Guided Meditation: The Benefits Of Guided Meditation
I n today’s busy and stressful life many people turn to guided meditation as a way to relax, de-stress and find some peace and quiet. There are so many different types of meditations that there is something suitable for everyone, and if you have never tried meditation you can find guided meditation classes, CD:s and DVD:s to help you to get started.
The Benefits of Guided Meditation
Executive Recharging
Guided meditation is a more and more popular way of relieving stress. Even executives in the biggest corporations in the world have tried some meditation techniques to help them to focus during busy times at work. Buddhist meditation techniques have become especially popular in the corporate world. Although meditating is a lot more than just a quick way to relieve stress, it is used more and more as a natural method for stress relief. Regular meditation can help to relieve stress and anxiety and to prevent stress from developing in the first place.
There are guided meditation techniques especially for stress relief purposes. However, most meditation techniques, especially those associated with Buddhism, go beyond stress relief. The idea in Buddhist meditation and in many other meditations is to train the mind so that it slowly becomes easier to control your thoughts and to calm down and silence the mind. Many people only notice how busy their minds are when they sit down to meditate for the first time. In many guided meditation techniques the main purpose is to learn to let the many thoughts come and go, and to become less attached to the thoughts.
Even executives in the biggest corporations in the world have tried some meditation techniques to help them to focus during busy times at work
People who have recently tried a guided meditation class may find that it helps them to focus even if the concentration lasts only until the end of the meditation. Those who keep up with their meditation practices and who have meditated for years often say that their mind becomes calmer over time and they do not get stressed, anxious or worried as much as before. Events and problems in life they used to get very anxious about do not make them as stressed out anymore, and they find it easier to deal with even big problems or major life changes. Whenever you find yourself in a stressful situation or whenever you are going through life changes or facing big challenges, it could be helpful to go to a guided meditation class.
Types of Guided Meditation
A typical guided meditation involves sitting in a comfortable and relaxed position, often cross-legged on the floor or on a cushion. You can also meditate sitting in a chair. The techniques used in meditations vary depending on what type of meditation you are doing and what its purposes are, but can include breathing exercises, visualization or focusing on a word or a sentence (a mantra). Meditations that focus on the breathing may involve trying to breath deeply and slowly or breathing naturally and simply focusing on the breath. Many people who have not tried meditating before like focusing on the breath because breathing is something everyone does naturally, and you do not have to learn any visualization techniques to do a simple guided meditation.
Guided meditation that uses visualization can be a good option for people who find it easier to focus on something outside themselves while they meditate. A visualization can mean thinking about an object, such as a flower or a candle, and focusing on the details in that object. In religious meditations the meditator can look at a picture of a deity or try to visualize the deity in his or her mind. A typical visualization guided meditation for a beginner can involve listening to a meditation CD in which the instructor guides the listener through a visualization step by step. There are also meditation techniques that use a word, a syllable or even a sentence to find focus and concentration. These types of meditations are typical for many religious practices or meditations related to yoga. The syllable that is most often used is “om”, the sacred symbol in Hinduism. Repeating the word or the syllable in your mind can help you to focus in the guided meditation.
How to Start Meditating With Guided Meditation
There are guided meditation classes in many yoga centers, Buddhist centers, community centers and even health clubs. Meditation has become so widely known and so popular that you can almost always find a class near you. It can be a good idea to go to a class to start with so that you learn a technique you can also practice at home. Many yoga teachers end their classes with short relaxation or meditation sessions and this can be a good introduction to meditation to those who would otherwise not try it. If there are no classes close to your home, you can find countless CD:s, books and DVD:s that give you instructions in various beginner-friendly meditation techniques. Many guided meditation CD:s are available to order online.
