How To Take A Pause On Busy Days – Guided Meditation With Zen Master Henry Shukman #634

In this special episode of my Feel Better, Live More podcast - the second in the series - I’m inviting you to join me for something that has truly transformed my own life. I am a big believer in the transformative power of meditation. I also know how hard it can be to start and stick to a daily practice in our busy, modern world. Together, Zen Master, Henry Shukman and I designed Meditation March with The Way app to give you some motivation to finally start your daily practice – or perhaps deepen one you already have. We wanted to create a community of likeminded people, coming together to shake off their busy lives and find stillness for a few minutes each day. And so far, it’s really working! Henry has recorded this short meditation for you to try now. Today’s simple lesson is that meditation isn’t another thing you have to do. Rather it's the one time you get to put down all the tools and just ‘be’. If you like what you hear, why not join me on our 30-day challenge, for free. All you need to do is visit: https://www.thewayapp.com/livemore, download the app and join the rest of us, who are already meditating our way through March. Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/634 DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Rangan Chatterjee?

  Hey guys, how you doing? Hope you're having a good week so far. My name is Dr Rangan Chatterjee and this is my podcast, Feel Better Live More.

• 0:16Rangan Chatterjee?

  Meditation is an incredibly powerful tool for transforming our lives. But in the modern world, many people find it a challenging practice to start and maintain. So this March, I have decided to try and inspire more people to take up this life-changing practice. Throughout the month, we're teaming up with Zen master Henry Schukman and his meditation app, The Way, to bring you our first ever meditation challenge. Though I've tried so many meditation apps over the years, but I've never come across one as effective as The Way. I've been using it most mornings for many months now, and it has really helped me feel

• 1:00Rangan Chatterjee?

  calmer, relaxed, and more present. I love this app so much that I recently decided to invest in the company and join them in their mission to get more people meditating, as I believe this will result in a calmer, happier, and more compassionate world. Meditation has been shown to have all kinds of benefits, reducing stress, improving focus, and over time has even been shown to result in positive structural changes in the brain. But of course, you only get those benefits if you actually do it.

• 1:40Rangan Chatterjee?

  So this March, why not join Henry and me and thousands of other meditators on a 30-day journey that has the potential to transform your life? All you have to do to take part in this free challenge is go to thewayapp.com/livemore. You'll get practical tips, exclusive content, and 30 free short meditation sessions to get you going. Committing to 30 consecutive days of meditation really does have the potential to create a lasting daily habit. I will also be joining in the challenge and using The Way app every day throughout the

• 2:22Rangan Chatterjee?

  month, and I very much hope that you decide to join me. And now to give you a flavour of what Henry's meditations are like, here's a beautiful meditation that he recorded exclusively for my podcast community.

• 2:40Speaker 01

  Welcome to another meditation with me, Henry Schutman. I'm so honoured and grateful and humbled really to have this opportunity to share with you a practice that has meant so much to me, that has really been a life changer, since I picked it up in my early to mid twenties.

• 2:59Speaker 01

  Once again, I want to try to convey to you that meditation is not just another thing you have to do. Don't think of it as another item on your to-do list. It's really of a different order. Yes, there are many very positive, helpful things that we might have in our health and wellness regime, and surely meditation might be counted among them. But it's a little different from other things, because what we're really doing here is coming back to who we are in a more fundamental way, which doesn't require us to do anything. We have a few tools and skills that help us to power down,

• 3:43Speaker 01

  to put down our tools, so that we can come into a state of being, rather than the doing that we are customarily doing all the time we're awake. So let's give it a try right now. Come into a comfortable seated position. Get your body set up in a way that feels good for you. You know, commonly meditation is done seated, and that's what I'm gonna be doing. And the guidance I offer will mostly be for a sitting position. But it's also okay to lie down, to recline, to kind of slouch any way you like, actually.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  Get settled, close your eyes, or lower the gaze with the eyes open if you prefer that. Let your hands settle either in your lap, or on your thighs, or perhaps at the sides of your body.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  Just take a moment now to sort of take stock, take an inventory. How are you doing right now? As you come into this time of stillness and quiet from all the activities of your day? Whether you're just starting your day, or closing your day, or partway through your day? As you come into quiet and stillness? How are you doing? What kind of momentum is on board and in your body right now?

• 5:27Speaker 01

  Just give it space, allow it to be here.

• 5:33Speaker 01

  Let yourself be as you are.

• 5:37Speaker 01

  And let's become aware of the body.

• 5:41Speaker 01

  Aware of the position that your body's in.

• 5:46Speaker 01

  Relax your shoulders and arms, let them hang like old ropes.

• 5:53Speaker 01

  Relax your jaw and throat.

• 5:57Speaker 01

  Let them soften.

• 6:03Speaker 01

  Let your whole head, your scalp, your face, sides of your head, be at ease. Let them relax.

• 6:15Speaker 01

  Let your torso, your rib cage, your belly, the whole upper body, let it relax.

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Let legs and feet relax.

• 6:29Speaker 01

  Whole body.

• 6:32Speaker 01

  At rest.

• 6:35Speaker 01

  At ease.

• 6:39Speaker 01

  And just see if you can invite your mind to follow, like the body,

• 6:49Speaker 01

  to have a moment's rest. Let the mind rest.

• 6:58Speaker 01

  Let your whole system power down.

• 7:06Speaker 01

  What's it like if, just for a little moment, you actually don't have to do anything?

• 7:18Speaker 01

  So much of our waking lives, we're busy doing. This is just a little moment when you get to not do.

• 7:31Speaker 01

  To really, yeah, lay down all the tools.

• 7:37Speaker 01

  Lay down all the doing.

• 7:44Speaker 01

  And just be.

• 7:48Speaker 01

  Just be.

• 8:05Speaker 01

  Okay. Lovely. Thank you very much for coming on this little journey into not doing. Let's move our fingers, move our toes, raise the eyes or open the eyes. Have a little stretch if that feels supportive and pleasant.

• 8:29Speaker 01

  And congratulate yourself on giving yourself this time just for you, just for you to be, rather than to have to do. Just taking that step back where we don't have to do anything. It doesn't mean we don't value all the things we do. It means that we're renewed and reset and perhaps a little bit re-energized for all the activities that we can start resuming. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm looking forward to our next meditation where we will be exploring how to be with feelings, how to create space for our tender hearts and the many feelings that they naturally have. Have a great rest of your day.

• 9:14Rangan Chatterjee?

  So, how was that for you? How do you feel now compared to when you started? You see, just a few minutes of meditation each morning helps me start off each day feeling calmer, grounded and more present. So, if you want to join this free 30-day meditation challenge, all you have to do is go to the way app.com forward slash live more to sign up and receive practical tips, exclusive content and 30 free meditation sessions to get you started.

• 9:56Rangan Chatterjee?

  If you enjoyed today's episode, it is always appreciated if you can take a moment to share the podcast with your friends and family or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you so much for listening. Have a wonderful week and always remember, you are the architect of your own health. Making lifestyle change is always worth it because when you feel better, you live more.