Many people are now practicing meditation since studies have determined its usefulness in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Meditation is a daily practice that will improve your life by helping you see different perspectives of life and stop seeing the world from just one angle. It opens your eyes to the positive things you have going on.
Live online meditation classes are rising since many people are working from home, and you can sign in to any online meditation classes at a time convenient for you. Online sessions only require you to have a stable internet connection since you’ll be live streaming with your teacher.
Live online meditation classes add a little bit of spice to meditation since they make it feel like you’re in a real studio with your teacher practicing meditation. The teacher offers a step-by-step guide on what to do, and it’s practical since you can also observe what the teacher is doing and follow their lead.
The Top 5 Live Online Meditation Classes we recommend are:
- Mindful Leader- Meditate Together
- Beeja Meditation
- Nicky Robertson- Mindfulness Meditation Classes
- Copper Beech Institute- Guided Meditations
- Mindfulness Centre
Being in a live class also helps you feel connected to the other people you share a class with; being at home practicing alone can get lonely, and these live classes will help you see that you belong to a large community out there that you might not have known about.
Article Contents
What's the Difference Between Live and Pre-Recorded Online Meditation Classes?
Due to the pandemic, most meditation classes have turned to online classes. It can be quite hectic deciding whether to choose pre-recorded or live-streamed classes. Here I’ll share the qualities of both sessions so you can see the difference between both.
1. Pre-Recorded
Cost – Most pre-recorded classes are cheaper than live classes. You most likely will go with pre-recorded lessons if your budget is tight.
Accessibility – In pre-recorded classes, you can work up the video to suit your needs. If you didn’t quite catch a concept, you can always come back and repeat a session.
Availability – Pre-recorded classes are always available and can be watched anytime by anyone. You can also dodge internet issues, unlike in a Livestream.
2. Live Classes
Interaction – During an online session, you can interact with your lead trainer and communicate to gain better results. It would also feel nice seeing other people with the same beliefs as you practice.
Customized learning – In a live session, the instructor can customize the teaching methods to suit everyone. Unlike in pre-recorded classes, you can explain what doesn’t work for you, and you’ll get an alternative to suit your specific needs.
Questions – Before or after a session, you can ask your instructor specific questions, and you’ll get answers right away. Pre-recorded sessions don’t have these most of the time since you’ll be practicing alone.
Choosing a way to learn meditation is a personal option, but most people often go with live streams if they’re available in their timezones due to the advantages stated above.
What do I need to be ready for an online meditation class?
We all would love to be ready for a class rather than be running around when the live stream begins. Here are tips that could help you get ready for your online live meditation class.
- Take care of your body. Way before you’re about to join a live stream, take a shower, brush your teeth, have something to eat, but not too much. Taking care of your body will prevent you from having distractions during class. Do whatever you need to make your body feel comfortable.
- Wear something comfortable. No one wants to feel their pants pinching into the skin when trying to take deep breaths. So, make sure that you are in comfortable clothes, warm or light, depending on your weather or temperature.
- Prepare your space. You should have a dedicated corner or room that you use for meditation. Clean up this space, and add all the things you might need during your meditations session, such as mala beads, Tibetan bowls, fuzzy blanket, among others. You can also light your candles, incest, or other things that make you feel calm and ready for your class.
- Get rid of any distractions. Take care of your children, or have someone do it, settle down your pets elsewhere and make sure they won’t need you for a while, visit the bathroom, and do any other thing that could cause you distraction during your session.
- Release tension. You can do a few yoga stretches to release tension from your body and get it ready for the class. You could also do breathwork to help you calm down, prepare your body for meditation, and get rid of whatever is bothering you so you can be ready for your class.
- Set your intention. An intention is something you wish to achieve at the end of the meditation. It could be something like “finding peace.” Set your intentions and remind yourself about them before your class starts.
- Get a comfortable seat. Make sure you’ve sat on something comfy and have sat in the correct position so you won’t fidget during your practice. You can make adjustments until you find a posture that works for you.