Meditation has become so widely known and so popular that you can almost always find a class near you
Once you become familiar with the guided meditation technique on the CD or in the class you can try meditating at home every day. Those who have practiced meditation for years often say that it is best to meditate at the same time every day and many meditate twice a day: in the morning and in the afternoon or evening. The easiest way to do a meditation daily is to do it as soon as you get up so that you do not have time to find excuses or distractions. For some people the evening is an easier time to meditate. If you decide to keep 20 minutes each day for a meditation and do it at the same time every day, you will soon get into the habit of meditating and will be able to enjoy the benefits of guided meditation.
Who Can Try Guided Meditation
There are a few misconceptions about meditation and they can sometimes stop people from trying to meditate. Some people think meditating is a religious activity because it is often connected to some of the biggest religions in the world, such as Buddhism or Hinduism. Although meditating can be a part of a religious ritual and it is an important part of many religions, it does not have to be a religious activity and you do not have to belong to any religious group to enjoy meditations. Another misunderstanding that many people have about meditation is that it is mainly practiced by people who belong to certain New Age groups. However, meditation is a technique for relieving stress and for gaining more control over your mind and your thoughts, and guided meditation is open to everyone.
People go to guided meditation classes for a variety of reasons. Some try it to get stress relief, some hope to find a way to be able to deal with the problems of everyday life in a better way. There are no right or wrong reasons to start meditating but the best way to enjoy the benefits of meditation is to do it regularly. Beginners sometimes give up after a few weeks or a few months because they were expecting fast results, but meditation is a long process. Even though it can sometimes feel difficult, you will eventually start to notice changes in your daily life if you persist with your guided meditation.
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A person’s mind causes them to act more out of habit then reaction to reality. As a result, they may continue to act inappropriately in spite of meditative effort. Continue to do what is right. Some say you should send loving compassion and your hopes and prayers for a full recovery for all who are suffering and for all who cause suffering. There is no better protective and healthy force in the universe then compassion. Bath in it, feel it, share it.
How do executives find time to meditate during busy times at work? Don’t you need a quite place to meditate? What if you don’t have a quite place to go? From what I have seen the executives where I have worked are always in a meeting or on the phone, they hardly every have any piece and quite during the day. I guess their lunch hour would work revitalizing them for the afternoon.
I read a book that talked about how we have a Witness within us that can observe our mind, body, and emotions. If you can quiet your mind, which will happen with meditation, your Witness can see in which way you are predominantly reactive. This will be the start of gaining inner freedom. Ultimately you will gain control of that primary controlling aspect and strengthen the other two until all are equally strong. You will then be a well-balanced, self-controlling person, able to act.
I am thinking about doing this so I have been researching it for a little while now and this Is the most information I have seen on the subject. Your blog has the best information I have seen on guided meditation classes. Not to mention you did a great job putting this all together. I hope that you continue to post more information. I’m going to check out the yoga classes near to my home.
Isn’t meditation just a time of quite where you focus on one thing and one thing only? Just like the picture of the girl on your banner at the top, couldn’t lying in the sun listening to music be a form of meditation? I have always viewed anything that you do to relax no matter what it is, a form of meditation, is that wrong have I been doing it wrong all these years?
I’ve heard about what’s called the 4 – 4 – 8 Pranayama (breathing technique). It’s supposed to achieve a tremendous cleansing and revitalization throughout your entire body. Enhanced clarity of thought and uplifted emotions are always byproducts of this classic method. The purpose of this technique is to cleanse your body, mind, emotions, and spirit by taking in a healthy, therapeutic dose of oxygen and ridding yourself of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other impurities. With this, you are can achieve this purification by totally filling and completely emptying your lungs. Worked for me.
When I was pregnant I remember we used meditation in lamas class to relieve stress off of our backs and it would relax the fetus as well. It was really amazing how different you would feel when you came out of that class. Less stress on the mommy less stress on the baby.
Guided meditation is nothing new, I have been taking a guided meditation class for about three years now and I can’t tell you how much it has helped me with the stress in my life. I can’t recommend meditation of any sort highly enough if you have a lot of stress in your life you have got to try this it will release that stuff and really help you relax.
