Relating Mindfully To COVID-19 Stress

We are currently in a moment in history of collective uncertainty. And learning how to be in wise relationship to uncertainty is more important now than ever. We are all invited to stay put at home and we may notice we have a lot more time on our hands. This can lead to having more time to worry and be anxious. But it can also be used as an opportunity to retreat, slow down, and learn how to best be with ourselves when experiencing difficulties, which we practice in this guided meditation.

Transcript

We're currently in a moment in history of collective uncertainty and Learning to be in wise relationship to uncertainty is more important now than ever We're all invited to stay put and we may notice that we have a lot more time on our hands And this can lead to having more time to worry or to be anxious But it can also be used as an opportunity to Retreat and to slow down to learn how to best be with ourselves when experiencing difficulties like fear anxiety or grief Learning to relate to these states wisely Can help us see things more clearly have a broader view take more effective actions and Be our best selves even when things are difficult So to practice doing this let's see if you can take a moment to stop whatever it is that you were doing To turn off unnecessary devices and To find a quiet place to settle down for a few minutes Just allowing yourself to settle here for a few moments And just checking in Ask yourself what am I noticing inside?

Seeing sort of what's happening in the mind Checking in with the body as well Any tensions are bracing or holding?

Any discomfort Even just checking in with sort of the posture the facial expression Noticing any feeling states or feeling tones And as best you can see if you can just allow your experience to be as is for a few moments Just looking with curiosity And if you notice any sort of difficult thoughts See if you can just notice that maybe even label it there's worrying I'm noticing planning problem-solving Catastrophizing If you're noticing any emotions Again just noticing them and naming them For example,

I'm noticing fear.

I'm noticing anxiety Noticing sadness or grief or some other emotion And getting a sense as to how this emotion is showing up in the body Perhaps in the face or the throat or the chest or the belly And as you bring awareness to these thoughts and feelings Just ask yourself is this useful right now?

Is this a helpful thought?

Is this emotion helping me right now?

Do I need to act on it this minute?

And if you notice that you do this is a helpful thought this is a helpful emotion right this minute Then just stop this meditation and make a plan or take an effective action using this thought And using this emotion as a source of motivation and just return to this meditation later Once you've taken that action or you've made that plan And if you're noticing though that it's not urgent it's not something that needs to be done right now Then see if you can just allow yourself to come to the present moment By bringing your attention down into the body and resting it in the chest or in the belly Perhaps putting one of your hands or both of your hands there And just noticing those sensations of breathing there the rising and falling motion Or perhaps the expansion and contraction feeling Just riding the waves of your own breathing for just a few moments Knowing that there's really nothing to do in this moment And just allow myself to be here with my breath If you notice that your attention gets hooked or hijacked by thoughts Not a problem just notice the thought or the emotion label it Now there's worrying,

There's planning,

Here's anxiety,

Here's sadness And notice that while these thoughts and feelings are occurring the breath is also occurring It is here And if there's nothing to do right now see if you can just allow yourself to rest in this body with this breath Breathing in and out Perhaps slowing down the breath a little bit Breathing all the way down into the belly noticing the rise And on and out breath softening a little bit more and noticing the fall And as you continue paying attention to your breath See if you can broaden the scope of your attention To include more sensations that are also here now Perhaps the sensation of sitting or lying down The points of contact Perhaps bringing attention to your entire body and its posture and its facial expression Seeing if you can cover the entire body with your awareness Notice the breath there but notice that there are other sensations Perhaps unpleasant sensations associated with uncertainty or some other difficult emotion Seeing if you can include even those sort of unpleasant sensations in the field of your awareness with the breath For now ask yourself can I just be with this?

There's nothing to do in this moment can I just allow this to just be?

Can I breathe with this?

And perhaps on each inhalation you can imagine sort of creating more space The same way we might give a lot of space or a little a lot of room to a wild animal like a large field So it doesn't feel so contained or stuck So expanding on each inhalation making lots of room for all the sensations and emotions that are here And on each exhalation just softening a little bit more any resistance or urge to get rid of or suppress how you're feeling just softening so that we can allow ourselves to feel what we feel right now And as you do that you might continue sort of broadening your awareness and notice that it's not all unpleasant Maybe there's some aspects of your experience that are actually neutral or maybe even pleasant For example maybe you're noticing the sensations in your hands If they're touching your heart or your abdomen you may feel the contact there the pressure what it feels like to be touched Feeling warmth or there's an energy in the hands You can also notice sounds in the environment around you Or perhaps even the space between sounds or the silence around you You may notice even some neutral or pleasant sensations related to the breath and breathing You can slow down or deepen the breath really savor it as the air comes in And as the air goes out notice the life that's here Perhaps even sensing some gratitude about simply just being alive and being able to breathe in this moment And notice that you have control over this body that's breathing Not only can you deepen or slow down the breath you can also shift into a more empowering posture You can lengthen the spine you can soften or relax the shoulders Soften the muscles around the jaw and around the eyes the forehead You can open the chest You can even place a compassionate expression on your face like a half smile And if you choose to move in this way and to position your body in this way Notice your body in this dignified and compassionate posture And notice that it doesn't remove in any way any difficult thoughts and feelings They're still here you may notice them still you can even name them Ah,

Here's anxiety Or here's guilt or here's fear or sadness You may even notice the planning or catastrophying going through your mind And all this can be included with the other things that you can notice in this moment like The resourceful feelings in your body the breath The warmth the touch the stillness The silence Perhaps you can notice even the sounds of the environment outside nature Birds singing the winds blowing Members of your family speaking You may even bring to mind the people you care about Your interconnection with all living beings right now We're all going through this uncertainty We're all in this together Notice being a member of the human race or living things This planet this universe See if you can simply rest in the awareness of your entire experience The unpleasant the neutral and the pleasant and resourceful aspects of your experience Without having to judge or fix anything simply just being with your experience as it is in this moment From moment to moment to moment And as this meditation comes to an end seeing if you can form an intention As to what you plan on doing today that would be nourishing or helpful to others Or perhaps something that you want to do less of or that you want to stop altogether That would be depleting if you did it or that would be unhelpful How can I best take care of myself and others today?

What's an actionable plan?

Or perhaps what qualities or values do I want to live by today?

How do I want to stand in the face of this challenging time?

Remembering that you are an able person you can move this body you can choose What qualities to embody?

How to act?

What you want to do?

How you want to spend your time and contribute?

And with this intention in mind seeing if you can put it into action after this meditation Be well

Reviews

Very wonderful! Thank you

Thank you for your bearuful meditation

A solid way to go into the day. *Bow to Julien.

Relaxing and relevant to the stressful moment we are in currently. Thank you for guiding me through my anxiety today. I will revisit this meditation again. Love and hugs.

Deep gratitude for this and all of your meditations. Your message is practical, fluff-free, and reassuring....I feel a lot better. 🙏

Thank You. Very relaxing and calming.
Light & Love🙏