The Power of Guided Meditation

The Power of Guided Meditation provides an accessible and easy entry point into starting a meditation practice, offering a range of practices and benefits so you can decide how to choose and integrate a program to suit your specific needs.

First, explore meditation from the perspective of mindfulness. Why mindfulness? Mindfulness is the practice of bringing the attention back to the present moment. Mindfulness is not only meditation, and meditation is not only mindfulness. Mindfulness, in its most complete sense, is a way of living, thinking, and being that is self-aware and deliberate. Most practices as we know them in the West are rooted in mindfulness. Discover mindfulness through:

• Body
• Breath
• Thoughts
• Sounds
• Walking
• Eating
• Listening/Communication
• Compassion/Kindness

Another focus of meditation is to relieve stress. Why stress relief? Particular meditation techniques induce a calm, serene state very quickly by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. These practices have the power to lower the heart rate, reduce inflammation in the body, settle the emotions, deepen the qualities of our sleep, boost the immune system, and much more. Relieve stress with:

• Yoga nidra
• Breathing exercises - calm breathing, diaphragmatic breath, square breathing
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Sleep
• Affirmation

Or, use visualisation techniques to anchor a practice. Why visualisation? Visualisation lets our mind remain somewhat active as it takes instruction to create images internally. The mind-body connection is powerful and we're learning more about it every day. Visualisation techniques have been successfully used in fields such as medicine, sports, music, and psychology for many years. Practice visualisation through:

• Haven visualisation
• Oasis journey
• Wake up
• Colour therapy
• Renewal
• Accessing your inner genius

There is also a useful and complete directory to reference if you have a specific issue you'd like to address or a desired meditative effect—like more energy, clarity, or pain relief—that you'd like to achieve. Depending on your goal, it will direct you to a guided meditation in the book, or it will give you a new exercise for your particular focus. You can search through some common physical conditions that are often helped with meditation, or you can choose an activity from the "Quick Re-sets." Begin a customised meditation practice right away with this versatile beginners guide.