Martial arts is a form of guided meditation and it can benefit you in so many ways other than stress relief. No one should knock meditation until they try it, it has nothing to do with religion unless you are Buddhist or Muslim so don’t worry about it. You have a great blog and I hope that you continue to post more.
Is there a place where you can go and learn how to do these guided meditation classes so I can incorporate this into my exercise class? I teach yoga already but there real isn’t any meditation time in it. You have some excellent advice and ideas in your blog and you did an excellent job putting it all together, thank you for posting it for us I am going to research it more.
In Japan a few years ago, scientists did an experiment with a dying man. They put him in a room that was a 100% totally controlled environment. They weighed the man and everything else in the room. They knew how much moisture and oxygen were in it and had every possible variable accounted for. When the moment of death came, they found that there were 28 grams missing that they couldn’t account for. That ounce is the energy of life that right now is keeping you alive
My husband and I take a martial arts class together and at the end of the class we always do a little mantra and mediate while we slowly stretch out. It isn’t anything religious, it just feels really good and when you are focusing all of your attention on the breathing then it feels even better and gives you a better stretch. Don’t get all bent out of shape because of the name.
I am actually thinking about starting a yoga class myself and I would need a relaxation routine at the end of the exercise, is there a place where you can go and learn how to do these guided meditation classes so I can incorporate this into the class? You have some excellent advice and ideas in your blog thank you for posting it for us.
This is the best information I have seen on guided meditation classes. I am thinking about doing this so I have been researching it for a little while now and this Is the most information I have seen on the subject. Not to mention you did a great job putting this all together. I had a little trouble with limited access to your site today but I haven’t had that problem before.
I haven’t used guided meditation before but I have heard about it and read about it. Don’t they do something like this in lamas classes now? I have been really stressed out lately and I am considering yoga class to see if it will help me, I’m told that they meditate at the end to calm the mind and relax after the work out. Thank you for posting this blog this was great.
I have been taking a guided meditation class for about three years now and I can not tell you how much it has helped me with the stress in my life. I use it as anger management as well and it works wonderfully. I would recommend to anyone with a lot of stress or anger in their lives to try meditation it will release that stuff and really help you relax.
Meditation is to know oneself as one is. It is see our real face with out any mask. When we practice meditation then we are bound to come across dark side of our nature which we are suppressing in our unconscious mind. But through meditation we can transform these desires by being a passive watcher of them. I am willing to acknowledge my dark side. Everyone should ask themselves about their own dark side because the reality is everyone has a dark side.
The validity of meditation can be experienced when you sincerely want the healing to take place and believe that it will occur. The Meditation Society of America doesn’t favor one religion over another, or even suggest that one has to believe in God at all for the benefits of meditation to help you, but they do sometimes quote from religious sources. In this case, we cite the Bible – Mark 11:24 “…what things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
When you go to a doctor and medication/treatment is prescribes for you, your body starts the healing process before the medicine is in your system or the exercise or surgical procedure has taken place. For most people, just seeing a doctor gives confidence that healing will occur. Depending on the patient’s cultural background, this is true whether the physician is a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic or a tribal witch doctor. This is attributable to an extraordinary healing ability of the body by a process known as the placebo effect. That’s the power of mind over matter.
It obvious that there are a whole lot of misconceptions about spiritual matters such as any forms of prayer or meditation. This demonstrates just how lost most people of today’s world really are and how far removed they are from the ancient philosophies. The bible actually prophesied about how in the last days before Armageddon, the number of lost souls would be like the sands of the shore, indicating, of course, the majority of those living in our time.
Most people may not be aware of this, and some may not even agree with it, but any action done with awareness is meditation. Meditation means to be fully aware of our actions, thoughts, feelings and emotions. Another name of meditation is passive awareness. It is not concerned with any activity but it is concerned with our alertness while doing any action. Meditation means to add awareness and alertness in our actions. That makes sense to me.
