I'm Elise Beilieu,
Doctor and founder of the world's largest global online mindfulness program Mindfully May.
And I'm here to guide you on a COVID guided meditation.
As humans all around the world,
We are facing an unprecedented challenge.
There is a lot of uncertainty.
And when we are faced with such challenges and uncertainty,
The deep primitive nervous system starts to respond.
And we very quickly get flicked into the fight or flight state.
This state of physiological emergency where our minds shut down,
We have less capacity to make good decisions.
And we're racing around with a whole lot of adrenaline in the system.
At such challenging times,
What we need most is to keep our minds grounded.
And so meditation,
Even done in small amounts,
Can be so helpful in helping the nervous system to stay calm so that our minds can be more functional and make better decisions at this challenging stressful time.
We know that the breath is so intimately connected with the nervous system.
And so we all have right within us this capacity to send messages to the nervous system to calm itself down.
So I'd like to offer you a five minute practice that you can do multiple times through the day,
Just to help slow things down,
Help you get greater perspective,
Help you remember to come back to the here and now rather than get hijacked by the what ifs and the future.
Because the truth is none of us really know.
At this very moment,
There are scientists all around the world working on vaccines.
We are a smart,
Smart species.
And together,
If we maintain our calm,
Hopefully we can come up with solutions to move ourselves out of this current situation.
So I invite you now to just find a comfortable position.
You can have your eyes open or closed.
Just taking a deep breath,
Gently letting it go.
And another deep breath in.
And seeing if the next out breath you can allow to be longer and slower than normal.
And another few deep breaths in your own time,
Really extending that out breath,
Really allowing it to be long and extended.
And in this way,
Activating the parasympathetic nervous system,
The opposite branch of the nervous system to the fight or flight.
Letting your body to stay calm.
And then allowing the breath to find its own rhythm.
And you may notice that the mind is very,
Very agitated.
And this is what's to be expected at such a time.
Rather than getting frustrated,
Just seeing if you can actively step into some self-compassion.
You might like to even put your hand on your heart.
And this is certainly not a woo-wah thing to do.
It actually stimulates oxytocin,
Which is another avenue by which we can support the stress response to calm down.
And as you hold your hand on your heart,
Just offering yourself love.
Offering yourself care as you would offer a small child who is in distress.
And just seeing if for the next few minutes,
You can let all of your worries and concerns about the future go and offer your nervous system a few minutes of ease.
The key to settling the nervous system is to paying attention to the out-breath.
And seeing if you can really let go through the whole duration of the out-breath.
And letting the in-breath arrive in its own time.
And seeing if you can use the breath as an anchor for the mind to keep it steady and present.
So just sensing the entire breath as it comes in and flows out.
Just seeing if you can be with one full in-breath and one full out-breath.
And if your mind has wandered and gotten caught in thinking,
Just gently bringing it back to the breath.
And this is a tool that you can use at any moment of the day.
Don't underestimate the power of the breath to calm the nervous system.
Just taking a moment now.
Taking a moment to just think about those who are close to you.
You're sending out loving kindness.
May you all be well.
May you be safe.
May you be free from suffering.
And now expanding your awareness beyond your own sense of stress and pressure.
And knowing that literally everybody on this planet in this moment is with you and is also experiencing this fear.
You are not alone.
Just opening your eyes,
Reconnecting with your body,
Moving on with your day.
And as you move through your day,
Just remembering everyone is more sensitized,
Reactive and under pressure.
So seeing wherever kindness and generosity is possible,
Offering that to yourself and those who you come in contact with through the day.
