Let’s be honest, the stresses, busyness, and general pressures of life can often get the best of us. No matter how strongly we may think we have everything ‘in check’, one small, unexpected turn can leave us feeling overwhelmed and begin the spiral downwards.
As counselors, you are expected to be the ones who have it all together. After all, you are the ones others place their burdens on. Yet, you too are just people. Something your clients most likely often forget.
As someone who struggles with anxiety myself, I found the following seven guided meditations to be very useful for various reasons. Whether it be to simply relax and take a breather, sleep better, or confront the anxiety head-on, the following videos are all under 30 minutes and well worth taking a look at.
Meditation For Beginners
If, like me, you haven’t been into meditation up until now, the following video is for you. It guides you through the reason why we meditate, the process behind meditation, and the practice and associated results thereof. According to the video, meditation is ultimately about arriving at a place of stillness. And, in the craziness that is life these days, stillness is always welcome. Chris explains how meditation mostly comes down to your breathing and awareness of your body. He recommends starting with short meditation sessions and taking it from there. Ultimately, and I quote, “any time you take for yourself to sit quietly is always valuable”.
Meditation Video For Relaxation
The following guided meditation is aimed at relaxation. And, with the combination of calming music and instructions to focus on your breathing and release the tension within each area of your body, it does just that. Furthermore, the length of this powerful guided meditation is only ten minutes. Not a big ask to achieve some much-needed down time.
Using Meditation To Help With Sleep
In the 20th Century, sleep is often elusive to most. Furthermore, we live in a culture that almost ‘admires’ minimal sleep. Four to six hours of sleep a night means you’re working hard and going places. Although – thankfully – this mindset is beginning to change, you might still find you need help getting some decent sleep. If you’re looking for some Godly (Christian) reassurance before settling in for the night, the video below – produced by Abide Guided Meditation App – is the one for you. This meditation instructs you to get comfortable and then listen to the soothing prayers and scriptures based on getting a good night’s sleep.
Alternatively, if Christian Guided Meditation is not your scene, you could try the below video produced by Jason Stephenson. As an expert in meditation, Jason takes you on a ‘journey through the clouds’ to achieve a clear mind and weightless body. He encourages you to join your breath and mind and focus on your senses in order to wake up feeling refreshed and rested. Often times, during the video, there is just calming music playing. A melody which is bound to have you in a peaceful slumber in no time!
Guided Christian Meditation To Deal With Anxiety
Sticking with Jason, below is his guided meditation video for anxiety. This time, however, he takes you on a 30 minute journey through a starry sky. His aim? Allowing you to escape from the here and now, gain a new perspective, and reduce the size of your seemingly overwhelming problems. He includes shoulder movements in an effort to reduce the tension in the body. If you’re feeling anxious and stressed out, take some time out of your day and find a quiet place to go through this video. You won’t regret it.
Again, if it’s some Godly wisdom you require amidst your anxious state, Abide also has a ten minute video aimed at anxiety. This one is slightly different to the rest in that it doesn’t come with the usual, calming music. But, instead, offers an easy-going conversational-type guide through the definition of anxiety, and how to overcome it. The meditation includes relevant scriptures and prayers, but also offers a very practical approach to ’embracing your anxiety’ – and the irrationality of it. This, instead of trying to run from it which, ultimately, will only make it worse.
Meditation To Achieve Mindfulness
The Honest Guys are another popular publisher within the guided meditation space. Their video on achieving mindfulness has obtained over 2.5 million views. In this video, they encourage you to observe your thoughts from a distance and, once again, focus on your breathing. The ten minute meditation guides you through the process of being mindful. Furthermore, it includes non-invasive music, which allows you to truly focus on the task at hand.
Having gone through each, or a just a few, of the above suggests videos, I hope you will be left feeling relaxed, well-rested, calm, and ready to take on whatever you need to within the next day / week ahead. Feel free to re-watch them or find some of your own. Just search for ‘guided meditation’ followed by the specific kind you are looking for, i.e.: sleep, positive thinking, etc. and you’ll find a wide variety to browse through. Thereafter, happy meditating!
Samantha Carvalho is the Chief Marketing Officer of Practice of the Practice. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with her husband and kitten. Over and above Practice of the Practice, she is passionate about women empowerment, fashion, and animals.
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