Someone once wrote, Meditation is the art of staying in this present moment. A sleepy person either lives in the past moment or is dreaming about the future life. But a meditator stays in this present moment and is alert about his thoughts and actions. Truer words were never spoken. Most people seldom live in the present unless they are captivated by a move or some other form of entertainment. There’s a reason why pro sports coaches often preach to their players about staying in the moment.
I believe that you have a Witness within you that can observe your mind, body, and emotions. As long as your consciousness is attached to a human body, there will be stimuli impacting you from the environment. You will react physically, mentally, and emotionally – one way more than the other two. The predominant way you react is your primary problem and that you are controlled by it. Thus, I am a believer in the importance of meditation.
Meditation has helped me to live a calm, balanced and peaceful life. Our minds and thoughts dictate everyday what actions we do and how we react to different situations. While our mind is absorbed in daily routines, it gets caught up in the daily workings and becomes emotionally attached. You start to feel helpless, scared, nervous or depressed. Meditation allows your mind to gain awareness to help you reach a positive solution. Sometimes there is no solution at all rather relaxing of the mind.
I wish that people wouldn’t be so sensitive about meditation. There are all kinds of forms of meditation around today and only a few have religious backgrounds. I happen to use meditation my self as a way to control my anger and I chant a mantra to keep myself from eating what I shouldn’t eat, does that mean that it is some kind of religion or cult, I don’t think so.
I have heard of pregnant women using guided meditation classes to focus past the pain of childbirth and also to calm the baby during the traumatic experience. I think this is great, not only are people giving birth in more natural ways these days but they are using ancient techniques to do it.
From what I understand there are professional athletes that meditate before a game because they think it helps them focus. I personally think your article was very good and you pointed out a lot of ways that meditation can be a good thing. As a matter of fact I don’t see why anyone would see it as a negative thing at all. You did a great job here and I look forward to more.
I think meditation is great for the spirit, it calms the mind and helps you to focus your thoughts on certain things. Just like the chi in martial arts you have to focus all your strength in one place in order to break those boards you see them do, so they have to meditate on that one thing and close everything else out. Meditation is an awesome exercise for a strong mind.
You said something like a yoga class is guided meditation correct? What other guided meditation classes are there? Yoga I think is the only one that I have heard of myself. If you wouldn’t mind doing another post about the other classes available I would really like to know so that I could possible try some of them. This was a great blog and I look forward to meditating.
I have taken a few martial arts classes and at the end of those you meditate because it is basically stretching but being quiet while you do it and focusing on your breathing. Would it be so bad if it was a religious ritual to meditate? Even Christians can call their prayer time meditation if they want to.
I think meditation is a form of transmutation. Most people will identify with the occasional slight telepathy they experience with close friends or relatives. For instance, you might be thinking of a song, and your friend might start singing it spontaneously. Or, you might be thinking of a person, and your friend might ask you about that person. The most common manifestation of this sort of collective consciousness would be when you are thinking of a sentence and your friend says it before you do, or you finish the same sentence together.
I love yoga for the meditation at the end and the relaxation process. Not to mention the workout itself kicks your butt. I was unsure about the meditation process at first but now that I have done it I think the world of it. I understand there are more exercises that have incorporated the meditation process into it as well. I can’t wait to try them.
I have taken guided meditation classes before and they are very beneficial to relaxation and mind control. They have helped me to control what I eat as a matter of fact, I was over weight and I started taking these meditation classes and they taught me how to control the hunger pathways in my brain so that I wasn’t hungry. It works amazingly well.
I think it is ridiculous that people are offended by meditation because of the religions that use it as a form of worship. It doesn’t have to be that if you are not that religion, any quite time you spend just thinking, or listening to music or even reading can be a form of meditation. People need to stop arguing about these things and realize that meditation is to improve your mind and body.
This has been an informative discussion for me. Meditation can be a mysterious subject until you actually begin to learn and or practice any form of it. There seem to be a lot of misconceptions about the art of meditation in all of its forms. I think Yoga would still be mysterious to the Western world if it had not been introduced by people in the fitness industry who sought to capitalize on it by making it trendy.
