Today’s Try This Tuesday post is a bit different in that it focus on an action, rather than a new recipe. I’ve been practicing and teaching meditation for years. As meditation calms and relaxes the body and stills the mind, it provides powerful healing benefits as well.
Meditation is easy, costs nothing, does not require any specialized equipment, can be practiced by anyone, anywhere and only takes a few minutes to do.
The health benefits of meditation have been documented through countless studies around the world. The amazing results include: lowers blood pressure, decreases risks of heart attacks and strokes, stimulates stem cell growth, relieves anxiety and depression, reduces stress and tension, improves memory and increases academic performance, aids weight loss, eases chronic pain, reduces hyperactivity in children, increases longevity, helps with insomnia and decreases addictions and substance abuse.
Meditation does not shut down the mind, it quiets it so that we are not so distracted by our thoughts. Our thoughts are like the words that continually scroll across the bottom of the television screen during a newscast. We can learn to let the thoughts scroll on by, without focusing on them. When we notice a thought we can simply acknowledge it and let it go without attaching to it.
I’m offering a simple healing meditation below. However, before practicing it, spend a few moments creating a Safe Place in your mind. At the beginning of every meditation, you will enter this Safe Place so create something, in your mind, that brings you joy and makes you feel peaceful. This place should be in nature, not in a building or structure. It is a soothing, solitary place. Include rich details in your Safe Place.
Mine is a garden, filled with flowers and trees. It has a water feature and a gazebo where I can sit. The sunlight filters through the leaves and there is always a cool gentle breeze. Create in your mind a space that supports you and makes you sigh with happiness when you arrive.
Read through this meditation several times, turn off the tv and quiet your phone, then lie down or sit comfortably in a chair with both feet flat on the floor. Or sit in a lotus position with soles of feet together if that is not a strain on your back. Be at ease so that pain or stiffness in the legs and back is not a distraction. Rest hands naturally on the thighs, palms up. It’s fine to allow the fingers to relax and curl inward without touching thumbs and fingers together.
Healing Meditation
• Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through the nose and release it slowly through the mouth. Take two more slow deep breaths.
• Relax the body as you continue to breathe slowly and deeply. You can relax by focusing on your breath. Or you can begin at your feet and consciously relax the muscles. Move up the legs, up the torso, and down the arms to the hands, relaxing each part of the body. Continue upward. Pay special attention to the neck, shoulders, jaws, face and scalp, as we tend to hold a lot of tension in these areas.
• Visualize entering your Safe Place. Feel the warmth and love and joy here. Stay relaxed and centered.
• Take another deep, cleansing breath. Imagine that roots are growing out of the soles of your feet and into the earth. This grounds the body and helps to prevent dizziness after the meditation ends. Imagine positive, living energy from the earth rising to support you.
• Imagine a large white sphere of light above your head. This is Divine healing energy. See in your mind the white light surrounding you, encasing you in a bubble of protective energy. With every inhale of breath, imagine Divine healing energy entering your body. It spreads throughout your body…up into your head, down your arms to your hands and fingers, down the torso to the legs, and down the legs to the feet and toes. Your entire body is filled with Divine energy, bright healing white light. Every system, every organ, every cell in your body is infused with healing energy. Imagine any low energy or negative energy being transformed by the light.
• Breathe slowly and bask in this healing energy, for as long as you want. Open your heart wide and express love and gratitude for this time of healing.
• Imagine leaving your Safe Place, carrying the Divine white light with you. Count down from seven to one. As you get to one slowly open your eyes and move your fingers and toes. Stretch arms and legs. Stand slowly and stretch upwards, taking a deep breath.
This meditation can last for a few minutes or an hour…it’s up to you. If a thought pops into your head, say yes and let it go on by. Gradually your body will enter into a relaxed state quickly and easily without being distracted by thoughts.
Meditation is a wonderful practice to incorporate into your daily health routines, along with nutrient dense foods, exercise and supplements. Blessings on your healing journey!
