A simple way to free your mind, relax the body, and forget anxieties is meditation.
Meditation, as we know, is the process where one has to focus continuously on a particular thought, objective, or activity. It trains awareness and attention. It helps you to achieve mental clarity and a stable emotional state.
If you are a beginner and confused about how to meditate, you can start with a guided meditation.
What Is a Guided Meditation
Guided meditation is a type of meditation that is led by a person, teacher, or through a video or audio.
The expert guides you with the necessary steps of meditation. The teacher or the narrator explains the dynamics of the mind. How mind behaves during meditation. In addition, the meditation technique is explained. The final step is making you understand how to integrate these techniques into daily life.
Benefits of Guided Meditation
- Guided meditation improves all over cognitive abilities.
- It improves concentration and increases memory.
- Makes you think clear and clears out the thoughts cluttering in your mind
- Guided meditation is a magical and amazing experience that deepens your connection with the subconscious mind.
- It helps you relax at a more in-depth level.
- Strengthens the bond between the left and the right hemispheres of the brain.
- Maintains blood pressure.
- Reduces stress and improves the quality of life.
- It helps you to deal with depression, and anxiety
- Increases all over mental health.
- Other benefits of meditation proved in clinical trials in studies includes:
- Lowers the risk of overeating and obesity
- Improve the quality of sleep
- Reduces headache
- It helps people in recovering from the treatment of chronic illnesses such as heart diseases and cancer.
- Treats mental disorders such as manic, depression or bipolar disorder.
- Build a strong immune system and lowers inflammation.
- Boost productivity at work
- Improve decision making
- Lowers the level of cortisol
- Treats learning disabilities such as ADHD.
- Reduces chronic pain
Today many types of meditation is practiced, such as transcendental, mindfulness, insight, etc.
Almost all meditation forms help in developing better concentration, emotional positivity and stability, clarity of mind, and calmness.
Guided meditation is a mind-changing experience that drives you towards positive thinking so that you can handle stress skilfully.
It will help you to notice or recognize experiences without resistance, judgment, or grafting. It will help you to see the thoughts that are popping up without any intention to solve or change them and helps you pay close attention to how your body feels. It will help you to know yourself and your emotions thought feelings and sensations in a better way.
Below are the guided meditation instructions for an essential awareness and presence for mindfulness meditation.
Instructions for Guided Meditation
- Set your Intention – Setting an intention before starting meditation helps you remind the reason for meditating. Whatever your reason could be for meditation, for example, to be more productive at work, have a better relationship, or be focused. A valid intention is very important to bring your wandering mind back.
- Relax your Body – Relax your body before you begin meditation. Pay attention to the areas that are likely to hold tension, such as your eyebrows, forehead, belly, chest, and neck. Take a deep breath, and with each exit, let go and soften these areas. Spend 5 minutes on body scan meditation that includes focusing your mind on your scalp and then slowly moving your attention downwards and un-grip or release each area.
- Pay Attention to Senses – When you focus on your body senses, the wandering mind settles. Do not try to push or change your sensation. Keep exploring how you feel. This will help you to accept whatever is happening without any resistance.
- Investigate your feelings – Investigate your feelings by asking yourself whether you feel painful, unpleasant, or if you are reminded of any past event. Note where your wandering mind is going. This will help you to acknowledge your thoughts. Paying attention to the thoughts that come to your mind reveals a lot about your fears, plans, and believes, and other emotions.
- Return Back to your Body Again and Again – Recognising the thoughts that are coming as simple thoughts and not the truth. Try not to react to the thoughts or add up to your emotions. Do not let the thoughts regret your past or worry about the future. Just let go of the thoughts. Disengage yourself from the thoughts and bring your attention back to your breath and the body. You don’t need to believe every thought that is coming into your mind and act on it. Do not let it carry you away, but let the thoughts go.
A Few Tips for the Beginners on Guided Meditation
- Establish daily practice – Spend at least 15 to 40 minutes daily meditating. It is essential to maintain consistency.
- Location and time – Choose a fix time and place for meditation. Mostly morning time is preferred, but you may choose any time in the day when you are least bothered to be disturbed. Choose a spot that is comfortable and safe and where you can stay focused.
- Attain a proper posture – It is essential to stay alert while meditating. Attain a correct posture that is comfortable such as sitting upright on a chair or mat. You may also lay down flat or stand and meditate. Make sure that your posture is erect that is upright, balanced, and tall so that you can breathe deeply and let go of any tension or gripping. You have the option of choosing whether to close or softly open your eyes.
- Drop any judgment – The primary goal while meditating is to check yourself from getting disappointed or frustrated with the wandering mind. There is no right or wrong way to meditate. Just be open-minded and show interest in whatever you experience. Have acceptance and kindness towards every emotion or thought that pops up in your mind.
Meditation helps you learn habits and patterns that drives out the destructive and negative behaviour. It makes it possible for you to take responsibility for your mind state. Practice, guided meditation and live a healthier, most skilful, and less anxious life.