Meditation is an ancient practice that is known to help relieve stress, regulate blood pressure levels and improve overall health. But it can be difficult to master alone. This is where guided meditation can help.
Our bodies are programmed to react to an experience or the thought of an experience in the same way. For instance, the body and mind might feel relaxed just by imagining a stroll in a park, listening to the chirping of birds and feeling the soft grass under your feet. The practice of guided meditation takes advantage of this aspect of the psyche to help the body relax with meditation complemented by a projected image.
Guided meditation can be done alone or in a group, with the help of a guide who is either physically present or simply guides you through an audio or video recording. These recordings usually comprise a combination of verbal guidance, soothing music and relaxing imagery.
Benefits of Guided Meditation
Since guided meditation combines words, music and visualization techniques, it is said to be a simple yet extremely powerful tool to help create self-awareness and relaxation. Just like unguided meditation, this practice can also benefit both physical and mental well-being by helping the mind move away from stressful thoughts to find calmness and relief.
Teachers of guided meditation believe that the practice of using certain types of imagery when instructing their students through a session often helps improve the students’ perception of their own life, their emotions and provide an overall feeling of wellness.
Research shows that many athletes use a form of guided meditation to help them perform their best and succeed. They typically visualize an image projecting their success in an upcoming game or event, and this is said to help them perform better at the actual event. Similarly, children can visualize themselves acing an exam and gaining confidence to actually do so.
Experts in guided meditation believe that the practice can help children handle their emotions better too by teaching them how to handle the emotional roller coaster rides that are part of growing up. Practicing guided meditation regularly might help them focus on achieving their goals and succeeding in life.
Some of the benefits associated with guided meditation are:
- Stress relief
- Improved focus
- Control over emotions
- Lower blood pressure levels
- Quicker healing from ailments
- Enhanced sleep
- A positive outlook on life
- Improved quality of life
So regardless of whether you are confident enough to handle 30-minute sessions or you prefer taking baby steps with five-minute sessions of guided meditation, this unique practice may be able to lead you to better health, ultimate relaxation and inner peace.
References
Guided meditation. (2018, July 27). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided_meditation
The health benefits of guided imagery. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.allinahealth.org/HealthySetGo/SingleArticle.aspx?id=36507239969
Guided Meditations. (2018, August 08). Retrieved from https://chopra.com/articles/guided-meditations