Happy Body - A Serena Podcast

Our feet and ankles are the most distant part of our bodies from our mind. Because of that they're sometimes overlooked or undervalued and can themselves communicate this very mindset about our whole self. Pain and injury is the body's way of teaching us how to take care of ourselves, our bodies. Our job is to listen. It can be as simple as slowing down, listening to what they have to say and sending them love. Or suffering in the feet and ankles can symbolize a much deeper sense of disconnectedness from the earth and nature, or undervaluing of ourselves, an inability to fulfill our ideals or objectives in life. This guided meditation will help put you in touch with what your feet and ankles have to say. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The ancient Chinese philosopher and military strategist Sun Tzu is famous for saying: “To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.” His wisdom is surprisingly relevant to the battle against insomnia. The key to winning the battle for sleep, to breaking our wakefulness’s resistance, is not to fight for sleep in the first place. You may be lying in bed wanting to fall asleep but maybe you shouldn’t even be bothering to try. Take these two tests to see if perhaps the moment isn’t right for you. Whether you are someone who meditates or not, these two simple tests will help with your insomnia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It is bedtime and once again you can’t sleep. You’ve tried everything you can think of and you’re ready to give up but you don’t even know what that means. It is time take another tack. This meditation will help unlock the cycle you are stuck in. It may not work tonight, and that is okay. The extraordinary thing about meditation is that if you can concentrate properly, the time spent can be even more rejuvenating than sleep itself. Sleep, nature’s sweet nurse, awaits. Listen to this meditation to help you enter her care. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sleep really is such a strange phenomenon. No matter how much we want it, it is only when we let go of needing to fall asleep, and thinking about sleep, that we can fall asleep. Fortunately, doing peaceful sleep-time meditations is relaxation and rest enough for your body to be rested for tomorrow. It has a similar effect on the brain and body. So don’t worry if you don’t fall asleep. Just enjoy cycling through this meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We can’t tell our body to fall asleep the same direct way we can tell our arm to move or our voice to make words. Unfortunately, that isn’t how that system works. So we have to play by the rules of the going to sleep game. Tonight, the way we are going to play that game is by pretending our body is a small child. She doesn’t want to go to sleep tonight so we have to help her. We have to remind her that we are the one in charge and make sure she trusts us and knows that it is safe to let the body go to sleep. Sleep tight and sweet dreams! For the companion podcast covering the theory behind why these meditations work, check out the Serena system podcast at https://goo.gl/Dxu4eo. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your subconscious or lower self doesn’t want to let you fall asleep. There is some worry or fear so deep that your lower self believes that sleep might even lead to your death. It is irrational but the part of our selves that is in charge of putting our bodies to sleep has a different logic. It’s logic is survival. It doesn’t trust your logical self or your higher self that everything is going to be ok. So it is time take another tack. These meditations will help unlock this cycle. It may not work tonight, and that is okay. The extraordinary thing about meditation is that if you can concentrate properly, the time spent can be even more rejuvenating than sleep itself. And even if it isn’t done to perfection, there is an enourmous psychological and physical benefit. Sleep, nature’s gentle nurse, is waiting for you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you suffer from fatigued or aching fingers, hands, wrists, elbows or forearms? Are feeling the chronic pain of a repetitive stress injury (RSI/RSD--Repetitive stress disorder/repetitive strain injury) or CRPS (Complex regional pain syndrome)? If so, this set of warm up movements will help them recover their relaxed comfort and ease. You can also use it prepare them before a stint in front of the computer or a session at the gym. Time to stop taking your wrists for granted and nurture and attend to them. This set of movements does just that.This is a 15 minute version of the wrist warm up. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are your wrists or forearms aching or sore? If so, this set of warm up movements will help them recover their comfort and ease. You can also use it prepare them before a stint in front of the computer or a session at the gym. We tend to take our wrists for granted but they are delicate parts of our bodies that need to be nurtured and attended to. This set of movements does just that.This is a 10 minute version of the wrist warm up. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hands sore from too much typing or physical work? Computers and smartphones have added hours more of delicate hand use for all of us. And when you combine that with other activities it can all just be too much. Use this warm up or post exercise to help gently invigorate and awaken your fingers, hands, wrists, forearms and elbows.This is a 5 minute version of the wrist warm up. