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Guided Meditation helps bring individuals to a relaxed concentration. The purpose overall, is to achieve mental, physical, and emotional healing and stress relief. Please choose from our selection of guided mediations some ranging from 3 minutes while others can be as long as 15 minutes.
When participating in guided meditation it is super important to limit the amount of distractions from your environment so that you can fully concentrate on meditation. A way to do this is to find a quiet spot (inside or outside) where you can be yourself and follow the instructions in the video. It is also important to concentrate on your breathing while you meditate. Allow yourself to take deep breaths in and slowly breath out.
How to Meditate
How to Meditate
Meditation focuses on the breath, not because there is anything special about it, but because the physical sensation of breathing is always there and you can use it as an anchor to the present moment. Throughout the practice you may find yourself caught up in thoughts, emotions, sounds—wherever your mind goes, simply come back again to the next breath. Even if you only come back once, that’s okay.
A Simple Meditation Practice
Sit comfortably. Find a spot that gives you a stable, solid, comfortable seat.
Notice what your legs are doing. If on a cushion, cross your legs comfortably in front of you. If on a chair, rest the bottoms of your feet on the floor.
Straighten your upper body—but don’t stiffen. Your spine has natural curvature. Let it be there.
Notice what your arms are doing. Situate your upper arms parallel to your upper body. Rest the palms of your hands on your legs wherever it feels most natural.
Soften your gaze. Drop your chin a little and let your gaze fall gently downward. It’s not necessary to close your eyes. You can simply let what appears before your eyes be there without focusing on it.
Feel your breath. Bring your attention to the physical sensation of breathing: the air moving through your nose or mouth, the rising and falling of your belly, or your chest.
Notice when your mind wanders from your breath. Inevitably, your attention will leave the breath and wander to other places. Don’t worry. There’s no need to block or eliminate thinking. When you notice your mind wandering gently return your attention to the breath.
Be kind about your wandering mind. You may find your mind wandering constantly—that’s normal, too. Instead of wrestling with your thoughts, practice observing them without reacting. Just sit and pay attention. As hard as it is to maintain, that’s all there is. Come back to your breath over and over again, without judgment or expectation.
When you’re ready, gently lift your gaze (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a moment and notice any sounds in the environment. Notice how your body feels right now. Notice your thoughts and emotions.
COMMON MINDFULNESS QUESTIONS
COMMON MINDFULNESS QUESTIONS
1. Is there a wrong way to meditate? A right way to meditate?
People think they’re messing up when they’re meditating because of how busy the mind is. But getting lost in thought, noticing it, and returning to your chosen meditation object— breath, sound, body sensation, or something else—is how it’s done. That’s about it. If you’re doing that, you’re doing it right!
2. Are there more formal ways to take up mindfulness practice?
Mindfulness can be practiced solo, anytime, or with like-minded friends. But there are others ways, and many resources, to tap into. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and other mindfulness-based trainings are available across North America. We’ve organized a list of centers here.
Daily guided meditations are also available by smartphone app, or you can practice in person at a meditation center. Read more about the types of programs currently available.
3. Do I have to practice every day?
No, but being that it’s a beneficial practice, you may well find that the more you do it, the more you’ll find it beneficial to your life. Read Jack Kornfield’s guidelines for developing a daily practice here.
4. How do yoga and mindfulness work together?
There are a number of yoga poses that will help you with your mindfulness meditation practice. Here are 10 simple yoga exercises to reduce stress, improve well-being, and get you primed for a sitting meditation session—or anytime.
What are the benefits of meditation?
What are the benefits of meditation?
Of course, when we meditate it doesn’t help to fixate on the benefits, but rather just to do the practice. That being said, there are plenty of benefits. Here are five reasons to practice mindfulness.
Understand your pain. Pain is a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to rule you. Mindfulness can help you reshape your relationship with mental and physical pain.
Connect better. Ever find yourself staring blankly at a friend, lover, child, and you’ve no idea what they’re saying? Mindfulness helps you give them your full attention.
Lower stress. There’s lots of evidence these days that excess stress causes lots of illnesses and makes other illnesses worse. Mindfulness decreases stress.
Focus your mind. It can be frustrating to have our mind stray off what we’re doing and be pulled in six directions. Meditation hones our innate ability to focus.
Reduce brain chatter.The nattering, chattering voice in our head seems never to leave us alone. Isn’t it time we gave it a little break?
WHY PRACTICE MINDFULNESS?
WHY PRACTICE MINDFULNESS?
Some of the most popular ideas about mindfulness are just plain wrong. When you begin to practice it, you may find the experience quite different than what you expected. There’s a good chance you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Mindful’s editor-in-chief, Barry Boyce sets the record straight regarding these 5 things people get wrong about mindfulness:
Mindfulness isn’t about “fixing” you
Mindfulness is not about stopping your thoughts
Mindfulness does not belong to a religion
Mindfulness is not an escape from reality
Mindfulness is not a panacea
Mindfulness Is About More than Just Stress Reduction
Stress reduction is often an effect of mindfulness practice, but the ultimate goal isn’t meant to be stress reduction. The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes.
Mindfulness trains your body to thrive: Athletes around the world use mindfulness to foster peak performance—from university basketball players practicing acceptance of negative thoughts before games, to BMX champions learning to follow their breath, and big-wave surfers transforming their fears. Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll, assisted by sports psychologist Michael Gervais, talks about coaching the “whole person.” As writer Hugh Delehanty illustrates, players learn a blend of mindfulness, which Gervais calls tactical breathing, and cognitive behavioral training to foster what he calls “full presence and conviction in the moment.”
Mindfulness boosts creativity: Whether it’s writing, drawing, or coloring, they all have accompanying meditative practices. We can also apply mindfulness to the creative process.
Mindfulness strengthens neural connections: By training our brains in mindfulness and related practices, we can build new neural pathways and networks in the brain, boosting concentration, flexibility, and awareness. Well-being is a skill that can be learned. Try this basic meditation to strengthen neural connections.
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