In today's hectic world, people are increasingly in need of finding ways to relax, de-stress, and carving out quality time for themselves and their healthy-minded pursuits. Meditation has long been touted as a wonderful means to deep relaxation and rejuvenation, as well as enlightenment, but can sometimes be difficult to master. A great way to experience the benefits of meditation is by getting some assistance and guidance, and trying guided meditations.
What is Guided Meditation?
Guided meditation is a meditation technique which involves following a particular journey, script, or story on CD, MP3, audio file, or read out loud, with the purpose of attaining relaxation, inspiration, comfort, or direction. The journey or script typically lasts from 3 to 30 minutes and virtually any quantity in between, depending on individual preference and comfort.
How Does Guided Meditation Work?
Sitting or lying in a relaxed position, the objective is to allow oneself to be guided by the story, letting imagination, conscious, and subconscious follow the words and scenario. As this happens, the body relaxes, stress is reduced, and awareness focuses on the sounds of the words, the voice, the music and sound effects, if present, of the audio environment. This focusing allows the body to let go further and achieve deep relaxation.
The "guide" brings the user to different levels of relaxation and focus and finishes the meditation session by bringing the user back to a ready and rejuvenated state of consciousness. A definite plus with guided meditations is that even if one falls asleep while listening, the subconscious can still follow the story or script and the mind and body will still reap the benefits.
What are the Benefits?
Guided meditation in particular, like meditation in general, helps to restore the body to a calm and relaxed state, can assist the body in repairing and healing itself, while simultaneously helping the body protect itself from new damage caused by stress and tension.
In addition to that, here are some specific health benefits:
- Reduced heart-rate
- Normalised breathing
- Normalisation of blood pressure
- Relaxation
- Stress reduction
- Improved self-confidence and self-esteem
- Clarity of mind
- Memory enhancement
- Improved focus
- Management of thoughts
- Feeling of comfort and safety
- Joy and happiness
- Optimism
When will the Benefits be Felt?
Benefits from meditation can be seen and felt in just one session. Regular practice will result in further short-term and long-term health benefits and protection from the harmful effects of stress.
Web Sources for Guided Meditations
Meditainment - A publisher of self-help products, Meditainment has an amazing library of guided meditations in the areas of Relaxation, Health, Self-discovery, Self-development, and Insight. The meditations are very professional, created by professional musicians, with realistic sound effects, as well as a woman with an exceptional and soothing voice reading the journeys. Whether the journey involves a visit to a tropical island, relaxing in a meadow, unwinding in one's own private sanctuary or oasis, or seeking refuge in a cabin hideaway, each one is effective, accessible, easy, and enjoyable.
Individuals can choose to buy a membership with unlimited access, purchase individual downloads of the specific meditation of choice, or order CDs and DVDs available in the online shop. Meditations are typically 21 minutes long, with some shorter meditations of 3 to 7 minutes. They can be downloaded to a computer, MP3 or IPod, burned to disc, etc., depending on one's preference.
Beliefnet - A website dedicated to all faiths, Beliefnet has a wide variety of categories to explore, including Inspiration, Health, Prayers, Holistic Living, Love and Family, and News. No matter the faith, philosophy, way of thinking, spirituality, or religion, the site has something for everyone. They offer a lot of information on meditation and healthy, holistic living, as well as a 10-minute, guided mindfulness meditation entitled A Moment of Calm.
Learning Meditation - As the title indicates, this site is devoted to learning meditation. The author prefers to call it "conscious relaxation" and he provides many ways to do just that. Click on the Meditation Room in the index to access the guided meditations, where Soothing, Children’s, Walking, and Healing are among the choices available. Users of the site have a choice of text or sound, depending on the capabilities of the computer or apparatus being used. There is also an Online Shop to buy CDs or books.
Self Healing Expressions – A simple, basic, and worthwhile site, Self Healing Expressions lets users select a relaxing image they want to vizualise while at the same time displaying a script with the chosen guided meditation to the right of the image. The text walks users through relaxing, focusing actions, and gives suggestions on how to sit and breathe, then proceeds through a seated guided meditation (eyes open), during which users focus on different parts of the body, alternating between breathing, rolling, moving, stretching, more breathing, and some guided imagery, before bringing the meditation session to an end.
Essentially, for dealing with the daily and accumulated stresses of our busy lives and tense modern world, using Guided Meditation can bring deep relaxation and rejuvenation, as well as a plethora of short- and long-term health benefits.
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