clients to various aspects of mindfulness. We describe mindfulness as a calm awareness of what is happening now, internally and externally, without judgment. The application of mindfulness in stuttering therapy has broad implications, but can range froma simple focus of noticing more about a difficult situation, to a daily practice of greater mindfulness. A personmight, for example, apply mindfulness throughout the day in order to become more aware of where they carry tension and/or pay attention to how their automatic thoughts fire.

Based on the experiences reported by our clients, and our own personal experiences exploring mindfulness, we know that it is a skill that requires practice. Sometimes it just seems toodifficult to get out of the emotional haze of the stuttering moment. For many of our clients, this struggle with mindfulness leads them totry meditation. Specific to the social experience of stuttering, meditation can be useful in flexing the mindfulness muscle in preparation for difficult stuttering moments.

If youre hoping to become more mindful, and considering meditation, here are a few basic considerations:

Below is a list of resources for guided meditation that we often recommend to our clients. They are not specifically designed for people who stutter, but are a very helpful way to start practicing mindfulness.

For many of our clients, this is a good starting point for trying out meditation for the first time, especially when they are looking for something free. In this guided meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn, you are first asked to lie down and then you are guided through a detailed, 30-minute, body scan. Caution, he encourages you to try to stay awake. If you do this one before bedtime, that might be hard to accomplish.

We love his Energy Awareness Meditations album but hes also got a website with a free 20-minute guided meditation, and several podcasts.

Calm: Meditation to Relax, Focus & Sleep Better (iTunes Google Play)

Calm has a bit of free content and large library of meditations with a paid monthly membership. We like the ability to select the background sound/imagery (e.g., babbling brook, fireplace, rainforest, beach sunset, etc.). It also offers a good introduction to daily meditation with a 7-day program.

Buddhify Modern Mindfulness for Busy Lives (iTunes Google Play)

This app currently costs $5. It is designed to provide targeted guided meditations for various life activities. It asks you what you are doing, and offers a handful of shorter (~2 min) and longer meditations (7-10 min) for each.

The Mindfulness App: Meditation for Everyone (iTunes Google Play)

A good, easy to navigate meditation app offering both free and paid premium content. Its useful for advanced meditation, but great for beginners as well.

Sitting Still (iTunes Google Play)

This app is targeted specifically for teens. It is made by the folks who make the Mindfulness App. Similarly, It offers a mix of free and paid guided meditations.

Headspace (iTunes Google Play)

Headspace offersboth free content and an optional monthly membership. We love the buddy system option, if youre interested in trying this out with a friend. This app has a very current, modern look. It might be a bit cartoonish for some, but we like it. The also have an article on their site discussing meditation and stuttering.

Omvana Meditation for Everyone (iTunes Google Play)

This app offers a lot of customization (background, length) for each meditation and a variety of meditation experts, in case you want to experiment listening to different voices.

Insight Timer Meditation App (iTunes Google Play)

The most noticeable feature of this app is the sheer amount of free content, and we lovehow the app brings a sense of community to the experience.

Looking for more information on mindfulness and meditation and the application to stuttering? Check out Dr. Ellen-Marie Silvermans book, Mindfulness & Stuttering, or an ISAD Article she wrote. StutterTalk has published a few episodes on this topic as well one with Dr. Michael Boyle and another with Dr. Paul Brocklehurst.

Like a meditation resource that isnt listed here? Share it in the comments below!

The American Institute for Stutteringisa leading non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people of all ages who stutter, guidance to their families, and much-needed clinical training to speech professionals wishing to gain expertise in stuttering. Offices are located in New York, NY and Atlanta, GA, and services are also available Online. Our mission extends to advancing public and scholarly understanding of this often misunderstood disorder.

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Meditation resources to help in your stuttering journey - American Institute for Stuttering (blog)