I took up Yoga about two and a half years ago. It is not the only form of exercise that I take part in. I also lift weights and do plyometrics. Thus, Yoga is just one aspect of my physical fitness regimen. But I am thankful I decided to be open minded and give it a try. Yoga has been instrumental in improving my strength and flexibility. It is also an excellent for of fat burning exercise.
I know a personal fitness trainer who has a room in his house designed and decorated for meditation. He has this room decorated with certain color schemes that are conducive to relaxation and fitted with incents and candle light and in the daytime, it is well lit by the sun. He seems to get great benefit from meditation and he seems to have a very good aura about him. I admire him and am inclined to believe it meditation works well for him, it can be good for anyone.
This sounds like something need to try. You said there are classes for this? Would they be at a special facility or would they be at the local YMCA? Maybe I should look into the Yoga meditation so I can get fit while learning to quite my mind. Thank you for posting this information I will definitely give it a try.
Is martial arts a form of meditation? Something like Kung Fu that is very slow and precise almost artistic really, would that be a form of meditation? I think that they do use meditation in their martial arts but I do not know what it is called. There are so many things that you could call meditation, all meditation is really is the quieting of your mind and relaxation. Prayer is meditation.
This article would suggest that there are several forms of guided meditation. I don’t know if that means there are different ways to meditate or whether that means there are different subjects for guided meditation programs – whether it be audio learning DVD’s or MP3′s or books. The Buddhist method of guided meditation seems like one of those trendy corporate activities that large companies adopt as a team building activity. Even so, I’m sure it has some real value.
I’m in no way Hindu or Buddhist so when I “Meditate it is in no way religious, I use it to relax and focus on my stretching exercises, or when I pray, or when I am overwhelmed at work. If the term bothers you because of the portrayal of it then use something else because if you are using that as an excuse to miss out on this great exercise you are missing a lot.
I wasn’t able to read your blog yesterday but today it worked great. I very much enjoyed your article and I have to admit I didn’t practice it at first because of the religious connotation, but I quickly realized that as a Christian I could adapt it to my religion as well and use it as my quiet time with the Lord. It is only religious if you want it to be.
I have so called meditated when doing yoga because you have to concentrate on your breathing the entire time or you end up holding your breath through the movements and you will pass out. But at the end of the workout when you concentrate on you breathing to relax, never felt so good, so I can see how using it to relax your mind would work as well.
I think you are right as far as people having a problem with meditation because of it’s religious background and I think a lot of that stigma is from the name itself. If people relate the word meditate to the religious background then if there was another name for simple relaxation methods maybe more people would do it, I know it’s silly but that is how people think.
It is hard for a normal person like myself to go and attend a meditation class, especially one with an instructor as attractive as the model who posed for the web site header picture above. I live near South Beach, so I have been a member of many gyms with many extremely attractive physical fitness instructors. That Is not a new sight to me. But don’t suggest to me that the sight of an instructor isn’t the reason why I’m going to achieve my fitness goals.
@Jessica – Guided meditation is something you can do in the comfort of your own home. Just listen and follow the steps.
I think that meditation is a lot like visualization -maybe it is the same thing or maybe they are very similar in nature. I have been studying this subject for over twenty years and from my experience, I can tell you that audio learning is one of the best methods of learning. I actually wrote a movie script and sold it eighty thousand dollars, which is the minimum for a movie script made for film.
@Ernest – With meditation you are wanting to quiet the mind. Visualization is more about creating pictures in the mind about future conditions that you want to achieve. Of course meditation will help you to focus on what you want .
This was a very interesting blog once I was able to get past the access restrictions. You did a great job organizing all of the information into a very well written blog. Meditation is something that I practice while doing yoga and it is guided by the instructor, but the kind of meditation that you are talking about is something I haven’t done before, I’ll have to give it a try.
I will look into the access restrictions. I don’t want to make it too hard to comment
Let me know if you try guided meditation and tell me your experiences. I would love to hear about them.