Chronic Fatigue Recovery

Chronic Fatigue Recovery can be a fascinating way to get to know yourself and recover the nervous system from shock or trauma. It can also facilitate deep mind-body discovery and healing and unlock trauma that is stored in the body.

Transcript

Hello,

My name is Celia Roberts and we are doing meditation for chronic fatigue syndrome today.

So first of all we want to understand some of the science around chronic fatigue and we want to try and use bottom-up processing.

And with bottom-up processing we're looking at how do we relax the body to pacify the mind.

We can use a science,

A stream of science called psycho neuroendocrine immunology,

Which means mind affects nervous system,

Endocrine system and immune system and vice versa.

Whatever is happening in the body affects the mind.

So I want you to place all of your attention in the body now.

And really as you do this,

Use the concept of prana like you're restoring the energy to the body as you place your attention in it.

Essentially filling up your cup with energy,

Life force,

Attention,

Concentration.

Bring your attention to the navel.

This is where we store our prana,

Our chi,

Our ki.

This is where a martial artist will fight from.

This is where a yogi gains strength to service the 72,

000 nadis in the body.

And it has many special names,

Danten,

Tanden or svaraslan chakra.

Nabhi mama.

Placing all your attention here.

And because we have a second gut brain in this area,

500 million neurons around here that are being discovered and more and more being discovered all the time.

As you place your attention here,

Know that you essentially have a brain that's recognizing the attention to this region of the body.

Now the vagus nerve innervates the gut and the vagus nerve sends messages up from the belly to the brain.

In fact,

It's said that about 95% of messages come from body to brain and via the vagus nerve and not the other way around.

So I want you to really relax and soften the belly.

And make sure your out breath is longer than your in breath.

So you're looking at a breath ratio of 40 on the in breath and 60 on the out breath.

To put this more simply,

Four counts in and six counts out.

Or a breath ratio that works for you.

And then from here,

We're going to come through a mindfulness body scan.

So I want you to learn to relax different areas of the body now so that as you relax the body,

You soften the mind.

So bring your attention to the eyes and relax behind the eyes.

As you relax behind the eyes,

You will reduce the heart rate gently.

This happens by the ocular vagal reflex.

Bring your attention to the nostrils and let the nostrils take in the finest sip of air.

So we don't over breathe in yoga or meditation.

We look to almost under breathe,

But not to the point where we lift the heart rate.

So don't make make it a complicated process.

You're just taking less breath over a longer period of time.

We look at over breathing and this tends to age the system or stress it out a little bit.

So we're looking at the in meditation and yoga,

Less breath over a longer period of time.

We might train the breath to be one cycle per minute as we practice.

Soft breath through the nostrils.

Let's relax the jaw.

So I want you to open the jaw nice and wide and stick the tongue out.

Get really familiar with the jaw muscles.

And then as you bring the tongue back in,

I want you to moisten it to induce the relaxation response and increase the amount of saliva in the mouth.

Relax underneath the earlobes.

And then smile as wide as you can so you can stimulate the vagus nerve.

See if you can involve the eyes as well.

And then come into the neck and see if you can just soften through the neck itself.

The internal throat.

The chest and the heart.

Observe the heart rate.

See if you can notice the in breath increasing the heart rate and the out breath decreasing it.

Send your attention from the tip of the shoulders slowly down to the elbows.

Both sides.

And then from the elbows to the fingers.

And then from there,

See if you can start to just energize the spine with your awareness,

Bringing all of your attention into the spine and back.

Lovely.

Bring your attention down into the legs.

Feel the thighs,

The knees,

The calves,

The shin bones and then toes.

Feel the softness of the belly.

Relax any part of the body that feels stiff or tense.

And then we'll practice gratitude meditation for this body.

And if you can,

Just see if you can be grateful for the syndrome that has caused you to slow down in some way to have it's sort of like your teacher and it's bringing wisdom and insight.

And perhaps this isn't how you feel at this point,

But see if you can just have gratitude for the little things.

Gratitude has a huge potential to change us at a cellular level.

And is often more effective than courage when we're trying to heal.

So just be grateful for any symptoms of the chronic fatigue that have allowed you to rest,

Recuperate,

Withdraw,

Even heal or gain insight into a part of your life that perhaps or yourself that perhaps you haven't yet seen.

