Finding Calm in the Chaos - Guided Meditation With Zen Master Henry Shukman #631

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. In this special episode of my Feel Better, Live More podcast, I’m inviting you to join me for something that has truly transformed my own life. I’ve teamed up with Zen master Henry Shukman and his meditation app The Way for a 30-day meditation challenge this March to help inspire more of us to build a consistent meditation practice. I’ve tried many meditation apps over the years, but I’ve never found one as effective as The Way. I’ve been using it most mornings for months now, and it has genuinely helped me feel calmer, more relaxed and more present. I love it so much that I recently invested in the company because I truly believe that if more of us meditated regularly, we’d create a calmer, happier and more compassionate world. There’s now a wealth of research showing that meditation can reduce stress, improve focus and even lead to positive structural changes in the brain over time. But we only experience those benefits if we actually practise. In this episode, Henry shares a beautiful guided body scan meditation, reminding us that meditation isn’t another task on the to-do list, but a return to ourselves. Just a few minutes each day can make a profound difference. So, if you are ready to join Henry and me on this 30-day challenge, for free, all you need to do is visit: thewayapp.com/livemore. Download the app and join a group of likeminded people, meditating our way through March. Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/631 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

• 0:59Rangan 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.

• 1:39Rangan 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?

• 1:52Rangan Chatterjee?

  All you have to do to take part in this free challenge is go to the way app.com forward slash live more. 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 month. 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

• 2:36Rangan Chatterjee?

  for my podcast community.

• 2:40Speaker 01

  Welcome to this meditation with me, Henry Schuckman. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm really happy and grateful to be able to share this practice with you, a practice that has meant so much to me for many years, has greatly, greatly helped me with various challenges I've had in my life. There's a lot of research, a tonne of research these days into meditation and how helpful it can be to help us recalibrate our nervous systems, dial our nervous systems down, get more centred, more grounded and find more peace and less reactivity in our lives. At the same time, I know it can be rather a challenging

• 3:25Speaker 01

  prospect, how to build in another habit when we already may have various things we're trying to do daily to help ourselves. I like to think of meditation not as another element on a to do list, but rather as something like a return to ourselves, as simply a space where we're allowed to come back to who we really are. And that's the way I'm going to try to share it with you and invite you to see it that way too, and to come to know it that way. So, we're going to go right into a meditation right now.

• 4:04Speaker 01

  So, get comfortable, get set up in a seated position that feels good for you. We usually do meditation seated, but if you prefer to lie down, that's no problem whatsoever. Any chair will do, kitchen chair, office chair, side of the bed, couch, all good.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  Get yourself arranged comfortably, close your eyes, or if you prefer to have them open, that's fine. Lower the gaze if they are open.

• 4:39Speaker 01

  In this meditation, we're going to do a body scan, where we simply become more aware of our body. They say that the mind is a time traveler, but the body lives in the present moment. So, it can be really helpful to anchor ourselves in sensations of the body, as a way to come back to ourselves here and now.

• 5:05Speaker 01

  So, let's just become aware of our bodies right now, sitting still. And again, check that you're comfortable, make any adjustments that you feel would help. And we're going to simply move our awareness through the body, getting to know our experience of the body a little bit more clearly and intimately. So, feel your face and let your face become soft.

• 5:39Speaker 01

  Relax your face.

• 5:44Speaker 01

  Feel your jaw and let your jaw sink a little bit. Let the jaw go slack.

• 5:55Speaker 01

  A lot of us carry tension in our jaw, and it can be so helpful just to release them.

• 6:04Speaker 01

  So, let your jaw go.

• 6:08Speaker 01

  You might feel a little softness in the throat as you do so.

• 6:16Speaker 01

  Now let your hands rest, let them be in your lap or on your thighs.

• 6:23Speaker 01

  And let your arms go slack, let them be like old ropes.

• 6:30Speaker 01

  Sort of hanging at your sides.

• 6:38Speaker 01

  Now we'll move our attention to the chest area. Let the chest be soft and warm.

• 6:55Speaker 01

  Becoming aware of the belly now. Let the belly be soft and warm.

• 7:08Speaker 01

  Let the hips and seat be relaxed.

• 7:18Speaker 01

  Let the upper legs be soft and warm, loose.

• 7:26Speaker 01

  Let the lower legs be soft and warm, at ease.

• 7:37Speaker 01

  Now let the ankles and feet be warm, loose.

• 7:49Speaker 01

  So now just see if you can get a sense of the whole body, the entirety of the body.

• 7:58Speaker 01

  Just sitting here, quiet and still,

• 8:04Speaker 01

  at ease,

• 8:07Speaker 01

  and enveloped in a kind of softness,

• 8:14Speaker 01

  a restfulness.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  There's really nothing special about this. Nothing special you have to do. You're just being with yourself. Being with your own body, just as it is. Resting with your body.

• 8:50Speaker 01

  Bring a little movement into your fingers and toes. Wiggle fingers and toes. Raise your gaze, open your eyes. Look around the space that you're in.

• 9:04Speaker 01

  Have a little in-breath and out-breath. Great, that's it. We just did a meditation. It's that simple. Nothing special and yet precious because it's a space just for you. Thank you so much for joining me.

• 9:23Rangan 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 thewayapp.com/livemore to sign up and receive practical tips, exclusive content and 30 free meditation sessions to get you started.

• 10:05Rangan 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.