Following a guided meditation can be such a wonderful way to begin a meditation practice, and be a companion to silent sitting meditations like Vipassana. Many studies have shown the direct correlation between meditators, and the reduction of stress, anxiety and depression. For instance, a famous study from 1992 states,
Twenty of 22 subjects showed marked improvement in both anxiety and depression after the intervention. This improvement was maintained at 3-month follow-up. Improvement was observed both in patients’ self-ratings.
Additionally, a recent study at UCLA suggested that lifelong meditators actually extend their life expectancy! The research on meditation is extensive, and at this point we are seeing schools, prisons and corporations teaching it so that the people in those environments can have a more stress-free existence. A powerful example of this can be seen in the documentary, The Dhamma Brothers, in which prisoners practice meditation and become an examples of the profound impact it can have on anger and trauma.
Though mindfulness and meditation have only recently worked their way into psychotherapy, they have existed for thousands of years, and have been practiced worldwide. If you are interested in counseling with mindful and meditative interventions, please feel free to contact me to learn a little more about how I personally integrate them as a therapist.
Below you will find a free, downloadable meditation, recorded by yours truly for a non-therapy mediation workshop I was asked to lead recently. I would suggest that you set a timer, and begin it just before playing the meditation. The guidance is a few minutes long, followed by an extensive ringing of a singing bell. Let your attention rest on the sound of the bell. After the bell, remain seated quietly for the duration of your timer. As your thoughts drift, allow your attention to return to the experience of breathing, continually noticing the mind at play, and returning to the bodily experience of the breath, each time you notice the mind stray. Cultivate a childlike curiosity about the process. Notice your inability to control thinking, and return home to the breath, over and over until your timer is finished.
Be well,