Meditation to Relax Your Body and Mind

So… how’s everyone sleeping these days? Anyone tossing & turning like me? I woke up this morning and realized I had actual knots in my stomach… as in, I needed to massage out some tight muscles in my abdomen that have been causing me heartburn and discomfort for the last couple days.

We’re one week out from the 2020 election, mid-pandemic, waiting to see how high the second wave (or, as I read last night, still-the-first-wave) of COVID-19 cases will go. Many of us are juggling kids at home doing distance learning, trying to figure out holiday plans, and distractedly refreshing news sources looking for good or bad news.

Whew, what a time to be alive.

Speaking of being alive, how is your body doing?

If you have been neglecting your body tension like me (to say my shoulders are gripping is an understatement) or need to unwind your mind, take a few minutes to turn off social media and tune in to your breath.

I created this meditation to be as easy and effective as possible in 16 minutes. In it, we work to lengthen our exhales and initiate a relaxation response (putting our bodies into “rest and digest” mode instead of “fight or flight” mode).

Why lengthen our exhales?

• Longer exhales are an easy way to “hack” your vagus nerve: The vagus nerve is a long nerve that runs from the brain to the abdomen and has a long list of functions. One of the things that the vagus nerve controls is the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest & digest” system). Long exhales stimulate the vagus nerve, and create relaxation in the body.

• “The antidote is obvious: lengthen the exhalation—in fact make it twice as long as the inhalation. Sustain this breathing pattern for a minute or two and your heart rate slows, your blood pressure drops, and your muscles begin to relax. And there’s an added benefit: emphasizing the exhalation discharges volatile toxins and carbon dioxide from the lungs, leaving a vacuum that will be filled with fresh air when you inhale.” - from Learning to Exhale: 2-to-1 Breathing on Yoga International

Please check it out & let me know what you think! I am sending everyone love, and hoping you are safe, healthy, and finding joy.