Guided meditation: what it is, types and functions

What is guided meditation and how is it used? Let's look at its different varieties and forms of use.

We live in a society that forces us to be constantly on the move. Going to work, studying for final exams, supporting our family and other worries generate stress and negative feelings.

While we focus our actions on others and have to do what the day to day demands of us, we forget to take care of the most important people in our lives: ourselves.

Connecting with our inner self becomes necessary in these situations and meditation is a good technique to achieve this. However, meditating is not an easy task and for this reason it is necessary to turn to experts to guide us. In this article we are going to see what guided meditation iswhat are the benefits and we will talk about some types of meditation.

What is guided meditation?

Guided meditation is a tool that allows, through words and images, to let go of negative emotions such as pain, stress and worries of everyday life, helping us to connect with our inner self.

This technique has become increasingly popular. On the one hand, because of the need to manage the stress of today's of today's society and, on the other hand, by the fact that it is a tool easily applicable in everyday life with the right help.

The way guided meditation is performed is quite simple. A person who acts as an expert in meditation, such as a guru or spiritual guide, is in charge of offering a series of instructions to help interested people reach a state of relaxation.

With his or her expert knowledge, the meditation leader helps to focus on the personal goals of the person who comes to him or her. These goals can be a better overall emotional state, acceptance of a situation over which one has no control, or psychological preparation for a or psychological preparation towards a specific goal. It is for this reason that it is very recurrent in the training of elite athletes.

To carry it out you can attend specialized workshops and gyms, but there is also the possibility of doing it from home, because you do not need much space or too many resources to meditate. On the Internet you can find hundreds of videos explaining different types of meditations, as well as CDs, videos and very detailed books.

What are the benefits?

Through the use of this technique, the person can achieve well-being, thanks to the fact that it contributes to reach a state of calmness and gives mental and corporal satisfaction. In addition, if used properly, has a positive impact on both physical and psychological health..

Some of the benefits of meditations of this type are:

• Strengthening the immune system.
• Improvement of cognitive abilities: memory, concentration, attention...
• Increased resilience.
• Emotional stability.
• Improvement in diseases such as hypertension, cancer, fibromyalgia, Asthma and cardiovascular problems.

Types of guided meditation

The reasons why a guided meditation is necessary can be several. That is why there are different types, used according to the type of problem of the person who requires it.

1. Traditional meditations

The spiritual guide or guru gives the instructions orally, guiding the listener into a meditative state. There are usually many pauses of silence, and it is not frequent to accompany them with music.

The purpose of this type of meditations can be very varied, but they are usually used to initiate or maintain a meditative state. to initiate or to maintain the state of calm..

Meditation with visualization

One is invited to imagine an object or scene with the intention of achieving a greater relaxation. Very recurrent resources are the rays of light of different colors, each one of them representing an emotion with which one is going to work..

3. Relaxation and body scanning

Its purpose is to achieve the maximum degree of relaxation at body level. The person becomes aware of all parts of his body and even his body temperature. and even of his body temperature.

They are usually accompanied by music or relaxing sounds of nature, introducing the person being guided into a state of deep calm.

4. Binaural tones

According to physicist Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, when two sounds with different frequencies are presented in each ear, the mind tries to reconcile the difference by creating a third wave. Headphones are placed and an audio is presented in which on each side a different sound is presented..

According to the followers of this type of guided meditation, by using binaural tones the alpha waves are stimulated and the mind is able to connect with the inner self.

5. Affirmations

Instead of thinking negatively, such as "I'm going to give up", "I'm not good enough for this", "it's going to hurt", it is proposed to reformulate these thoughts in a more optimistic format: "I am in good health", "I have come a long way", "if I am here it is because of my effort and my commitment".

6. Guided meditation of attention to breathing

We breathe all the time and yet we do not pay enough attention to this natural process. to this natural process.

The premise behind this type of guided meditation is that if you can control something as simple and fundamental as breathing, you can train your mind in almost any aspect.

7. Mindfulness

A philosophical current has emerged in the West that is compatible with the fundamentals behind meditation: Mindfulness.

Mindfulness has been gaining fame because it is not linked to a religion.Unlike other meditations that talk about chakras and ideas taken from Buddhism and Hinduism.

Another peculiarity of this type of meditation is the fact that it does not have to be done sitting still. You can enter a state of mindfulness whether you are walking down the street, doing the dishes or even in the shower.

The main thing is to concentrate on what you are doing and the sensations it produces.

8. Guided meditations to sleep better

They are one of the most popularThey are the most popular, especially because of the fact that we live in a society where schedules prevent us from having proper sleep habits.

Many people have trouble sleeping and, when they go to bed, they calculate how much time they have before they have to get up to go to work. The problem is that the more you want to sleep, the more difficult it is to achieve it.

Guided meditations for better sleep offer a series of instructions that help to reach sleep in a natural and unforced way..

While trying to sleep, you can make a review of what has happened during the day, detecting those negative emotions to gradually put them aside.

Bibliographical references:

• Hodgins, H. S. and Adair, K. C. (2010) Attentional processes and meditation. Consciousness and Cognition, 19(4), 872-878.
• Kwekkeboom, K. L. and Bratzke, L. C. (2016) A Systematic Review of Relaxation, Meditation, and Guided Imagery Strategies for Symptom Management in Heart Failure. The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 31(4), 457-468.