In the beginning, I found thatguided meditationswere appealing. They literallywalked methrough the meditation.I didnt have to do anything but just sit there and let it happen. This seemed simple enough for a guy like me who cancomplicate things.

After scouring countless meditations, Ive collected thebest guided meditations on YouTube. Each oneillustrates fun mindfulness exercises and approaches.Whether for sleep, anxiety, chakra-clearing, or binaural beats, these are worth listening to.

I like this guided meditation because it has sounds of ocean waves in the background. This is nice because it puts me into a calm state by itself. Also, there is a wonderful integration of breathing exercises that sooth and relax. You may find yourself feeling weightless at some point, which is quite nice.

This YouTube videois effective for beginners and experienced meditators alike.

Even though there arent any instructions with this guided meditation, the music and imagery work well. This is the best YouTubevideosI can think of to start with.Want deep, restful sleep? Read this article ondeep sleep meditation.

Manymeditations tell us to breathe deeply, but what does that mean?

I like the way this begins by simply demonstrating what deep breathing means. The meditation guides you to put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. This shows the correct method of diaphragmatic breathing, which increasesthe amount of oxygen that goes into your lungs.

Beyond that, this meditation does a nice job of guiding you through imagery to stillness. You are then given about 10 minutes without a guiding voice to allow you to floatin silence. The Seat meditation is an effective way to connect with your breath and find a place of stillness inside.

This guided meditation is designed to alleviate anxiety. This is forthose of you who have emotional vampires in your life and want torelieve stress.I like its brevity (about 10 minutes) and general helpfulness for those new to meditation.

When just starting, many people prefer having a voice to guide them for the duration of a meditation. Soft speech combined with the flute and strings in the background of this video are soothing.

The voice directs you in following your breath and also involves some guided imagery with nature.

This may be better for those open to an Eastern conception of the body involving chakras. However, I also find it to be universal and digestible for anyone with an open mind.

If youre unfamiliar with chakras, this meditation explainsalong the way. Itdirects you to breathe in healing and positive energy and breathe out negativity. This has the effect of shifting your mindset to be more positive.

The progressive scanning up the body after feeling a connection with the Earth is pretty sweet. It also creates a physical relaxation similar to that felt in a body scan. If you seekto gain clarity with all areas of life, this guided meditation is powerful.

For those who use meditation to get in touch with intuitive guidance in life, this may be for you. It uses a unique sound/technology calledbinaural beats.Binaural beats are a series of tones and sounds that physically affect our brain wave states.

This meditation does require headphones (preferably ear-covering ones). The tones induce theta waves, which represent deep relaxation. It also can be considered the space between sleep and being awake.

This video combines the binaural tones with contemplative questions (written on the screen). This integrationhelps you listen to your own intuition on what to do in life. Big questions are asked, some without an answer: Who are you?

The binaural tones combined with the contemplation can lead to profound insights. Especiallyif youre at a crossroads with a job, relationships, or direction at work.

I recommend this for those who tend to be contemplative or just want to experiment with binaural meditation. Keep a journal handy to record any major insights that may come.

This list wouldnt be complete without a video produced by yours truly (Chris Willitts, founder of Mindful Muscle). Itisnt a guided meditation per se. It is more of an instructional video about how to start a meditation practice.

If youre just getting started this should get you going in the right direction.Want more tips on how to get started? Heres the article that goes with the YouTube video above:How to Meditate: 5-Minute Mastery.

Summary

Meditation can dissolve stress and help us find inner peace. Some say it is the most effective tool we have to harmonize our emotional self. Its really difficult to learn how to meditate without a teacher, a guided meditation presents an attractive method.

Sleep meditation isall the rage, be sure to check out our resource below

*UCLA has free guided meditations worth checking out.

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7 Best YouTube Guided Meditations - Mindful Muscle