Offering daily care for our bodies

Dear friends,

These last couple of years have been hard on most of our bodies. In addition to COVID, like me you may have faced health challenges or feel disconnected from your body because of all the physical distancing, working from home, or lack of access to health care.

I have been trying to offer my body a guided deep relaxation at least once a day. What I find is that a short (15-30 minute) deep relaxation can reset my nervous system and my mind and help me drop into the present moment more fully. While I often fall asleep for part of the meditation, that doesn’t seem to keep me from feeling the benefits. Sometimes I don’t realize how much tension I have been holding in my body until I am able to let it go through the relaxation practice.

One of my biggest takeaways from being in the hospital last year was how suddenly our bodies can get sick and how precious and hard working they are. Deep relaxation is a way to give our bodies the attention and care they long for right now, before we are really sick.

In an article in Lion's Roar, Thich Nhat Hanh writes:

Resting is a very important practice; we have to learn the art of resting. Resting is the first part of Buddhist meditation. You should allow your body and your mind to rest. Our mind as well as our body needs to rest.

The problem is that not many of us know how to allow our body and mind to rest. We are always struggling; struggling has become a kind of habit. We cannot resist being active, struggling all the time. We struggle even during our sleep.

Although we know that we are not only our bodies, we also know our bodies are precious and impermanent. This week, I invite you to join me in practicing deep relaxation. Here are a few of my favorites to get you started:

Thu Nguyen: Total Relaxation (57 minutes)

Sister Chan Khong: Deep Relaxation and Gratitude for our Body (11 minutes) 

Annie (me): Guided Meditation – Give your Body a Mental Hug (11 minutes)

You can also find lots more of my meditations on the Insight Timer App by searching for my name.

Let me know how you feel after practicing deep relaxation. I hope you find it as beneficial as I have.