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You can have a tangible impact on the health of your body simply by changing the way you think. Dedicate the time to remodeling the structures of your brain that control the health of your body. This meditation helps you do that. This is a one hour version of the I Am Healthy guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your body is very susceptible to suggestion. If you think negative thoughts or believe the negative things people say about you sometimes, your body might take you or them seriously. Unfortunately, that negativity can affect your health and wellbeing. Fortunately you can take advantage of that same susceptibility to influence your body in the other direction, too. You can remind yourself of your inner potential for vitality, power, fitness and health. So do that right now!This is a 45 minute version of the I Am Healthy guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you think negative thoughts or believe the negative things people say about you sometimes, your body might take you or them seriously. Unfortunately, that negativity can affect your health and wellbeing. Fortunately, this works in both directions so you can take advantage of that same susceptibility to influence your body towards health instead. You can remind yourself of your inner potential for vitality, power, fitness and health. So do that right now!This is a 30 minute version of the I Am Healthy guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you have an injury or are sick or are in pain for any reason, you can use the vast powers of your mind to mitigate your suffering and support your natural immune and healing processes. This meditation will guide you through this simple yet powerful process.This is a 20 minute version of the I Am Healthy guided meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Illness and pain are a natural part of life. Outside of the obvious things like eating right, getting enough sleep, washing our hands and reducing stress in our life, are there other techniques we can use to maximize our health and our strength? It turns out the body responds to positive thinking and can be healed by the presence of an otherworldly light. This light has been called prank, qi, and mana. But the point isn't the name. The point is to learn how to marshal this light in the service of your health and your vitality. So give it a try!This is a 10 minute version of the I Am Healthy guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a short and simple self administered therapy for sore feet and ankles. Whether you suffer from an RSI/RSD (Repetitive stress disorder/repetitive strain injury), CRPS (Complex regional pain syndrome), fallen arches, pronation, flat feet, Plantar fasciitis or just have been on your feet too long, this will help sooth the pain. (This is a 10 minute version of the Softening the Soles therapy) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a 20 minute version of the Soften your Soles foot therapy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you are suffering from pain in your feet, ankles, calves and shins, these simple movements will help relieve your discomfort. These body parts are the most distant part of the body from the brain and as a result we sometimes unconsciously treat them like distant cousins or, in the worst case, complete strangers. Many people are so disconnected from their feet that without looking they aren’t even sure what their foot's position is in space or angle is relative to their legs. When we become estranged from a part of our bodies, all sorts of problems can arise. At a simple level, we see people walking in a uneven or unfamiliar terrain looking down at their feet and having to take over some manual control of their feet placement. In the worst case, you see feet (metaphorically speaking) become so upset by their abandonment that they cry out in pain for no apparent reason. Whether it is a simple injury, a serious trauma or something chronic like CRPS (Complex regional pain syndrome) RSI/RSD (Repetitive stress disorder/repetitive strain injury), Plantar fasciitis, fallen arches, flat feet, pronation or whatever else, this movement therapy will help relieve the pain. This is a 20 minute version of the feet/ankle/calf movement therapy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a simple movement exercise to help relieve pain in the feet, ankles and calves/shin area. These body parts are the most distant part of the body from the brain. As a result, we sometimes unconsciously treat them like distant cousins or, in the worst case, complete strangers. Many people are so disconnected from their feet that without looking they aren’t even sure what their foot's position is in space or angle is relative to their legs. When we become estranged from a part of our bodies, all sorts of problems can arise. At a simple level, we see people walking in a uneven or unfamiliar terrain looking down at their feet and having to take over some manual control of their feet placement. In the worst case, you see feet (metaphorically speaking) become so upset by their abandonment that they cry out in pain for no apparent reason. Whether it is a simple injury, a serious trauma or something chronic like CRPS (Complex regional pain syndrome) RSI/RSD (Repetitive stress disorder/repetitive strain injury), Plantar fasciitis, fallen arches, flat feet, pronation or whatever else, this movement therapy will help relieve the pain. This is a 36 minute version of the Release Pain the Claves, Feet, or Ankles exercise. