No matter who you are or where you live, it’s likely that you will go through some difficult times during the course of your life. This is because it is simply not possible to prepare for every catastrophe which may come your way.
When tough times hit, if you don’t have the proper tools, they can be quite challenging to navigate through. And one of the most important tools for surviving difficult times which could also change your life is something known as guided meditation.
The Importance Of Using Healthy Tools In Tough Times
You may be wondering why you would ever need something like guided meditation, especially if your life is currently going great. Well, when tough times hit, they are often unexpected, which can be what makes them so difficult. This is why you need to have tools to help you navigate these tough times before they happen.
Guided meditation is a great tool, because it’s something you can use all the time, not just during a crisis. And besides helping you remain peaceful and calm during the crisis, it can help you further develop yourself, and prepare yourself for future problems.
Guided meditation is also something you can do anywhere, especially if you go with the phone app method, making it easy when you are facing a situation while far away from home.
According to Psychology Today, when you don’t learn to face your stresses head on, they will only grow to be more of a problem later on. And using a tool like guided meditation is a great way to confront your stress on a daily basis and face it head on without simply pushing the cause of your issue aside.
So, having a tool like guided meditation to use in a tough time can actually make a tough time pass more quickly, which is certainly a large reason why you should invest time and resources into creating these tools now.
What Is Guided Meditation
Guided meditation may sound like a complicated process but it is simply the act of meditating while using a sort of guide to help direct your meditation. There are a number of guided meditation apps for your mobile device which can provide these services, but you may benefit from going to an in person guided meditation class, or private session with an instructor where they can help answer your questions.
Why You Should Use Guided Meditation
Guided meditation often gets a back rap, especially in pop culture where it is frequently a hippie or other character in a film who practices it as sort of a joke. It’s time to let go of this image and know that guided meditation is a wonderful tool which could make massive changes in your life, no matter what walk of life you are coming from.
Two Types Of Meditation…
- The one you are probably familiar with, where you sit and meditate by yourself for a specified amount of time.
- Then there is guided meditation where, as mentioned above, you meditate with someone guiding you.
You may be wondering why having this guide would matter, and why it would make any difference if you meditated by yourself or with a guide. And this is because often times even if someone wants to meditate, they may not know how.
Or if an individual does already meditate, they may not know that it’s possible to feel more relaxed if they meditate a bit differently. Basically, guided meditation can help you reach your potential, and maximum relaxation, much quicker than if you just meditate alone.
Guided meditation isn’t just for beginners. Even if you have been meditating for years, you may still find that new doors are opened to you when you give meditating with a guide a shot.
Not only that, but guided meditation can help reach your most calm state faster as you are simply following instructions rather than having to actively think of how to meditate.
How Guided Meditation Works
If you’re ready to give guided meditation a shot then you may be wondering just what the process will look like.
If You’re Meditating From Home
Download An App
Although this may sound easy, not all guided meditation applications are the same. Make sure you read the description and reviews to see that the app is about before you download it.
And if you download a guided meditation app, follow a session, and find you didn’t enjoy it, don’t be afraid to try a different app—as they are all different and you may just need to find the right fit for you.
Find A Quiet Location
With guided meditation it is important that you are able to hear and focus on the instructions you are given. This can be difficult if you are somewhere which is especially noisy. If there is no way for you to ignore the noise, consider using headphones while engaging in guided meditation.
Get Comfortable
Meditating will be very difficult if you are uncomfortable, and this may distract you from being able to focus on your meditation. So, sit somewhere where you are comfy. And what is comfy for you may not be comfy for others, so don’t let anyone tell you that you need to sit anywhere specific. You also should dress in clothes that you find comfortable.
Start Your Guide
This is the easy part. You press play and off you go! This is the awesome part of guided meditation, because besides finding a comfy and quiet place, everything is done for you so there is no need to think about it!
Using Recorded Guided Meditation
Similar to the above, in this case it is a recorded guided meditation that takes you through a meditation. This is a simple and convenient way to meditate on all types of topics.
