Guided Meditation: Tips and Expectations.

Hello,

My name's Fred Wood.

I'm a contributor to Insight Timer and I'm a college professor in Canada.

I'd like to talk to you for a minute about guided meditations.

I've been teaching a course for the last 15 years where I include guided meditations in that class.

I'll tell you a little bit about my student experiences and some of the best practices that help people to get the most out of a guided meditation.

I like to follow,

In the ones that I have contributed to Insight Timer,

A biopsychosocial model,

Which really simply means that I pay attention to somebody's breathing.

As well as they're recognizing that their heart rate is going to slow down and it's going to change the physiology slightly.

The psychological aspects of a guided meditation are really to try to encourage somebody to have a pleasant and positive experience.

And then the social aspect sort of is twofold.

One,

The guided meditation itself.

Places you into an environment that is welcoming and safe.

And then the second prong is for you,

Before you start your guided meditation,

To find a location that will afford you enough time and space so that you can be unrushed listening to the guided meditation.

Comfortable couch,

A nice chair,

Headphones perhaps,

Anything that allows you to concentrate solely on the guided meditation for as long as it's going to last.

Those are the pieces that I think that are most helpful for guided meditations.

And you can use them for help with sleep.

Seems to be particularly problematic for my students.

They have difficulty falling asleep at night.

So guided meditations have helped them.

I did a guided meditation not very long ago in my class and I gave the suggestion at the end of it that tonight you're going to have a really wonderful deep sleep.

Perhaps unlike any other sleep you've had before.

And a student showed up the next class saying that she slept for 13 hours.

I hope guided meditation works for you.

These are some of the parameters and some of the suggestions that I have for you.

Thanks.