What is a guided meditation?
Just like its name says, it is a meditation 
with the help of a guide. It could be a meditation teacher in a class or a recorded voice. The role of a guide is to help you enter into a state of deep relaxation, quickly and effortlessly. A guided meditation is indeed the easiest way to enter into that state.
All you have to do is sit or lay down in a comfortable position, listen and follow along. A good guide, whether it is a teacher in the class or a registered voice will guide you, as if he took your hand, to a place where you can meet your subconscious self and get some really amazing insights.
How does it work?
The guided meditations usually consist of three parts:
- The purpose of the first part is to relax your body and mind. You will hear a pleasant and relaxing music in the background and a soft and calm voice will give you guidance in order to relax all your muscles and let go of all concerns, worries and issues of mind.
- Once your body and mind are deeply relaxed, you will become highly suggestible, and in the second part, you will hear messages which will attein your subconscious mind (more or less efficiently, depending on your state of relaxation).
- In the third part, you will again become conscious and aware of your surroundings, and you will feel refreshed, in peace and in harmony with the present moment.
There are many types of guided meditations: for sleep, for healing, for relaxation, for chakra balancing, for motivation, for meeting your spirit guide, for past life regression…
Some guided meditations use beta and theta waves in order to make your brain more flexible and your subconscious mind even more suggestible. More about this in another post…
In order to meditate efficiently, it is very important to prepare yourself for meditation:
- Find a calm and comfortable place.The majority of people always imagine a meditatingperson in the lotus position. The lotus position is not mandatory at all. A comfortable chair will do just fine. For some meditations, it is even recommended to lie dawn on a bed or floor.
- Make sure that no one disturbs you during the meditation time. I always meditate when I’m alone at home but you can simply tell the people you live with that you need to spend some time alone without anyone disturbing you.
- Turn off your phone!
What are the benefits of guided meditation versus meditation without a guide?
The meditation is a solitary activity. Its purpose is to find peace inside yourself by remaining present. It can be more difficult than it seems to sit down and remain quiet and present for 10 or 15 minutes every day, and meditating only from time to time, although it can make you feel better at the moment, won’t have a considerable impact on your life. And this is why the guided meditations are really beneficial, especially for beginners.
With the help of a guide, you can enter into a meditative 
state faster and more easily. Another advantage is that you can choose a short or a long guided meditation depending on the free time you have ahead. A 5 minute guided meditation in the middle of a busy and stressful day could be more beneficial than a half an hour of sleep.
There are some critics saying that a guide isn’t really useful and that guided meditations can even be limiting giving the fact that meditation is a solitary activity. Some of them go as far as to say that a guided meditation is not a real meditation and that you cannot attain the meditative state with a guide because their voice and words can be disturbing.
Obviously, my point of view is completely different. There is no real spiritual journey without a guide, whether is it a spiritual person in your surrounding who you respect and/or admire, an author, a religious authority or just a voice in a recorded guided meditation. The role of a guide is not to give you limiting directions telling you which way to go but to ask good questions helping you this way to achieve better knowing of yourself. The most important thing though is to choose a good guide.
There is an abundance of guided meditations online. Not all of them are good, and even if a meditation is a good quality one, it doesn’t mean that it will suit your needs. If you don’t like the voice or the music or if what a guide is saying is meaningless or simply not inspiring to you, there is no chance that you will enter into the meditative state.
So, before starting meditating, choose your guide carefully. There are several guided meditations that inspired me the first time I heard them and listening to those meditations on a regular basis helped me made a shift in my consciousness very quickly. So, when you find a good one, save it for regular use, and share it with others. They may thank you for that.
I hope that I managed to answer to some of your questions in this post, if you have any thoughts that you would like to share or any further questions, please leave me a comment below. I will be more than happy to discuss with you.
Hello Maja,
Great explanation on how to choose between a guided and a solo meditation. What would you choose for a beginner with no experience at all ? I want to start meditation, it will surely bring some peace and confidence to my life, but I am not sure where to start.
Thanks!
Hello Walter,
From my experience, guided meditations are the best solution for someone who has never meditated before. You won’t have to wonder where to start and what to do, everything will be explained to you. I suggest that you start with a 10-minute meditation for relaxation every day for at least three weeks and then progressively add other meditations. You will find two great meditations for relaxations on this page: https://guidedmeditationclub.com/category/for-relaxation. I will add many more of them soon. I hope this helps. I wish you a pleasant and exciting spiritual journey.
Hi Maja,
Love your post on guided meditation and how you have explained that it is a wonderful way for people who are new to meditation to begin.
There are plenty of naysayers out there who think that a guided meditation is not true meditation like you have mentioned, and maybe there is a little truth to that from an advanced meditator’s point of view, however, the way I look at it is, a guided meditation is better than no meditation at all, especially if one is just learning!