If You’re Taking A Class Or Hiring A Guide
Find A Guide And Class That Is Right For You
Similar to downloading a guided meditation app, you may find that the first class you find in your city isn’t the best guided meditation class for you.
Or you may find it hard to meditate with other people in the room and you should consider trying a private session to see if you like this better. And don’t be afraid to shop around a little, as not all meditation guides are the same.
Your Guide Will Ask You To Get Comfortable
If you are taking a class, it is critical that you wear comfortable clothes to your class. You may also be asked to bring a yoga mat to lie down on, or your classroom may be outfitted with specific comfortable spots to sit.
When you are asked to get comfortable, like previously mentioned, this is something which will be personal for you. Whatever position you choose, make sure it is comfortable for you.
The Guide Will Start
You don’t even have to press play! Once everyone is comfortable your guide will start the meditation session and you won’t have to lift a finger while he or she guides you to relaxation.
One nice thing about having a human guide rather than an app is that it is much easier for a guide to tailor a session to you, especially if you find you enjoy private guided meditation sessions.
Guided Meditation: Myths Vs. Facts
Now, like anything in this universe, there is a lot of false information circulating about guided meditation. It’s time to sort the myths from the facts.
Myths
Guided Meditation Is Part Of Religion
This is completely false, although meditation is associated with some religions, it is not a religious practice and anyone can engage in it, whether or not you are religious.
It Takes Years To Master Meditation
Although the quality and length of your periods of meditation may change over time, anyone can master meditation and it doesn’t take years. This is because meditation is the simple act of clearing your mind, and anyone can do it.
This doesn’t mean you can go out and start leading guided meditation sessions however, because this does take some training to be able to execute. But most people generally learn how to meditate after a few guided sessions.
Some People Just Can’t Meditate
Some people will claim their mind is simply too busy to meditate. And this isn’t true at all, once again, anyone can meditate, it is a choice, and you just need to put your mind to it in order to make it happen.
Guided Meditation Includes Chanting
While some forms of guided meditation can include chants or affirmations, this is not required to experience successful guided meditation. If you don’t want to chant, that’s okay, simply find a class, or app, that doesn’t have you engage in this practice.
In Order To Meditate You Have To Sit In A Yoga Position
You’ve seen it in all the movies, the really flexible individual sitting in an uncomfortable yoga pose and meditating. This is completely false. For guided meditation, you should be comfortable, and if a yoga position is comfortable for you, this is fine. But if you aren’t very flexible, that is fine as well! Meditate however you feel comfortable, even if it means you do so lying down.
If Your Mind Wanders During Meditation This Is Bad
Some people think that if your mind starts to wander during guided meditation that you aren’t doing it right or aren’t getting the full benefits. This simply isn’t true. Guided meditation is about self-discovery and spending time with yourself. These thoughts you may be having may mean something.
Guided Meditation Makes You Weak
This myth is more commonly mentioned by men, but women can think it too. Certain people have been told, incorrectly, that meditation makes them lose their edge and makes them become weak. This is, again, simply not true. Meditation simply hones you in on yourself and the skills which are already there. It also helps you to strengthen your bond with yourself and become stronger—the complete opposite of this myth.
Guided Meditation Takes Hours
This isn’t true at all. Guided meditation can be as long or as short as you want it to be. This is especially easy with guided meditation as you can select a program which meets your exact time limits for guided meditating, even if it’s just for ten minutes each day.
Facts
Now that all the myths have been debunked, it’s time to talk about some of the facts of guided meditation.
Guided Meditation Will Improve Your Cognitive Abilities
Guided meditation is simply, well, amazing. Not only does it help you relax, but during the process it helps to better your focus, concentration, and it even helps you develop skills more quickly. And if you struggle with memory problems, guided meditation can actually help with this too.
Guided Meditation Lowers Blood Pressure
This is 100% true. People often have high blood pressure because of a number of external stressors in their life. When you spend time relaxing and ridding yourself of these pressures and stresses, your blood pressure will lower as a result. This is a no brainer.
