Mindful Medicine 3 - Loving Hands

Loving-kindness practices for healthcare workers to help ease stress and create warm connection with patients. This is part of a guided meditation series led by Jan Chozen Bays MD, a longtime Zen teacher and pediatrician.

During the time of covid-19, these meditations are offered particularly for health care workers as self care in times of increased stress; they may also be helpful for anyone experiencing stress or anxiety.

Transcript

Loving Hands A natural part of our examination of patients involves touching them,

Whether to take a pulse,

Listen to a chest or heart,

Palpate a belly or turn them in bed or start an IV.

With each patient you touch,

Especially in the time of personal protective equipment and social distancing,

Imagine even for the time of that brief contact that you can send a warm stream of loving kindness through your hands into the patient.

If you are visually oriented,

You can imagine it as a stream of white or golden light.

You can say silently,

May you be healthy and at ease,

Or may you become healthy and at ease.

You can also do this for yourself,

Touching any part of your body that is tired or uncomfortable with loving hands and saying,

May you be healthy and at ease,

May you be well.

You can do it at night in the bathroom after you brush your teeth,

Look in the mirror,

Hold your face in your hands as you would hold someone you cherish,

And send yourself loving kindness.