Looking for a way into mindfulness, or an accessible way to practice meditation? Look no further than YouTube guided meditations, a huge library of content that brings experts from around the world right into your home.
Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, struggling to fall asleep, or seeking to balance your chakras, there’s a meditation video tailored to your specific needs.
Why Use YouTube Guided Meditations
Meditation is for everyone, not just for those who can afford elaborate retreats or private tuition. With YouTube guided meditations, free practices are available to everyone with an internet connection, enabling the power of a consistent meditation practice to reach everyone, everywhere.
Finding the Right YouTube Guided Meditations
Having such a huge selection of teachers, masters, themes and types of meditation to select from on YouTube is a blessing and a curse. You’re bound to find the right video for you, but it might take you hours of trawling the search results and trial and error to get there.
Here, we’ve rounded up the best YouTube guided meditations for various goals or needs.
Find what most resonates with you, and give it a try. Proceed with an open mind and heart, preparing to set aside all important time for yourself.
Best Guided Meditations on Youtube
1. Meditation for Grounding
Boho Beautiful is a super popular YouTube yoga teacher who’s meditations and yoga flows have garnered millions of views – and for good reason.
In this 15 minute meditation, you are guided through slow breathing and relaxation techniques that are designed to invite strength and grounding through stressful times.
Additionally, this is a very approachable and peaceful practice, with soft and soothing music to accompany the calming words. It helps to bring flighty minds back down to earth.
2. Meditation for Sleep
Insomnia and lack of sleep can have a huge impact on your life. There’s nothing more frustrating than lying awake at night when you know how physically and mentally exhausted you are.
We love this YouTube guided meditation from teacher Manoj Dias, who guides restless listeners into a deep state of relaxation through the breath and awareness.
It is a very simple approach that doesn’t cause overstimulation of the mind as you are trying to rest, instead gently slowing it down to a place of peace and calm.
3. Meditation for Emotional Release
Many of us hold lots of physical and emotional tension through pent up emotions that haven’t been released from our system. This harboring of feelings can manifest in negative ways, causing you to think, feel and act in ways that are out of character.
World-renowned humanitarian, spiritual leader, and ambassador of peace and human values Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar guides us through some deep self-awareness in this 20 minute meditation video. As an expert in stress-management, his expertise in the area of withheld emotions shines through in this compassionate and steady approach to meditation.
4. Meditation for Surrender
Feeling uptight, and overly attached to people, things or past events? Maybe it’s finally time to let go and free yourself, surrendering to what is current and finding peace there. This practice from The Mindful Movement YouTube channel emphasizes how letting go of old baggage makes space for the new, positive gifts and perspectives.
Whether its anger, resentment, jealousy or sadness, whatever you are clinging to you can be released from with a consistent practice of surrendering.
5. Meditation for Stress and Anxiety
Another huge yogic star of YouTube, Yoga with Adrienne is a safe space for many people looking for an approachable way into self-care practices online. Her warm energy and soft voice is super inviting and allows listeners to relax feeling held by her practice.
This 15 minute video is a lovely way to start to unravel anxiety by connecting back to yourself and slowing down mindfully. She invites meditators to find their own power in guiding themselves to a better, more supported mental space.
6. Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a simple, mantra-based meditation technique that allows the mind to settle into a state of deep relaxation and inner calm. Practiced for 20 minutes twice daily, TM aims to transcend ordinary thought processes, leading to reduced stress, increased creativity, and overall mental clarity.
The video we have chosen is a simple approach with an introduction, a brief guide and then 20 minutes of atmospheric music to help you put the teachings into practice. This method takes time to feel confident with, requiring discipline to come back to it twice a day, every day.
7. Rewiring the Brain Meditation
Joe Dispenza is well-known in the meditation space, and has a great range of themed meditation videos on his YouTube channel. He focuses a lot on how we can ‘rewire our brain’ into new ways of thinking and perceiving ourselves and reality.
Returning to this practice can result in transformational effects on your emotional well-being and sense of self-worth. This ten minute option is a great place to try out his style, and see if it resonates with you.
8. Meditation for Beginners
Meditation can be quite intimidating for beginners. Many people assume that you have to be a calm, zen person to practice meditation, but nothing could be further from the truth. Meditation is for everyone; it’s about finding what works for you and sticking to the practice.
This video might be a good place to start. Guided by a Buddhist monk, it has clear instructions and a short length so you don’t feel overwhelmed. You will learn three basic, fundamental breathing techniques to help you relax and focus.
9. Meditation for Presence
Many of us struggle to remain in the present moment, the mind dwelling on events of the past, or what might happen in the future. Those moments where we feel completely present are precious. But what if we could make them more frequent, and start to train our minds this way?
Tara Brach is a prolific author and thought-leader in this area, drawing on years of experience in guiding meditation and coaching to help people connect to the present moment and restructure their response to stress. In this video she leads a calming practice of presence.
10. Self Love and Compassion Meditation
This video by Nikki Dyer gives you permission to take time to connect with and love yourself deeply, in this present moment. Just 10 minutes long, it starts a journey of introspection that uses the breath as an anchor.
There are many types of self-love and compassion meditations you can find, so feel free to do your own research. Perhaps this approachable guided meditation is a good place to see if this style of mindfulness might work for you. Nikki has many YouTube guided meditations, so why not try a few?
11. Manifestation and Visualization Meditation
We love this YouTube guided meditation from Master Sri Akarshana, who uses the law of attraction to guide practitioners into a state of higher vibrations. Starting with a comprehensive relaxation, you become ready for the visualization that follows.
You are encouraged to be present in the moment, witnessing and observing without engaging too closely with all of your emotions. You’re then guided to visualize your intentions, in different parts of the mind and body, which is a powerful way to connect to your goals.
12. Chakra Balancing Meditation
Chakra balancing meditation focuses on aligning and harmonizing the body’s energy centers, known as chakras, to promote overall physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. By visualizing and meditating on each chakra, you can release blockages and restore the natural flow of energy, leading to a more balanced and centered state of being.
This one from the Great Meditation YouTube channel is just 15 minutes long, and approaches what is a quite complex, ancient Indian concept into a digestible way to consider your own energy.
Making YouTube Guided Meditations Work for You
So, you’ve found the YouTube guided meditations for your specific needs. Or maybe your journey is beginning and you are exploring your options – that’s fine too!
Listening to or watching a video once probably won’t have the long term impact you’re looking for. A meditation practice is called a practice for a reason; it requires a sense of discipline to return to it routinely, each time engaging with the guide’s words and starting to delve deeper inwards.
However, if every now and then is all you have time for, that’s absolutely fine. Just keep in mind that greater, life-changing benefits and self-discovery are more likely to come through a consistent meditation practice.
You might try combining a meditation with some simple yoga Asanas (poses), to deepen your practice. Check out our blog on yoga poses for anxiety to give you a solid starting point.
References:
- “I Was A Skeptic of Chakra Balancing…And Then I Tried It” Yoga Journal, https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/chakras-yoga-for-beginners/i-was-a-skeptic-of-chakra-balancing-and-then-i-tried-it/, Accessed 5 Sept, 2024
Leave a Reply