Megan Whitney

Chicago, IL, United States

Linda 

Acton, ON, Canada

Daniel Dresser

Karen W

Nekia Ritchie

Fayetteville, NC, USA

Rebecca

Mark

Bristol, UK

Thomas Rose

Ellie

London, UK

Sophie

Lisa C

brianna figueras

San Gabriel, CA, USA

Jennifer

Scottsdale, AZ, USA

Katy

Queensland, Australia

Gail

New Jersey, United States

Sarah W

Whidbey Island, Washington, USA

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Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico

Blaise Allen

Deerfield Beach, FL, USA

Orla Harty

London, United Kingdom

Aimee

Saint Louis, MO

Practice self-compassion and use your breath to find comfort and release tension while your body heals.

Science

Stress & Anxiety

English

Allow yourself a few minutes of comfort as we focus on our breath to help us manage illness. In this meditation, we use self-compassion and breathwork to manage uncomfortable sensations. We also focus on areas in the body that are well to help remind ourselves of the body's amazing capacity to heal. Take 10 minutes of self-care to help alleviate suffering or to get some rest. Please remember that this is not medical advice and you should always consult your doctor when you are not well.

Meditation For When We Are Sick

 Hello, and thank you for joining me today to explore a meditation on when we're not feeling great, when we may be sick or maybe we didn't sleep well, or recovering from a procedure or surgery. I'm going to encourage you to be kind and compassionate to yourself. You're already taking the first step in healing by offering this self care. So when you're ready, find yourself in a comfortable position. You can be seated or lying down, taking a moment to make yourself oh so comfortable. And even if comfort isn't in the cards today, just the attempt, just the thought, the simple gesture for yourself can make a world of difference. Maybe you have a blanket around you, slippers on, a pillow under your head. Take a moment to just settle in and feel these simple comforts. The notion that this too will pass. You will not always feel like this. Allow yourself to feel that wholeheartedly and without pushing away any negative feelings, trying to grasp on to things that feel good. Just allow what is right here and right now. Let's focus on our breath together. One of the simplest, most basic ways to stay in the present moment and to offer ourselves comfort. So exhaling all your breath out, maybe placing one hand on the belly and one on the heart. And deeply inhale through the nose, feeling your chest rise, your stomach expand. And then exhaling slowly, completely, allowing all the stale breath out. Maybe even visualizing as you inhale, healing, love and light. And as you exhale, releasing the toxins, pain, discomfort, feeling a sense of relaxation with each inhale and exhale. Breathing at your own pace. If you have a sore throat or aches and pains, just noticing the breath coming in and out of the nose can help us not fixate on the other sensations. If your head is aching, if you have a stomach ache, focusing on the breath in and out, staying present, being kind and compassionate, allowing yourself to settle in. As you breathe deeply, allow the muscles of the face to relax around the eyes and the sinuses and the nose, the cheeks and the jaw, create some space, allowing the jaw to be heavy, the tongue to be relaxed all the way down to the root. Maybe even think about your earlobes relaxing. Breathing and exhaling, feeling the muscles of the neck expand and elongate, your back soften and melt. Stress, fear, anxiety rolling down your arms and out through your fingertips, down your spine to the base, down your legs, out your toes, releasing any unwelcome sensation. Breathing deeply, feeling your breath slowing down, allowing your chest to expand, the muscles in your stomach to relax and soften. If you're guarding your lower back or your hips, breathe deeply and even allow this area to soften, feeling rooted and safe in the comfort of your space, knowing that this too shall pass. Whatever uncomfortable sensations you're feeling, this too shall pass. Sometimes thinking about the next day and the following week can be overwhelming in times of sickness. So just be kind to yourself and allow yourself to get through this one breath, this one minute. That's all you need to do today is to come back to the breath, softening the body. Allow the lower body to relax, the legs and the toes. And if you're clenching your hands, offer grace and peace and kindness to yourself by releasing the tension, maybe flipping your palms up, allowing healing and peace to come in. Rest, your biggest gift when you're not well, breathing and resting. If you're feeling overwhelmed with sensations that are uncomfortable, take a few breaths to focus on an area in your body that has no pain, no discomfort. Starting at the top of the head, flowing down, maybe it's in a cheek, maybe it's in the left shoulder, maybe your right hand is more comfortable than the left. Find one area and just focus and breathe, allowing the other sensations to lose their strength and intensity. Resting on your breath and relaxing and softening. And allow for any emotions that come up when we're not feeling well. Sometimes we can cry easier, feel sorrow, maybe even a little depressed. That is okay. Allow the sensation, this energy, these feelings to arise and be kind to yourself by feeling them in the moment, not suppressing them and pushing them down. Things that tend to sink usually float up at some point. So focusing on the breath, noticing areas in the body that aren't suffering, feeling your emotions as they bubble up. These are ways to show love and compassion to yourself during times of illness or dis-ease. One more time, focus on the breath, taking a deep, long inhale and even longer exhale, settling into the comfort around you. This too shall pass. You only have to get through this next breath and this next one. When you're ready, open your eyes. And I encourage you to use one of these techniques throughout the day today to help relieve any suffering, to help you heal and stay kind and nurturing to yourself. Thank you so much for the precious gift of your time. Until next time.