Welcome,
My name is Celia Roberts and I'm the founder of BioMe,
The Biomedical Institute of Yogurt and Meditation.
And today we'll be doing a meditation to help heal shoulder pain and reduce inflammation in the joint.
So first of all we need to find our breath.
When we focus on a longer out-breath this tends to reduce inflammation by eliciting the relaxation response and affecting a science,
An understanding in science called psychoneuroendocrine immunology,
Meaning your immune system will function better when we're more present,
More mindful and we can heal up to four times faster.
Now to increase our levels of nitric oxide in the bloodstream which is a natural anti-inflammatory we can hum on the out-breath and you might choose to lengthen your out-breath with a gentle hum.
The idea is here that you're using your out-breath to let go of tension,
Stress,
Upholding,
Anxiety,
Tightness,
Restriction.
The idea is that you're letting go.
Now many of us tend to carry the weight of the world on the shoulders,
We carry extra responsibility,
We often say our heart's not in it or even sometimes when our heart is hurting our shoulders can feel tight.
But essentially the psychosomatic results of a tight shoulder if it's not from injury can be that we are actually carrying extra responsibility and we could lay it down,
We could let it go,
We could reduce stress.
So this meditation is essentially about reducing stress and I want you to try and come into the pain of the shoulder and really sit there very deeply and as you perceive the pain I want you to perceive it so deeply with awareness of such deep sensation that as you sit so ever present and mindfully in it,
It's possible that the pain starts to dissipate or it isn't even there.
Now if it is truly there sit in it right in its very centre,
Right in the eye of the cyclone.
Again,
Sit right in presence,
Use this stressor,
This tightness,
This restriction as your teacher,
Your anchor.
Reminder that perhaps you've got too much responsibility,
You're doing too much,
You could respond with the relaxation response or you could let something go.
Now as you let go in the body see how the mind lets go,
The activity of the mind lets go.
Letting go of all stories and if you can reducing all mental activity into the sensation of the shoulder or shoulders.
Now come into the centre of the heart space.
So the heart is very much connected to the shoulders,
In fact in Ayurveda when we look at the shoulders usually these represent psychosomatic aspects of the heart and so if the heart is heavy or tired or stressed sometimes this might have a representation physically in the shoulder joint.
So I want you to sit very deeply in the heart space and sit here with deep compassion for self.
A very deep sense of self care,
Mindful nurturing and present moment awareness.
And in any heaviness that sits over the heart see if you can just dissipate it with the breath.
See if you can find some radiance,
Some joy in just being in the breath.
Of gratitude for the breath that keeps us alive.
And let this breath begin to fill your body with prana,
Steadiness and ease and life force emanating from the heart to the hands,
From the heart to the feet,
From the heart to the eyes,
The heart to the head.
Bring this same breath back into your shoulder now,
Shoulders,
Shoulder,
Any restriction and just look for any state change,
Physical,
Mental,
Emotional.
And then to complete your practice have gratitude for the body that reminds you that you've moved away from the present moment,
Perhaps a state of stress or over function,
Responsibility and you have the ability to let go in the body and in the mind.
So be grateful to the teacher,
The body,
The breath,
Discomfort that reminds you and know that you have the ability to transform pain and suffering into liberation,
Into lightness.
No mud,
No lotus,
Use the pain,
The discomfort as your teacher,
Your call to presence.
Sit fully in it and just know that if you stay fully,
Presently mindful to it,
Sometimes the sensations dissipate,
Change or are not even there.
So thank you,
May be healthy,
May be happy,
May be held in deep compassion and may be well.
