We are witnessing suffering,
Fear,
Anxiety,
As well as compassion,
Kindness and support.
We are being asked to wash our hands often,
Not touch our faces,
Stay home,
Practice social distancing.
This is Suresh and I am offering a series of five guided meditations.
The first one is Deep Rest with Yoga Nidra.
Imagine a meadow that you played in as a child or one that you met frequent with your dog.
Grass is green and there is a light wind and the sun is up.
The sky is blue but not a cloud in sight.
You are safe here.
Lie on your back with your legs slightly apart and your arms relaxed to the side.
Your eyes can be closed and you are breathing regular.
Take a moment to set an intention or a sankalpa for this practice.
Maybe it is to take more time for your rest or to be grateful.
Start by bringing your focus to your legs.
Start to become aware of each of your toes without moving them.
Notice your legs touching the ground or the grass.
Next move the awareness to your heels and become aware of the sole of your feet.
Shift your awareness to your ankles and then your calf and the shin and to your knees on both the left and the right leg.
Guide the awareness to your hips and the pelvic region.
Bring your attention into your belly area.
Relax it if it is too tight and then gently guide the awareness to the chest area.
Notice the breathing in your lungs and the beating of the heart and the rib cage protecting both your heart and the lungs.
Bring your full attention to the lungs as they perform the important function of respiration.
As you breathe in,
Feel the oxygen entering the blood and as you breathe out,
Notice the carbon dioxide leaving the blood.
Bring your awareness to the arms through the elbows and the wrist and then notice your fingers without needing to move them.
Bring the awareness up to your neck and shoulder area.
Soften and relax them.
Soften your jaw.
Let your face and facial muscles relax.
Then scan your whole body from head to toe.
Then notice your whole body present.
Stay here in this deep relaxed state and I will guide you out of it after a few minutes.
Now start to deepen your breathing and start to move your fingers and wiggle your toes.
You can gently roll over to your right and push yourself to a seated position.
Continuing to keep your eyes closed,
Take the next 10 seconds to thank yourself for making time for your body and your mind.
I will end this practice with a Sanskrit hymn from the ancient Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
Follow along if you feel like it.
You can also memorize it and repeat this hymn multiple times through the day.
Om Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu Sarvesham Shantir Bhavatu Sarvesham Purnam Bhavatu Sarvesham Mangalam Bhavatu Sarvesham Shanti Shanti May there be well-being in all.
May there be peace in all.
May there be fulfillment in all.
May there be auspiciousness in all.
Om Peace Peace Peace You can open your eyes now.
Thank you for joining me.
This is a great meditation to use if you are having difficulty sleeping or have had not enough sleep.
Time spent engaging in your body scan is associated with an increased ability to observing thoughts,
Feelings and physical sensations and non-reacting to stress such as what we have going on.
And this leads to an increased psychological well-being.
We are all in this crisis together.
Please support your family,
Friends and your community in this crisis any way you can.
And continue to practice the five.
Wash your hands often.
Look off into your elbow.
Don't touch your face.
Maintain social distance.
And stay home.
I'll see you in the next meditation.
Namaste.
May the light in me honor the light in you.
Namaste.