Guided Meditation Improves Your Visual Skills
You’ve probably been told that visualization is the secret to success, which it definitely is. If you are struggling with visualization, guided meditation can actually help improve this by teaching you how your mind works and allowing you to practice visualization more often. This is why meditation is often a huge part of success.
Guided Meditation Can Help Cure Illnesses
Although this sounds far-fetched, it is 100% true! According to Mayo Clinic, meditation has been shown to cure a number of long-term pain and anxiety related illnesses.
So, if no other treatment option seems to control your symptoms, it may be time to try guided meditation in addition to your other treatments! You may just be surprised at the results.
Guided Meditation Helps You Sleep Better
If you are having issues sleeping at night, it’s highly likely you will benefit from guided meditation! All the practiced relaxation will help you sleep more deeply and without waking up. It also helps you breathe more deeply and could help with breathing issues which you may not even realize are keeping you awake at night.
Research On Guided Meditation
Although this all may sound a bit far-fetched, guided meditation has been on the radar of doctors for years, simply because it does have massive benefits which have been proven in numerous medical circles.
The number of people in the world who experience some sort of chronic pain have been in the rise, especially in recent years as humans have become an increasingly more sedentary species.
In 2009, it was discovered that 44% of Americans suffer from one chronic condition, and 13% suffer from more than one chronic condition. And because of this, doctors are increasingly prescribing pain meds which can often times do more damage to the body, even as it quells the pain.
In one study performed in 2016, The Annals of Behavioral Medicine, found that meditation actually treated chronic pain just as sufficiently as most pain medications.
And although the study was just for chronic pain, most of the subjects also reported they experienced an improvement of depression symptoms they were experiencing (Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Hilton et al.)
Which brings up another study, which was carried out by Harvard Medicine in 2016. Instead of treating depression with medications, they set out to see depression, along with high blood pressure, could be treated with mindful meditation, and the results were shocking. Not only did meditation help treat depression, but it was also shown to change the expression of 172 genes in the human body which were responsible for a number of adverse health effects. Participants in the study noticed reductions in the symptoms of inflammation, circadian rhythm disorders, high blood pressure, and issues with metabolism.
This led the doctors on the study to conclude that the mind actually has much more power than we realize when it comes to regulating health. (Scientific Transcriptome Changes Associated with Blood Pressure Reduction in Hypertensive Patients After Relaxation Response Training, Herbert Benson et al).
The main doctor on the study, Dr. Herbert Benson, discussed in an interview that since the 1920’s, American’s have been increasingly more dependent on medications and he doesn’t necessarily think this is the way to treat most diseases, especially the more minor ones which are specifically caused by things like inflammation.
He recommends that until humanity knows the full power of the mind, that things like meditation be employed alongside medication when designing a treatment plan.
Also, as it turns out, every year American’s grow more and more stressed, and a number of doctors believe this is what is leading to the high rate of illnesses lick chronic inflammation, because humans aren’t giving themselves enough of a break as they are always on the go.
And this is why doctors believe meditation works so well for treating these types of diseases. So, if you are experiencing high levels of inflammation and high blood pressure, it may be time to give guided meditation a go.
10 Tips For Using Guided Meditation
Are you ready to try guided meditation, but don’t know where to start? Below is a number of tips from the Mayo Clinic on the best ways to start, and keep up with, your guided meditation goals.
1| Find A Quiet Setting
It will be very difficult for you to meditate if you try to do it somewhere where there are endless distractions. One of the best things you can do for yourself is find a location where it is calm, quiet, and comfortable for you and do your best to always try and complete your guided meditation practice there.
You can even make this fun and design a special relaxation corner which you can use not only for your guided meditation but also just to decompress, read, or relax after a busy and stressful day.
2| Try Different Positions
Maybe you tried meditating laying down and you didn’t like it. Maybe you tried it sitting cross legged and it wasn’t for you. Whatever positions you’ve tried, if you didn’t like them, try another.