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are your back and shoulders in pain or stiff? Having a spasm or tightness again? You have the power to fix your myofascial pain by taking advantage of the way the brain works, by hacking its mode of operation. The world we perceive isn’t what we think it is. We construct our reality in our minds. A small trickle of fresh data from the outside world is used only at the margin to update the model in our mind of what we are “seeing.” This invented reality that we experience as consciousness allows for much faster response to dangers and therefore was evolutionarily advantageous. We are optimized for survival, not for complete and accurate perception of what is “out there.” This world-simulation feature also applies to our model of our bodies and its movement. Unfortunately it means that we often are ready for a "fight or flight" situation far more often than is necessary. And this is often the cause of unnecessary muscle pain, especially in the back and shoulders. Fortunately, it also means that we can heal our body through simple movements or even without even moving. We can take advantage of this aspect of human consciousness to conjure the world and the self image that is going to be most healthy for us. All we have to do is set our intention in this direction, lovingly and patiently sustaining that self image, simulating it in our heads. And the physical reality will follow! If you are a beginner, the results may not be instant but this miracle is available to each and every one of us. All it takes is a little practice and when done right you’ll quickly begin to see results. So let’s get started!If are having a serious traumatic episode and are suffering from whiplash or very real back pain, please seek the help of a professional.If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the other Serena Podcasts. There is a Guided Meditation one ("Happy Mind") with more traditional meditations as well as an Ancient Masters one ("Happy Life") which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your hips don’t lie. If you take the time to listen to them, they may well have a scary or sad tale to tell. A story that you might not want to hear. The key is to remember, like when you have a bad dream, that it isn't real. A memory or fears about the future are just patterns of activity in your brain. They're not happening right now outside of you or to you (other than in your mind). So we don’t have to believe these stories. But if we can remain separate from them and unconditionally observe them from afar, we can let the negative emotions go. And, of course, even if no memories or fears do come up for us, moving and relaxing and opening our hips just feels good. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sure, this is short physical therapy session. But these exercises are operating at an entirely deeper level at the same time, if you choose to allow that. Why? The hips are the home of your emotional self and they are the gates within which you will find your second or sacral chakra. In anatomical terms, the sacrum is the triangular bone at the base of your spine.This part of your physical body is aligned with the location in your subtle body that is highly sensitive to your energetic and emotional connection to others. This is where you generate negative emotions like fear, sadness and anger which are always designed to preserve your life. But the intelligence of this part of our selves is very limited so these negative emotions, particularly in today's world, are mostly unnecessary. So, we need to assert our wise self's dominance over our emotional self. We do this not by force or coercion, but through love and compassion. So, even though this episode is concerned with providing simple instructions on how to move your body in ways that will release tension and reduce pain or stiffness in your hip area, approach the practice with this spirit of love and compassion. And you will find that the release won't just come to your hips. An opening will unfold to happier and more loving places in your emotional world as well. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The hips are located in the area of your second chakra, your sacral energy center. It is the place where our emotions and our unconscious desires emerge. These parts of ourselves have an energetic dimension which can create a host of problems if they are not led and organized by our higher and wiser self. The simple movements you will be doing in this movement therapy session are designed not just to free up the tightness or relieve the soreness in the tissues of your hip and sacrum, but to release any blockages in your second chakra. For if the energy can’t flow, your health can become compromised, your emotional state can become unbalanced and negative, and your mind can become distracted or unfocused. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you are experiencing pain or tightness in your hips, there might just be a physical cause like sitting for too long on a plane or at the office. Or maybe a workout triggered it. But why your hips? Or why that particular part of your hips and why that particular pain? There may be a straight-line physical explanation. But there might also be an emotional trail that you can uncover. The hips are one of those places where we encode our trauma or our fears. When we have tightness or pain or soreness in these areas, it can mean that there is a repressed fear that has been encoded as a physical memory there. This pain can be an invitation to face that fear, to let go of being scared, to stop running away or trying to hide from it. So you can use these exercises to uncover and even release these negative energies and emotions. Or, if that all sounds too hippie-dippie or nothing comes up for you in this emotional excavation, you can just enjoy the softening and relaxing effect that these movements will have on the tissues in your lower back and hips and legs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our hips are a part of our bodies that hold memories, and especially memories of relationships. Romantic relationships, family relationships, or relationships with work colleagues. You might even find that they store ancient memories of your history with people from past lives. So, working with your hips is an opportunity to discover what these memories are, to unlock them from the physical pattern they have woven in your tissues, to face these memories and free yourself from their negativity. And doing these exercises will help your hips will feel better too! