I've recorded some brand new guided meditations to help you cope with lockdown, which you can access totally free. Lockdown is the perfect time to begin, or strengthen, a meditation practice. In this challenging period, you may be experiencing feelings of uncertainty, isolation, frustration, boredom, anger, and destabilisation. Since there is little we can do about the pandemic except stay safe, the one thing we should focus on is what we can control: our mental and emotional response to the lockdown.
Lockdown provides you with an excellent opportunity to work on training your mind and using it to help you de-stress. The mind is the best coping tool we have because it is always with us - even in lockdown. If your mind has been going crazy with unhelpful thoughts and panicky feelings, you might disagree with how helpful the mind actually is. But this is where practising meditation can come to the rescue. Guided meditation is especially useful if your brain is going loop-the-loop because another voice providing some instruction can help you focus better.
With lockdown especially in mind, the first three meditations I have recorded are designed to calm and soothe you, to help you sleep, and to cultivate states of mind that will help you deal with difficulties. They are all available for free on a meditation app called Insight Timer. I'll get into the meditations and what they help with below. Click on the title to go directly to the meditation. If you don't have the app, you may only be taken to a preview. So, y'know, get the app. It's free!
Breaktime Relaxation (15 mins)
If you're stuck indoors and the kids are going crazy, or if you're driving yourself mad with stressful thoughts, take a break with me. For 15 minutes, you can totally let go and relax. In this meditation, we will relax the body and quiet the mind by travelling into nature. After listening to this meditation track, I hope you will feel calm and grounded. It's a nice, simple mediation that is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.
Breathing The Brahma Viharas (45 mins)
The Brahma Viharas are what Buddhists call the four sublime states. They are beneficial states of mind that help us to deal with life skillfully and consist of: Loving-kindness, equanimity, sympathetic joy, and compassion. You don't have to be a Buddhist to do this meditation. And you don't have to be interested in Buddhism to know that kindness and compassion can help you to feel better. In this meditation, we use personal mental imagery and breathwork to cultivate these helpful states in the brain and body. It's simpler than it sounds and I'm with you every step of the way.
Sleepy Yoga Nidra (30 mins)
I came across Yoga Nidra when I had insomnia. I was gobsmacked to find that just listening to a Yoga Nidra recording had the power to knock me out when three Nytol and a Horlicks hadn't touched the sides. I researched the practice and found that Yoga Nidra mimics a state close to the one we approach when we fall asleep naturally. In fact, Yoga Nidra means "Yogic Sleep". I now do Yoga Nidra whenever I struggle to sleep or if I just feel the need for rejuvenation. And now I've recorded my very own version. Yoga Nidra is really easy. You just follow the instructions and come into a state of deep relaxation. Use it at bedtime for sleep or during the day to rest and restore the body and the mind.
I will be recording more meditations, so if you enjoy these, then you can follow me on Insight Timer. Just download the app, go to my page, and click follow.
