Today, meditation is practiced throughout the world, but its origin was traced back to around 5000 to 3500 BCE. Ancient Indian scriptures highlight meditation techniques, and with time, other religions and sects developed different versions of meditation techniques. One such variation of meditation is guided meditation. Read on to know what a guided meditation is & what its health benefits are.
What is Guided Meditation?
Guided meditation is the same as regular meditation, excepting the fact that someone else leads the meditation session. Guided meditation is specifically useful for beginners who find it difficult to meditate. In guided meditation, a guide assists an individual or group for helping them attain a deeper level of consciousness and the reap benefits of meditation. One of the most common ways of practicing guided meditation is to go to a yoga centre or a similar place which offer classes or sessions of guided meditation.
The narrator begins a guided meditation session by asking the practitioner to find a comfortable position, i.e. sitting or lying down, and then verbally helps them go through visualization processes for relaxing their body and mind. With time, the practitioner gets more and more relaxed, and their mind tends to become calmer with the help of guided meditation.
What are the Health Benefits of Guided Meditation?
Guided meditation is not very different from self meditation and the health benefits of guided meditation are the same as regular meditation. But it is the presence of a guide that helps one focus, with the ultimate goal of being able to meditate on their own. Guided meditation offers multiple health benefits. Guided meditation specifically proves helpful for people who are struggling with sitting still and quieting their mind. Ones, who find it difficult to just sit down and find inner peace on their own, should try to practice guided meditation. Many variations of guided meditation are there, most of them targeting specific goals. Whether going through a rough patch in life, or simply wanting to improve the current state of mind, meditation is one of the most effective things to do in such situations. People who are not comfortable meditating on their own, or are uninitiated in the practice of mediation, can find guided meditation very effective in achieving their goals in unimaginable ways.
Both guided meditation and deep relaxation have numerous and amazing health effects on the practitioner’s body and hormones like:
- Guided meditation slows the activity of the brain waves and decreases stress, while triggering the release of the human growth hormones (HGH). These hormones help in regulation of metabolism, stimulation of fat cells to decrease the amount of stored fats, regulation of blood sugar and promotion of protein synthesis in cells.
- Guided meditation helps to calm the adrenals and allow them to rest and relieves them from over-producing the stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol adversely affects the thyroid function and the body’s ability to lose weight.
- Guided meditation improves the health of the endocrine system. Hormonal secretion becomes regulated and the balance of all the hormonal systems, like adrenals, thyroid, sex hormones etc. gets restored.
- Guided meditation and relaxation, both, help the body to rest, restore balance and renew vitality. Meditation helps to improve the quality of sleep as it calms the mind.
- Guided meditation alkalizes the bodily systems, balances out acidity caused through the over-activity of an analytical mind, and the fear-based thinking which generates stress hormones.
- Guided meditation cuts down the inflammation at the cellular level along with neutralizing acidosis and helps in reducing the pain.
The Psychological & Mental Health Benefits of Guided Meditation
Guided meditation also offers many psychological and mental health benefits. Simply by being in a meditative state, one can make their mind still, clear and reflective. Guided meditation can also prove helpful in reducing anxiety and fear, which are the 2 main causes of stress. Guided meditation also slows down the heart rate while the blood pressure neutralizes into the normal range. The practitioner of guided meditation feels calmer, more confident, and in touch with their own strength and power, while the feeling of being overwhelmed subsides with the regular practice of guided meditation. Psychologically, people who practice guided meditation tend to feel more self-assured and in control of themselves again. Their mind-body-spirit connection gets aligned and they experience a sense of well-being and peace of mind. As the meditative state deepens with regular practice of guided meditation, the problems of anxiety, negative attitude, and depression alleviate fatigue and exhaustion decrease, and brain function improves. Guided meditation helps the individual get in touch with their confidence, enthusiasm, joy and self- worth, and brings them back to being heart centred and lovable.
Conclusion
The above mentioned are some of the many powerful benefits which practicing guided meditation for 15 to 20 minutes every day offers. Guided Meditation and deep relaxation helps a person train their brain to slow down, enjoy their life, and accept themselves. So, to regain their power and get control over themselves and their life, guided meditation is most important investment which a person can make for themselves.
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