Having some level of stress is not unusual, especially considering the year that we’ve just had. Although everyone handles stress differently, numerous studies have shown that sustained stress levels can have harmful consequences on your short- and long-term health. Our bodies tend to hold on to stress and trauma, so that even after the stressful period or event is behind us, it can still be hard to relax. Returning to a place of calm is not only possible, but essential for a healthy lifestyle.
Irina Demchenko (A Community Specialist at Meetup and organizer of With Stillness Meetup group) joined Meetup Live to host a guided meditation for de-stressing and regulating your nervous system. In the recording, she will guide you through journaling prompts that will facilitate a fresh perspective on your challenges and encourage a release of thoughts that do not serve you.
Timestamp:
- Introduction & about Irina (1:58)
- Warmup – a moment of pause (4:07)
- Journaling (15:06)
- Meditation (23:31)
- Prayer for yourself (45:02)
- Q&A (46:13)
Top Q&A Questions / Meditation Resources:
- What are some websites or apps or groups to find helpful guided meditation?
- Favorite free app: InsightTimer
- My favorite person on insight timer, like somebody that just makes me cry every time I listened to her, is Sarah Blondin.
- Other apps (paid): Calm
- Favorite free app: InsightTimer
- How can I keep up the motivation for a meditation habit?
- I think it’s easiest to just start simple and small. Maybe you just carve out one minute per day to meditate. You don’t need anybody, no guidance, just yourself and your breath, and close your
eyes and just see if you can breathe for that one minute.
And maybe the next day you can go up to two minutes, and three and four and five, and maybe you can tone it down a little bit, but really make it enjoyable.
Make it work for you.
And of course, there are amazing apps that have a bunch of little challenges that you can do, I think headspace has one.
Then maybe also finding an accountability buddy.
- I think it’s easiest to just start simple and small. Maybe you just carve out one minute per day to meditate. You don’t need anybody, no guidance, just yourself and your breath, and close your
eyes and just see if you can breathe for that one minute.
And maybe the next day you can go up to two minutes, and three and four and five, and maybe you can tone it down a little bit, but really make it enjoyable.
Make it work for you.
- If you wake up in the middle of the night and are not able to get back to sleep, how can you use these techniques to fall asleep?
- So conscious regulation of breath is the best way to calm down your nervous system. So for you, I would say, deep breathing.
There’s also this breath count 4-7-8 which means you inhale for four (seconds), you hold it for seven, and then you exhale for eight, and that is supposed to be really effective breathwork to help you fall asleep.
- So conscious regulation of breath is the best way to calm down your nervous system. So for you, I would say, deep breathing.
- Brené Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead
- Join Irina’s Meetup group With Stillness
Last modified on June 23, 2021
