Do you wake up in the morning feeling fine (or at least okay) but it doesn’t take long and the tension starts to build from your neck down and then your shoulders become so tight…do you ever experience this as your day goes on?
So, this has been me over the last week, I’ve noticed that my jaw is tighter, the lip biting has started and over all I just feel more tense.
When I really try to narrow down the root cause of the tension, I realized I may have been watching too much news and seeing the horrific glimpses of what life is like presently for those affected by the war in Israel and Gaza. I can’t imagine living in that kind of fear day after day. But what keeps playing over and over again in my head are the words from one doctor who said they were running out of medications, specifically pain medication. So, these innocent little lives that are being rushed into an already overcrowded hospital, some coming in with burns (and who knows what else) and they have no pain medication to give the babies and children.
As a mother this makes me sick to my stomach!
All of a sudden, the tension I am feeling doesn’t even compare in any way to the pain that each and everyone of them are going through.
So how do you cope with tension?
I know many people who swear by meditation and then many people who say they just can’t seem to create that quiet space within their mind long enough to reap any rewards of meditation.
So, I thought I would bring forward the option of a guided meditation. I used to do it and enjoyed it but I slowly got away from it and then of course forgot about it. But this week I thought it might just be what I need to help alleviate some of the tension I’m experiencing.
I love this option of a guided meditation; you don’t have to worry about keeping your mind quiet because you are focused on listening and following along. It is convenient; you can download the app called “Insight Timer” and then follow the prompts. They do offer a paid/plus version, but they have many free options within the app.
What I like best is you can pick from as little as a 4-minute meditation right up to an hour long. This gives you the opportunity to squeeze in a meditation even if you only have a few minutes. You can pick from options like “quieting the mind”, “Deep Sleep Meditation”, “Taking Your Power Back” and many others. Once you find a presenter that you like you can follow them and save it, so you can go back to it.
Meditation has never been so easy, and I think this is a great introduction for those who either just can’t get the hang of it or don’t feel they have the time.
With everything going on in the world I feel we really need to focus on how to best help ourselves, so that we can be our strongest and best version, so we are better able to help others.
I hope this quick introduction to meditation helps you with any stress you may be dealing with, or at least help get you through a tough day. I will dive deeper into meditation in a later blog, as there is much more to cover on the topic.
For now...My heart goes out to all the innocent lives that have been turned upside down, the lives have been lost and many still unaccounted for during this tragic time of upheaval.
"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear"
-Rumi-