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Skin rashes, itchy eyes, sneezing, pressure in the sinuses. Or maybe the inflammation is internal somewhere else in your body. Regardless of where it is, there is a breakdown in understanding. A confusion within your body. Your job is to clear up that confusion. Let’s take dust. Dust mites may seem like a scary invading army. And if you’ve every seen a picture they look every bit the frightening sci fi monster. But each part of nature plays its role in the greater whole. There is one species of dust mite, for example, that lives in the ground and its powerful enzymes break down the organic matter in soil. This enrichment actually enables life on earth. Unfortunately, similar enzymes, when they enter our eyes or nose or mouth from the dust in the air, can irritate and begin to break down the tissues within our body. So to our cells they look a lot like an invader that will harm us. And so, even though they are harmless, these sensitive tissues call forth the body’s powerful defenses against a fake threat and the recurring inflammation creates its own sort of sickness within us. But there isn’t a virus or killer bacteria behind that initial irritation. The enzymes in the dust are just doing what they do. So we need to get our bodies used to these visitors. Just like in immunotherapy, we can do that in our minds, bit by bit. If we regularly practice these allergy meditations, our bodies learn to become less afraid of these visitors, they learn to welcome and accept them instead of fearing and attacking them. Note: This is a 30 minute version of the Calm Like A Clear Sky episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Allergens confuse your body. Your job is to clear up that confusion. Let’s take dust. Dust mites may seem like a scary invading army. And if you’ve every seen a picture they look every bit the frightening sci fi monster. But each part of nature plays its role in the greater whole. There is one species of dust mite, for example, that lives in the ground and its powerful enzymes break down the organic matter in soil. This enrichment actually enables life on earth. Unfortunately, similar enzymes, when they enter our eyes or nose or mouth from the dust in the air, can irritate and begin to break down the tissues within our body. So to our cells they look a lot like an invader that will harm us. And so, even though they are harmless, these sensitive tissues call forth the body’s powerful defenses against a fake threat and the recurring inflammation creates its own sort of sickness within us. But there isn’t a virus or killer bacteria behind that initial irritation. The enzymes in the dust are just doing what they do. So we need to get our bodies used to these visitors. Just like in immunotherapy, we can do that in our minds, bit by bit. If we regularly practice these allergy meditations, our bodies learn to become less afraid of these visitors, they learn to welcome and accept them instead of fearing and attacking them. Note: This is a 15 minute version of the Calm Like A Clear Sky episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the ancient texts such as the Egyptian Book of the Dead (originally called the Book of Emerging Forth into the Light) they had a concept of spells. While there may have been true magicians and miracle workers, most of these spells exploited a foundational feature of human neurology: a careful and disciplined cultivation of our mind can change our physiological sate. Anyone can learn with just a few minutes practice to change the temperature of their fingertip, for example. These "spells" of old are taking advantage of this 'mind over matter' power that we all have.So how do we do that with allergies? We speak the language of our bodies and apply a systematic and repeated practice to rewire our brain and therefore our physiological response. From time immemorial, allergens like dust and pollen have been a symbol of both creation and destruction (“ashes to ashes, dust to dust”). These twin symbols cause our bodies to become confused in their presence, to mistake a harmless ingredient in the life making process (like pollen and dust) as something that could harm us; as something that requires a full blown immune system response. But the pollen or dander or dust isn’t a virus or some other potentially lethal invader. Today we are going to practice using the power of our words and our mind to turn down the dial, at least a little, on the magnitude of our allergic response.Note: This is a 30 minute version of the Hello Dust episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From time immemorial, allergens like dust and pollen have been a symbol of both creation and destruction (“ashes to ashes, dust to dust”). These twin symbols cause our bodies to become confused in their presence, to mistake a harmless ingredient in the life making process (like pollen and dust) as something that could harm us; as something that requires a full blown immune system response. But the pollen or dander or dust isn’t a virus or some other potentially lethal invader. Today we are going to practice using the power of our words and