All the benefits of meditation you have pointed out is another great reason to begin.
Great read and thank you.
Warmly,
Heather 🙂
Hi Heather,
Thank you very much for visiting my website and taking the time for commenting. I really appreciate it.
Best wishes,
Maja
Hi there,
Great blog, I was absorbed by the reading!
What’s great about meditation is that you can practice it at home without a presence of a coach. Few months ago I started doing 10 minutes of meditations every single day and I remember that I felt much more relax and concentrated, but unfortunately I stopped because of the lack of time . This called, “excuses” if you know what I mean:)
I really need to get back to it and be more serious about it!
Thank you for this excellent post:)
I have always been intrigued by meditating but have never taken the time to really do it. I didn’t realize there were guided meditations. Maybe that would be more helpful for a beginner like me.
It always felt weird to me when I just tried to meditate on my own in a quiet room. I never can clear my mind fully. Listening to a guided meditation would probably help keep my mind focused better I assume.
I’m also wondering if meditation would help my migraine headaches. Most of them are caused by the high level of stress in my life. I have heard meditation is great for stress relief.
What is your opinion on meditating to relieve headaches as a possibility? Do you think it would help?
Hi Kimberly,
While I was thinking about creating this website I realized that there are many people like you who are interested in meditation but who never tried it and never have heard of guided meditations which are really very easy to implement in everyday life, no matter how busy you are. All you need is a device with internet access and headphones.
Concerning headaches, meditation definitely can help. Even a simple 15-minute meditation for relaxation can diminish the pain and there are also specific healing meditations which can make miracles if you implement them on a regular basis. If your headaches are caused by high level of stress, I suggest you try a chakra alignment meditation before sleep (by Jason Stephenson). Here’s the link: https://guidedmeditationclub.com/category/for-sleep (the third meditation on the page)
There are also some great healing meditations here: https://guidedmeditationclub.com/category/for-healing
If you decide to try some of these meditations, please let me know if they helped.
Thank you for visiting my website.
I wish you a true happiness and a peace of mind.
Maja
I agree that guided meditation can be just as effective as regular meditation, especially if you’re a beginner.
I have read that guided meditation can put you in the alpha state which is the same state that experienced meditation practitioners experience in their practice.
Do you have any examples or posts of some good guided meditations? What would you recommend?
Yes, it is totally possible to reach the alpha state during a guided meditation. This is, in fact, the purpose of each meditation – to reach that state when our body is completely relaxed and our mind is alert. All of us experience the alpha state at least twice a day, without knowing it – when we wake up, and just before we fall asleep. By practicing meditation we can enter into that state on purpose whenever we want to. You will find some really great guided meditations on this website. Here”s the direct link: https://guidedmeditationclub.com/category/guided-meditations
I hope you will enjoy them.
Best wishes,
Maja
Hi Daniella,
Thank you very much for your comment. I’m glad that you liked my post. The lack of time is something that many of us suffer from. That is why it is important to learn to put yourself first. You deserve at least 10 minutes of relaxation every day (you deserve much more, but this is really a minimum) so be kind to yourself and take that time. You will feel happier, healthier and more connected to your real inner self.
I wish you all the best.
Maja
This sounds like a good way to relax the body and the mind. I am never a ‘meditated’ person partly because I have a busy mind all the time. As a result, I find that my entire day can be very exhausting at times.
If I am interested in guided meditation, which one would you recommend that I start with first? Sleep, healing or relaxation? They all sound like the same thing/mode for me.
Thank you for your advice.
Hi Cathy,
We all have busy minds. The meditation is a great way to quiet it and let your true, inner self come out to the surface. You can choose a type of meditation depending on the time of the day when you feel like making a pause. If you have only 10 or 15 minutes in the middle of a busy day, I would recommend a short meditation for relaxation. If you can’t fall asleep easily at night, try a longer, deep sleep meditation. Most of the healing meditations are also recommended before sleep.
I wish you a pleasant meditating time.
Hello. I am a big fan of guided meditations and feel they work best for me. I am always looking for ways to relax and connect to my true self.I find that the guided meditations are more helpful to get into the connected state of mind.Thank you for your explanation on this! I know it will be very helpful to those who seek inner peace.
Thank you for your kind comment, Johny.
Hello Maja
I’ve decided that 2018 is MY year to work on me and become the person I truly am. One of the things I have just started is meditation but do find it hard unless I’m in bed ready to sleep. I’ve found the past few nights that if I meditate prior to falling asleep I am actually sleeping through the night – unheard of for me! I had not heard of guided meditation before so I am off to look at the links you have provided. Do you think that will help me to meditate better during the day?
Regards,
Megan
Hi Megan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. Yes, guided meditations can surely help you meditating during the day as well. Personnaly, guided meditations help me achieve meditative state more easily and more quickly.
Have a nice a peaceful day.
Maja