And then have gratitude for the environment in which you live and the people that surround you and help you.

Have gratitude for the things that have really helped you and the things that will continue to really help you come back to full wellness.

And then finally,

As you bring the gratitude back to the body,

See if you can be grateful for just that pause in your life,

That part of the body,

Mind or heart that asked you to just genuinely stop.

See if you can source that part in the body,

Mind or the thought process that asked you to genuinely stop.

Where did the fatigue come from?

What is it that possibly you were somewhat tired of?

What was exhausting you?

And is it possible to have gratitude for that one thing or perhaps something that surrounded that that time?

If not,

Jump ahead a little bit,

See if it's possible to have gratitude for perhaps what this condition will lead you to do,

How it might help you help others.

And then come back to that belly breath,

Soft and gentle and at ease.

So we elicit the understanding of psychoneuroendocrine immunology,

Bottom-up processing,

Body relaxed and calm,

Affecting mind and vice versa,

Mind affecting body.

Bring all of your attention back into that energy point.

Dantien Tandens Varasthan Chakra or Nabi Mama,

Which is the seat of 72,

000 Nardis in yogic medicine.

Build all your attention at this point.

The second gut brain.

See as you rest here if you can learn to trust the wisdom of the body,

Remembering that the body knows much before the mind or the brain has cognized what's going on.

So the body knows.

See if you can rest in that bodily consciousness,

That innate wisdom that the body contains.

As it heals you,

Takes care of you.

As you rest,

Stop,

Rejuvenate and heal.

Belly soft,

Breathing in and breathing out.

And then move to the heart.

Place your attention in the heart space.

This is centered right in the sternum,

The spiritual heart of the body.

And practice compassion for yourself.

Really wish yourself well.

Health,

Happiness,

Compassion and peace.

Health,

Happiness,

Compassion and peace.

As the Buddha say,

The heart knows everything.

Health,

Happiness,

Compassion and peace.

Maybe well.

Reviews

Thank you I needed that this morning feel so much more in my body

Really helpful and just what I need right now. Many thanks Celia 🙏❤️💫

Thank you for this helpful practice as I come to grips with this just received diagnosis and the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Namaste

The end was a bit abrupt but overall this was lovely and much needed

The practice was very soothing and I really appreciated the explanations of what was going on. I will be returning to this meditation often.

This meditation was wonderful. I've been in a state of fatigue and dissociation for months now, stuck in a trauma response. Meditation has been so healing for me, but I tend to fall asleep a lot during them, especially lately. I found this meditation to be very relaxing, but at the same time it kept me focused on the different points of the body so I stayed awake and aware. Thank you so much!! 🙏🩷✨️

Absolutely wonderful. Return to my body. Return to listening to my body. Return to loving my body.
♥️🧡💛💚💙💜

Just what I needed. Calming but also helping my fatigue.
Thank you 🙏

That was amazing, thank you so much. A succinct reminder of information that really helps, and a really relaxing technique. My attitude towards my health and body has been reframed which is more than I expected from a meditation this morning!

beautiful. informative and so restorative. much gratitude to you.

Very soothing and calming to my mind and body. Thank you.

I don’t have Chronic Fatigue as such, but am experiencing general fatigue with menopause and found this really helpful. Thank you 🙏🏼

A really helpful mind and body meditation. Great voice, pacing and information throughout which guided me towards ease in my mind and body. Gratitude to you, for your skill and great energy. Thank you.

Nice information, and I slept a few winks😉🥱🤫😴💤 Happy Healthy Holiday wishes to you and yours!!!!

I've had significant success reducing chronic pain with guided meditation, but not with reducing fatigue. I think because I can't feel the body/mind connection with fatigue. My guess is because the guidance about the connection was vague (as opposed to connecting with painful sensations in the body).
This meditation is the first time I feel as though I made the link with fatigue being a body sensation in a similar way to pain sensations. I'm hopeful that I'm now on the right path! Thank you!🙏

I love this meditation 🧘‍♀️ 😌 💕 It is very informative and practical for an at home practice.

Thanks for explaining Chikung in such a beautiful way.

I'm recovering from long covid and this gentle meditation is so helpful, thank you 🙏

I found this to be a very sweet meditation. I feel very calm now, thank you 🙏

I have long Covid and have been doing a lot of work with vagal toning and somatic tracking - this is now my go to medication 🙏🙏