5 Live Online Meditation Classes for Beginners
1. Mindful Leader- Meditate Together
Mindful Leader is offering free meditation live stream sessions where people meet and practice. The sessions are thirty minutes long. Their meditation live streams aim to provide comfort and not let people feel solitude now that there is less facial interaction.
For fifteen minutes, everyone sits in silence and meditates. During this time, you can listen to a guided meditation on your phone. After the meditation session, you all interact and ask each other questions while providing comfort.
You don’t exchange any personal information in these sessions, and no one can contact you afterward. These live streams are an excellent way for like-minded people to interact and practice something they both share.
Suppose you’re a beginner trying to dip your toe into meditation and have many questions you need to be answered. In that case, these live streams can help you figure out answers to most of your questions and interact with other like-minded people who might be beginners like you or more mature in practice.
These live streams are free, and you get to choose a time that works for you best. These different meditation times are helpful to include people from all around the world. If you would like to sign up for a meditation course to advance your practice, what better way to know which courses are worth it than from like-minded people?
2. Beeja Meditation
This live online meditation course by Beeja Meditation is one of a kind. You can practice and complete the course within three days. During this time, your teacher will introduce you to a type of meditation practice called Beeja. On the first day, you’ll get a unique sound explicitly suited to you as you get guidance from your teacher.
On days two and three, you’ll learn more about this type of meditation and how to integrate it into your daily life.
Even though this course is only three days long, it takes up to seven hours online to complete. During this time, you’ll interact with the teachers and learn more about meditation, get a chance to have any of your questions and concerns answered too.
This meditation aims to improve your focus, reduce stress, improve your sleep, and help you feel more connected now that we are all experiencing a sense of lost connection.
3. Nicky Robertson- Mindfulness Meditation Classes
Nicky Robertson offers these online meditation classes that are live-streamed to help in connectivity. These sessions are hour-long, where she leads and guides the class through meditation.
These classes consist of breathwork techniques for different issues: anxiety, stress, and balancing energies. Robertson also teaches you how to connect with your inner self through meditation to find peace, love, and quiet.
These classes will help you cultivate awareness and focus. You will notice environmental factors that trigger reactions from your emotions and feelings, knowing where they’re from. You’ll also learn to pay keen attention to how we interact with our environment both internally and externally.
Every last Thursday of the month, she teaches Metta or Loving-Kindness Meditation. This kind of meditation helps you cultivate feelings of kindness and love towards others in your life. It will make you feel compassion and empathy towards others that you otherwise couldn’t care about.
You can choose to pay for classes or even a package that you desire to learn from, depending on how long you would love to meditate with her.
4. Copper Beech Institute- Live Guided Meditations
Copper Beech Institute has live streams where like-minded people can come together and practice meditation at their convenience. These meditation sessions are for people on every level of meditation, from beginner to expert.
On meditation days, there are two meditation sessions a day. These help cover everyone around the globe. During the morning session, people come together and practice together with a thirty-minute meditation practice. During this time, there is no guidance, just silence.
At 12:30, there’s another thirty-minute session guided with a different theme. It could either be seated or mindful movement. Every Wednesday, there’s a guided meditation practice with different themes each time. Sometimes, you also get to discuss some topics with the lead instructor.
5. Mindfulness Centre
Mindfulness Centre is an online platform that offers meditation classes live online for free from Monday to Saturday. Unlike all other meditation courses, these are guided and hence suitable for beginners. These sessions are valuable and will help you learn how to meditate quickly.
On top of being free, you’ll learn from experts and ask all questions you need to know about meditation. If you love the sessions, you could offer donations that will help keep the institutions afloat, making sure everyone can accrue this sacred practice.
On most days the sessions begin at 8 pm except on Saturdays when the classes start at 12 noon. You can check these times with your local time zone to see how they match.
Final Words
Meditation is an ancient practice passed down by our ancestors. The practice holds the key to finding happiness and peace. Since there are many online pre-recorded meditation classes, live streams aren’t that many. The above suggestions are an excellent way to get you started on this meditation journey.
Live meditation classes online are a good way to get started on meditation and interact with like-minded people in your community who will help you grow in this practice.
And if you want to explore meditation further, check out more online meditation courses here!