Although some people will try and tell you that you have to meditate a certain way, remember, this isn’t true. If you find a position which is comfortable for you, you will be much more likely to keep up with your guided meditation goals, so do it.
3| Have An Open Attitude
If you go into your guided meditation with the attitude that it is stupid and won’t work, then that is exactly what is going to happen. The whole point of guided meditation is to change the way you think and calm your thought process, so you need to go into it with the same attitude that you wish to achieve. Just be open to change and the change will come with time.
4| Breathe Deeply
Even if you aren’t sure what you are doing when it comes to guided meditation, just remember to breathe deeply through the entire process, and this will help you stay engaged and relax your body whether you know what you are doing when it comes to guided meditation or not.
And if you have trouble keeping up with a guided meditation practice (such as in a group setting) it’s okay to just focus on your breathing for a while as this is beneficial in and of itself.
5| Scan Your Body
In guided meditation, whatever guide you are working with should walk you through this step. But if you are unable to attend a class or stuck in a location without the time to guided meditate, this can be a good practice to get into, simply checking in with all the parts of your body.
And if you combine this with deep breathing, this will give you almost the same effect of guided meditation from just these two activities.
6| Repeat A Mantra
Create your own mantra and repeat it in your mind while you meditate to help keep your mind clear. Then when you find yourself facing a difficult situation in your life, repeat the same mantra in your mind to remind you of the calm you achieved during guided meditation. If you are having trouble thinking of a mantra, your guide can help you or religious words can be used if you would like.
7| Walk And Meditate
If you’ve tried every seated and lying down guided meditation position, and still can’t seem to enjoy guided meditation, you can try guided meditating while you walk. For this you would definitely need to download a guided meditating app. Put in your earphones and head to a quiet place where you can walk, preferably a park where you won’t be interrupted by cars.
Focus on your breathing, and on each step as you take it rather than where, or how fast you are going. Still follow what the guide says, checking in with your body systems as you move. You may find this type of meditating is better for you and it relaxes you just as much if you were lying down.
8| Engage In Prayer
If you are religious, prayer is a bit like guided meditation, so if you are having trouble with guided meditation, you can start by praying instead. When you pray, try to focus on your breathing and keep your mind on the prayer. You might find that after a few prayer sessions, the transition to guided meditation isn’t so difficult after all.
9| Keep A Journal
Sometimes it will take a while to see results from guided meditation, and they may be so small that you don’t notice them right away. It’s good practice to keep a journal where you can keep all your progress in one place. Journaling can also be used as another type of guided meditation, and if you enjoy writing, you should look into a guided meditation journal as well.
10| Focus On Love And Gratitude
The most important thing to remember while you are navigating the world of guided meditation is to keep your mind focused on love and gratitude, while letting go of all the negative emotions you may encounter. And if a negative emotion tries to break through, repeat the mantra you created or think of something happy instead.
Building Guided Meditation Skills
Just like a building isn’t built in a day, learning to effectively use guided meditation in your life will be a process. You will need to stick with it and try to incorporate into your everyday life.
The longer you stick with it, the better you will become, and the more changes you will start to notice in your life. So, if you aren’t very good at guided meditation right away, that’s okay, just stick with it and eventually it will become like second nature to you!
Conclusion
Everyone has bad days in life, and everyone eventually experiences tough times which can really challenge who you are as an individual. Whether or not you are currently experiencing a tough situation in your life, it’s time to learn how to use guided meditation. That way, when the bad times do come, you will be prepared.
Guided meditation isn’t difficult, and once you get the hang of it, it can have a number of profound changes in your life, from helping with mental health problems to even fixing physical health problems. The mind is a powerful tool, and meditating helps teach you how to properly use it to better empower your life.
Don’t forget that guided meditation looks different for everyone, and what works for someone else, may not work for you. So, don’t be scared to try to do something a little different which is more comfortable for you. And soon enough, a guided meditation session will seem like second nature to you.
