What Guided Meditation Is and Its Benefits

Meditation is a popular practice in many parts of the world today, but its origins date back to approximately 5,000 to 3,500 BCE when archeologists discovered signs of meditation in wall art.

Indian scriptures, as early as 3,000 years ago, highlight meditation techniques, and as time passed, other religions and sects developed their versions of meditation.

Today, from the east to the west, people practice meditation for various reasons, one of which is to attain spiritual development.

Guided meditation

Guided meditation is no different from regular meditation except that there is someone else leading the session. This is particularly useful for beginners who may have difficulty meditating. As the name says, guided meditation needs a guide to help an individual or group to reach a deeper level of consciousness and reap the benefits of the practice.

One of the most common ways you can practice guided meditation is to go to a yoga center or a similar place. They offer sessions or classes for guided meditation. If you’re fortunate enough, you can even find a personal guide for your meditation session.

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During a guided meditation session, the narrator will start with asking you to find a comfortable position – sitting or lying down. He or she will then verbally help you go through visualization processes with the aim of relaxing your body and your mind. As you go along, you will get more and more relaxed, and your mind will become calmer.

How can guided meditation help?

Guided meditation is not much different from meditating on your own. It’s the presence of a guide that helps you focus, with the ultimate goal of you being able to – at some point – meditate on your own.

Guided meditation benefits are numerous, the main one being targeted at those who struggle with sitting still and quieting their mind. If you find it difficult just to sit there and find inner peace on your own, then guided meditation will make it much easier.

There are many variations of guided meditation, most of them with specific goals.

Here are several examples:

Guided meditation for relaxation
Guided meditation to relieve work stress
Guided meditation to quit smoking
Guided meditation to start the day
Guided meditation for “grounding” yourself
Guided meditation for self-healing
Guided meditation for coping with divorce or breakups
Guided meditation for forgiveness
Guided meditation for dealing with guilt.

And the list goes on and on.

Whether you are going through a rough patch in your life, or you simply want to improve your current state of mind, meditation is one of the most effective things to do. And, if you are not comfortable meditating on your own, or you are uninitiated in the practice, then guided meditation can help you achieve your goals in ways you may not imagine.

Are you ready to make a huge change in your life? Try guided meditation. In my next post, I’ll be sharing tools which you can use for guided meditation.