For people who are new to meditating, using guided meditations in the form of videos, CDs, MP3s, apps, or other audio, can help you stay focused and start a regular meditation practice. Guided meditations are especially helpful for people who deal with anxiety, depression, or insomnia. They help quiet the mind to focus on inner peace or to relax to help induce sleep.
Here you’ll find some of the best guided meditations divided by category to help you unwind, relax, and let go.
- Guided Meditations for Sleep
- Meditations for the Morning
- Mindfulness Meditations
- Stress Relief Meditations
- Guided Meditations for Kids
- Meditation Videos for Beginners
To successfully use a guided meditation, do the following steps:
- Find a quiet, private location. This can be indoors or outdoors, but you’ll want to go somewhere that other people can’t disturb you.
- Take a comfortable seated position. This can be on the floor or ground, or sitting in a chair or on a meditation bench. If you are meditating to help you sleep, you should change into your pajamas and lie in bed.
- Use headphones or earbuds if it’s convenient. This will help block out any distractions in the outside world and let you focus on the guided meditation
- Play the guided meditation. Just breathe and listen to the words and sounds.
If you’re looking for a way to track your stress and use guided meditations and breathing exercises to calm down, check out meditation and stress trackers to help increase your mindfulness.
What is guided meditation?
A guided meditation is when you meditate while listening to a trained practitioner, audio recording, or video that “guides” you through the meditation. This can be done individually or as a group, in person or at home. Usually guided meditations will utilize mental visualizations or prompt the participant in ways that simulate sensory perceptions like sights, sound, tastes, smells, or touch. Often the vocal prompts will be accompanied by meditation music or other relaxing sounds.
While guided meditation can be used simply as a part of a regular meditation practice, it is often also used to end a yoga practice or in professional therapy. Guided meditations are often used for treatments of mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Because a guided meditation literally guides you through the process of meditation and instructs your mind, it is perfect for beginners and people new to meditation.
What are the benefits of guided meditation?
The benefits received from guided meditation is similar to any regular meditation practice. While you can experience results from just one session of guided meditation, the best results come from a regular, daily practice. We recommend guided meditation for people who have trouble focusing, especially those with anxiety or focus issues. Guided meditation is also great for teaching children to meditate, as it helps them focus their minds when they may not usually be able to sit still for set periods of time.
Some of the physical and emotional benefits of guided meditation include:
- Relieving anxiety, depression, stress, and anger
- Reduces exhaustion and fatigue
- Improves brain function
- Increases creativity
- Connects you with positive emotions like happiness, self confidence, and self worth
- Calms your adrenals to pervent over production of the stress hormone
- Decreases inflammation in your body
Utilizing guided meditation is a great way to build a daily meditation habit and feel positive changes in yourself and your life.