16 meditation exercises with a guide

Meditation is a powerful tool to achieve inner peace, improve concentration and connect with the present. Through different techniques and exercises, it is possible to cultivate a calmer and more conscious mind.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the most effective guided meditations you can practice anywhere. Integrate into your life those that you like the most and with which you feel most comfortable.

What are the best guided meditations?

There are many guided meditation exercises that can help you connect with the present, the body, emotions, objects, the world, food, etc. Below, we will explore the most common ones.

1. Pay attention to breathing

Focusing your attention on your breathing is the most basic, fundamental, and simplest guided meditation exercise of all. The purpose is to be aware of how the air enters through the nose and how it leaves. It consists of being aware of each inhalation and exhalation. Here is a guide on how to do it:

Schedule 20-30 minutes in a quiet place.Close your eyes, focus your attention on your posture and relax. Recognize and focus on your breathing.Observe the complete cycle of your breathing.If you get distracted, gently return to your breathing. Use the inhalation to focus and the exhalation to relax. Stay focused on the rhythm of your breathing and appreciate each moment.Finish by saying thank you, take a deep breath and open your eyes.

2. Count backwards

This exercise is very simple but powerful. Through it you can keep your mind focused on the present and away from distractions, expectations (the future) and memories (the past). By focusing cognitive resources on counting, the mental noise loses intensity. To do this, do the following:

Find a quiet place.Close your eyes and breathe calmly. Choose a starting number, such as 50 or 100. Start counting backwards slowly.Focus your attention on the count. If you get distracted, go back to the previous number and continue. Try to reach zero while maintaining focus. Take a moment to appreciate the calm as you reach zero. Breathe deeply and open your eyes. Return to your routine with a clearer mind.

3. Body Scan

This is one of the most interesting simple meditation exercises. You just have to go over the different parts of your body. The objective is to become more aware of corporality. To do this, follow the following guidelines:

Choose a quiet place and meditate for 30 minutes on a timer.Assume your meditation posture and relax any tension in your body. Focus your attention on your breath and feel it spread throughout your body. Observe the movement of your shoulders and arms as you breathe. Feel your spine, neck, and head.Direct your attention to the chest and feel the heartbeat.Notice the contraction of the diaphragm and the sensations in the belly. Focus on the pelvis, belly, genitals and hips.Shift your attention to your legs: thighs, knees, calves and feet.Feel your body as a unit and enjoy the feeling of being alive.

You can go tensing and relaxing the different muscle groups, just to be aware of their presence and their movement. This is a very attractive way to observe yourself and perceive the sensations of your body in detail.

4. Dynamic observation

This guided meditation exercise invites you to connect, in a deep and conscious way, with the surrounding environment, with the natural or artificial space in which we are. Generally, we forget about what surrounds us and the things we have. With this practice we will be able to appreciate our environment. Follow these steps to apply it:

Take a comfortable position, preferably sitting.Close your eyes.Open them for a brief moment and then close them again.Reflect on what you just saw.Identify the sensations that the observed stimuli produce in you.List the objects or details that you remember.Think about the shapes and colors of what you see.Associate a name with each object or detail. If you are at home, look at your home from a different perspective. Take a moment to appreciate the familiarity and newness of your surroundings.

5. Meditation in motion

Another of the simple meditation exercises with a guide that we can put into practice is based on benefiting from the pleasant sensations that our body produces when it moves. The most advisable thing to do is to do it in contact with nature. Keep these suggestions in mind:

Start by standing at one end of the chosen stretch with your eyes closed. Feel your body and the sensation of simply “being here.” If possible, walk barefoot or with socks.Feel your feet touching the ground and gravity acting on your body.Feel the air on your skin and listen to the sounds around you.Focus on your breathing, feeling it in your belly and nose.Open your eyes and observe your surroundings, appreciating colors, textures and shapes.Start walking slowly, feeling every movement of your foot and leg.When walking, maintain an attitude of curiosity, as if it were your first time. When you reach the end of the stretch, stop, feel your body, and then change direction.

You can take long walks on the beach or in the forest, and thus enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face, the caresses of the wind or the touch of plants and water on your hands. Additionally, it can be another form of self-observation, by thinking about your body movements as you walk.

