Stressful Times? Here Are 10 Free Guided Meditations To Help You Relax During Quarantine.
As more and more and people around the world are experiencing some form of social distancing, we suddenly find ourselves, with so much time in our hands. This abrupt lifestyle change may be tough for some as it tampers with our mental health and our daily routine. Exercising your mind and taking care of your well-being will help you get through the process of coping with these unpredictable and stressful times.
Trying out meditation for the first time has been a breakthrough for me. It was relieving to experience first-hand that I have an influence on what is going on inside my busy mind. It starts by being aware. An awareness that I am not the voice inside my head.
Meditating every now and then will not give you the long-term results you wish for. My depression and anxiety didn’t go away after one session. It took continuous practice. However, there are immediate benefits of meditation that you can experience now, such as balancing your present emotions, increasing your focus and connecting with your inner self.
If there is one good habit you want to pick up during a lockdown, you should highly consider meditation.
This article provides you with 10 of my favorites meditations across five themes: reducing anxiety, depression, stress, increasing gratitude and focus. These meditations vary in time and method. For each, I’ll provide a link with a short review so you may choose what suits you best without giving away too much of what you’ll experience during the 5 to 20 minutes of meditation.
First, download the Insight Timer app
Insight Timer is a free meditation app that has many free guided meditations and meditation music and stories that you can access by downloading here for iOS and here for Android. You can also listen to it on your desktop by clicking the link on the individual meditations below.
A. Reducing Anxiety
Meditation 1: Relieving Anxiety — Feeling Grounded, 10 minutes
This meditation guides you with your breathing and a body-scan which is paying attention to your bodily sensation to release tension. This two technique naturally relaxes you and activates your parasympathetic nervous system. The meditation includes instrumental music background with a long pause in between cues with the music that may increase feelings of peace.
Meditation 2: Decrease Anxiety & Increase Peace, 17 minutes
Similar to the first meditation, but added with probing questions that you are encouraged to ask yourself and visualize the answers. The first half is dedicated to increasing awareness with instructions to notice your body and the second half has a theme to increase self-compassion and peace. Recommended if you are feeling either nervous, stressed, scared, anxious or panic and with extra time on your hand.
B. Reducing Depression
Meditation 1: Accepting Change, 10 minutes
This meditation is unique in the sense that Sarah Blondin guides you through a story-telling-like visualization. The detailed description and sound of the imagined surroundings coupled with probing questions will encourage you to start the journey of self-rediscovery. Powerful guided questions include how to forgive self and others, awareness of the fear that is present in our lives and igniting excitement and hope.
Meditation 2: Meditation for Depression, 13 minutes
Whether you feel sad, heavy, helpless or lonely, I truly think this meditation may help. Franke Heke does a good job of educating us on the symptoms and implications of depression. He also briefly shares his personal experience on depression and how he made changes to get out of it. This meditation combines breathwork and affirmation mantras to cultivate the feeling of connectedness to self.
C. Increasing Focus
Meditation 1: 5 Minutes to Focus, 5 minutes
A quick and effective pick-me-up especially when you find yourself being distracted and unable to focus on the task at hand. Although it seems short, it includes probing questions for gratitude, visualization and setting the next steps for your goals. I often use this when I find myself opening way too many tabs that are unrelated to what I’m supposed to do. Don’t we all have those moments?
Meditation 2: Morning Meditation For Energy And Clarity, 15 minutes
Introducing you to some really good breathwork practices, consciously controlling the breathing to promote relaxation. In this meditation, Manoj Dias guides you through Kapalbhati or also known as ‘Breath of Fire’ and Nadi Shodana or alternate nostril breathing. These breathing techniques are often used in Hatha Yoga, promoting balanced energy.
D. Increasing Gratitude
Meditation 1: Good Morning Gratitude Practice, 11 minutes
This meditation doesn’t have a breathing cue which means it may be challenging to be present for the first few moments. However, this meditation is filled with visualization and self probing questions that equally cultivate self-awareness. I recommend doing this meditation at the start of your morning before you open your social media feed to the start of your day on the right foot.
Meditation 2: Peaceful & Relaxed: Gratitude Meditation, 15 minutes
One of the more ‘complete’ meditations that include a variety of breath and body-scan cues, affirmation words and guided visualization of the future-self. This meditation helped me discover a new perspective on myself and how the future can be. It converted my fear to excitement.
E. Reducing Stress
Meditation 1: Learning To Surrender, 8 minutes
This meditation is one of the most listened to meditation on the app of Insight Timer with a total of 2 million plays. Even without breathing cues, this meditation induces a sense of calm from a poetic story-telling. The story encourages you to learn how to surrender to the present, releasing the need to excessively control the flow, and how to start the day without carrying the stress of yesterday.
Meditation 2: Deep Healing, 23 minutes
I highly recommend doing this meditation in the evening before you sleep. It’s a powerful meditation that encourages you to focus on internal and external voices, voices that we sometimes suppress deep within us.
I would love to hear any feedback from your experience with the meditations above and your meditation journey. I hope this article has motivated you to invest your time wisely, to take care of yourself and to resist complacency.
If you have found this information useful, please forward it to friends and family that you know would enjoy the experience!
Take care and wishing you well,
#MindfulMillenials
