Guided meditations are an excellent way to begin your journey of meditating on a regular basis. They take a lot of the guesswork out of what to do, which is why many people choose them for their first meditation experience.

At its most basic, a guided meditation consists of a backing music track and someone talking.

So the first thing to check is whether or not you get on with the person's voice. Not every accent works for every listener. You don't always get a chance to listen to the person's voice before purchasing, so check whether or not there is a money back guarantee in case their voice grates with you rather than helps you to relax.

Most meditations of this style will start by helping you to relax. Typically, you'll be asked to take a few deep breaths and concentrate on your breathing. This works in much the same way as when you were a child - your mother likely got you to take deep breaths to calm yourself down.

Then you will move on to the main part of the meditation. You need to decide what you want from the experience - whether it's to help your body to heal itself, improve your relaxation skills, contact your higher self or any one of the myriad of other options that you can use for meditation.

If possible, check out how other people have reacted to the guided meditation you're thinking of getting. Sure, you probably don't know these other people, so their recommendation isn't the same as a personal suggestion, but it's better than nothing. A few positive reviews are always useful to have as reassurance for any purchase, including a guided meditation.