8 Guided Meditation to Cut Stress & Anxiety
Don't let stress spin out of control. Take back control of your life with these guided meditations
After creating my first guided relaxation video, a few readers responded saying they’d prefer a voice to guide them through the relaxation exercise, rather than having them to read and follow the on-screen instructions.
Thank you to all those who have taken the time to give me their valuable feedback. I truly appreciate every single comment that I receive. The reason why there’s text only is because my voice is simply not suitable for the intention of the video. For a guided relaxation to work, the voice used must be pleasant, clear and engaging. Besides, since I’m living in a different part of the world (Singapore), my accent may not be easily understood by majority of The Conscious Life readers who are from overseas.
Some Guided Meditations You May Enjoy
If you’re looking for high-quality guided meditation with a pleasant voice, engaging story, soothing background music and natural sound effects, you may want to consider those offered by Meditainment.
Meditainment is the company behind The Secret Garden, a guided visualization exercise which I’ve reviewed before. The guided meditation MP3 produced by Meditainment have been used by hotels, hospitals and airlines such as US Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada and Qantas. Besides offering individual guided meditation CDs and MP3s, the company also offers paid membership that gives you unlimited access to all the titles in their online library for a deeply discounted price (a good value if you’re someone who enjoys guided meditations).
Below, I’ve selected some titles from Meditainment that are useful in relieving stress and anxiety. They vary in length and range from as short as 4 minutes to as long as 21 minutes. The shorter ones can be very useful to stressed, busy people who feel the need to learn meditation but yet find the idea of finding 30 or 40 minutes to meditate stressful. While the longer ones are appropriate when you can set aside a dedicated time each day in the comfort of your home (or office if you can be left alone for a period of time) to practice.
As you browse through the list, bear in mind that each of us has a different preference when it comes to something as personal as voice. What I find pleasant and relaxing, may be jarring for you. So, listen to the samples provided and decide for yourself.
To best evaluate the titles, and to get the most out of any guided meditation exercises, I highly recommend that you listen with a headphone in a room where you won’t be disturbed.
I used to do it during lunch hour, when the office was usually empty, to relax before an important meeting. You can also listen to one on your iPod before sleeping to improve your sleep quality. A teacher can teach students how to manage their stress level by playing one of these guided meditation MP3. An otherwise mundane bus or train journey can also become a deep relaxation moment with guided meditation too. The uses are only limited by your imagination. I hope you will find one that enhances the goal you have in mind.
1. Rapid Relaxation
A guided exercise for fast recharge
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The Story: Recharge yourself quickly with this 8-minute guided relaxation exercise that walks you through seven levels of relaxation as you enjoy a zen moment by a waterfall.
Length: 8 minutes
Cost: US$10
2. Chill Out
A guided meditation for anxiety panic attacks
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The Story: Take back control of your life with this guided meditation created specially for those with anxiety panic attacks. You will follow a story where you seek the shelter of your Igloo, aka snow house, in the arctic wilderness. Once inside, you feel safe and secure and wait-out a snow storm that you hear outside.
Length: 21 minutes
Cost: US$10
3. Guided Relaxation
A relaxing meditation for stress and anxiety
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The Story: No time for a river trip? Let your mind do the walking for you. Follow a story in this guided relaxation where you imagine canoeing along a river to a beautiful field of grass and flowers. After a day basking in the sun, you watch a magnificent sunset before returning to your canoe.
Length: 21 minutes
Cost: US$10
4. Deep Relaxation
A guided relaxation for deep relaxation
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The Story: If water makes you relaxed, then you will like this water-themed guided relaxation. In it, you will visualize yourself entering the waters of the ocean and diving slowly down into the depths, where you enjoy a deep state of relaxation listening to the songs and calls of whales.
Length: 21 minutes
Cost: US$10
5. Stress Relief
A short stress buster meditation
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The Story: A 4-minute guided meditation that aims to help you bust stress quickly by taking an energizing time-out.
Length: 4 minutes
Cost: US$6
6. Passive Relaxation
A guided exercise to release body tension
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The Story: A guided relaxation exercise to help you release body tension progressively from head to toe. Where there are aches or pain in an area, this guide will also show you how to release it by working on the surrounding areas.
Length: 7 minutes
Cost: US$10
7. Managing Stress
A guided meditation to reduce stress
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The Story: If stress is spinning out of control, take a walk along the beach of an island in this relaxation exercise and learn a technique to manage stress better in your daily life.
Length: 21 minutes
Cost: US$10
8. Inner Peace
A guided imagery meditation
for finding inner peace
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The Story: Find yourself in a house in the middle of a forest in this guided relaxation. Relaxing by an open fire, you enter a meditative state and tune into your inner peace, which is always within you.
Length: 21 minutes
Cost: US$10
Get Unlimited Access
If you enjoy these guided meditations, you may want to consider getting one-year unlimited access to all of Meditainment’s guided meditation MP3 audio worth over US$500 for just $79. At last count, there are more than 60 of them. That’s a saving of more than $400! An exceptionally good value I must say.
Even if you decided not to renew at the end of one year, you still get to keep all the audio files that you’ve downloaded. It’s also worthwhile to note that Meditainment does not auto-renew membership, so you need not worry about being charged without your knowledge.
If this sounds good to you, click here for unlimited access to high-quality guided meditations »
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