6. Meditation with fire

You can also use fire as a symbolic element of purification to focus your meditation. Do the following:

Choose a safe place to observe the fire. Focus your attention on a bonfire or the flame of a candle. Observe the flutter and constant movement of the flame. Feel the heat emanating from the fire. Notice the shadows it casts on nearby objects. .Stay present and connected to the sensations.

On the other hand, you can make a list of negative things to throw into the fire. This act will help you free yourself from those fears that you can really do little about.

7. Loving Kindness Exercise

Another guided meditation activity is that of kindness and love. Its goal is to cultivate compassion, love and kindness towards oneself and others. Through it you can connect with the heart and radiate love and care. To use it follow these steps:

Set aside 20 to 40 minutes for meditation. Sit upright and relaxed. Partially or completely close your eyes. Breathe deeply to connect with the present moment.Visualize a loved one (Later, you can visualize a stranger). Recognize the vulnerability of that being.Gently repeat: “May you be safe. May you have peace. May you be healthy. May things go well for you in life.If you get distracted, return to the words and image of the loved one. Place your hand over your heart and feel its warmth. Iinclude yourself and repeat: «May you and I be safe. May you and I have peace. May you and I have health. May life go well for you and me.”Offer kindness to yourself with the same phrases.Breathe and feel the kindness and compassion emanating from your heart.Gently open your eyes.

8. Inhale and exhale compassion

The purpose of this guided meditation exercise is so that we can inhale another’s pain and exhale compassion. This activity goes against our usual response to discomfort: avoidance. Here, suffering is welcomed. To use it, follow these recommendations:

Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take some deep, relaxing breaths. Scan your body for areas of tension or stress. Take note of any stressful emotions or memories that arise.As you inhale, imagine that you attract the other person’s discomfort.As you exhale, send compassion toward her.Visualize words like “tenderness,” “comfort,” “calm,” “care,” “kindness,” and “love” as you breathe.Maintain the rhythm of breathing in compassion for yourself and breathing out compassion for others. From time to time, check in with your internal state and respond with compassionate breaths as needed. Open your eyes slowly.

9. Meditation of space

Through this exercise, you try to connect with the universe. Integrates the internal with the external in a total unity. Emotions and thoughts join the cosmos through consciousness. Apply it in the following way:

Prepare to meditate for 30 minutes and find a comfortable posture.Become aware of your surroundings and posture.Examine your body for tensions and relax them. Focus your attention on your chest and feel the rhythm of your breathing. Bring your attention to your heart, feeling its beat. Visualize the space around you.Imagine space travel and you are moving away from Earth while floating in the cosmos.Contemplate the celestial bodies and feel the energy and light of space.Identify yourself with the vastness of space, without limits or borders.Recognize the connection between outer and inner space.Return your attention to the breath and gradually return to the Earth.

10. Meditation of sound and silence

This is an exercise to train active listening without passing judgment. It is an act of opening to the sounds and noises of the world from a space of tranquility and with an attitude of acceptance. Here we leave you the step by step of this meditation with a guide:

Reserve 30 minutes in a quiet place, with little light and a pleasant temperature. Find a comfortable position to meditate.Take a couple of deep breaths and relax.Become aware of your posture and examine your body for tension. Focus your attention on your breathing and its natural rhythm.Direct your attention to the sounds in your environment.Accept and observe all sounds without judging them. Recognize how sounds evoke a feeling of space in you.Reflect on the interdependence of silence and sounds.Immerse yourself in the duality of sound and silence. Stay in the present and enjoy the current moment.Return your attention to your breathing and its calm rhythm.Stay focused on your breathing for a few minutes. Take a couple of deep breaths, open your eyes and reconnect with your surroundings.

11. Meditation exercise on emotions

This activity seeks to accept emotions even if they are painful. It is an exercise focused on the emotional dimension that accompanies us every day. Through this training, we will be able to better identify and understand what we feel. To integrate it into your life, we recommend:

Set aside 30 minutes and adopt your favorite meditation posture. Relax and release tension in your body. Focus your attention on your breathing.Remember a recent episode that generated a strong emotion in you.Identify and visualize in your mind and body the sensations that arise with that emotion.Give a name to the emotion you are feeling (anger, fear, shame).Reflect on what that emotion expresses, what need it manifests and what drives you to do. Recognize any initial resistance or rejection towards the emotion and how your body and mind…