our mind to turn down the dial, at least a little, on the magnitude of our allergic response.Note: This is a 15 minute version of the Hello Dust episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Allergies are an incredibly frustrating and uncomfortable phenomenon. It is easy to fell helpless. But you have a choice. You can react to the pollen or dust (or whatever your allergen is) with fear and resistance… or you can choose to cultivate love and acceptance. The physical discomfort and suffering you are experiencing in your allergic response is an invitation to cultivate an ongoing posture of submission and acceptance. If you weren’t having your allergic episode, you wouldn’t have the incentive to practice this. Think of your discomfort as being like an secret cup that you have within you. The allergy empties that cup and creates a longing for wellness. Yet unlike a really harmful invader like a flu virus, the pollen or dust that has “invaded” you is harmless so it is an easier act of self-mastery to dial down this response. Maybe even one day switch it off. Note: This is a 15 minute version of the Empty Cup episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Most people think that 'spells' are a fanciful legacy of primitive cultures. But in fact some of them have a basis in the way the brain and body interact. There are techniques anyone can follow (or 'spells' anyone can learn to 'cast') to exercise the mind's control over the unconscious activity of the body. Allergies are one of those activities that are susceptible, at least at the margins, to these 'spells'. It turns out that you have a choice. You can react to the pollen or dust (or whatever your allergen is) with fear and resistance… or you can choose to cultivate love and acceptance. The physical discomfort and suffering you are experiencing in your allergic response is an invitation to cultivate an ongoing posture of submission and acceptance. If you weren’t having your allergic episode, you wouldn’t have the incentive to practice this. Think of your discomfort as being like an secret cup that you have within you. The allergy empties that cup and creates a longing for wellness. Yet unlike a really harmful invader like a flu virus, the pollen or dust that has “invaded” you is harmless so it is an easier act of self-mastery to dial down this response. Maybe even one day switch it off. Note: This is a 30 minute version of the Empty Cup episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are your wrists or forearms aching or sore? If so, this moving meditation will help them recover their comfort and ease. You can also use it warm them up before a day at the computer or a session at the gym. We tend to take our wrists for granted but they are delicate parts of our bodies and are so much more than just the junction between our arms and our hands. The wrist is the place where we express our skill, where our ideas are carefully shaped into form. Chances are they are sore or tired from over use, in which case we need to accept a time of limited expression or seek other ways to give voice to our ideas and plans and opinions. If they are aching, they are probably trying to teach us patience and show us the boundary of our abilities which otherwise might not be visible to us. Our body is asking us to slow down and we aren’t listening. So it is turning up the volume. We can choose to ignore the message but if you push much further, the body will get louder and an injury will be the next step.Note: I am not a doctor or physical therapist so if you are suffering acute pain or have been injured, please seek the help of a trained medical professional. Also, I have found that applying ice and taking limited doses of over the counter anti-inflammatory medication are always a welcome supplement to mind-based therapy. (This is a 30 minute version of the wrist and forearm pain moving therapy) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are your wrists or forearms aching or sore? If so, this moving meditation will help them recover their comfort and ease. You can also use it warm them up before a day at the computer or a session at the gym. We tend to take our wrists for granted but they are delicate parts of our bodies and are so much more than just the junction between our arms and our hands. The wrist is the place where we express our skill, where our ideas are carefully shaped into form. Chances are they are sore or tired from over use, in which case we need to accept a time of limited expression or seek other ways to give voice to our ideas and plans and opinions. If they are aching, they are probably trying to teach us patience and show us the boundary of our abilities which otherwise might not be visible to us. Our body is asking us to slow down and we aren’t listening. So it is turning up the volume. We can choose to ignore the message but if you push much further, the body will get louder and an injury will be the next step.This is a 15 minute version of the wrist and forearm movement therapy/stretch. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are your fingers or hands sore? Are they aching or stiff? You can use this moving meditation to help release their tightness and restore them to a smooth and relaxed resting state. Chances are that they are bothering you because they have been overused. Computers and smartphones have added hours more of delicate hand use for all of us. And when you combine that with other activities it can all just be too much. But the hands represent the expression of your power and your ideas and thoughts so there could be more information embedded in this pain. Whether you are gesturing while speaking, using your hands to write or draw, employing them to move an object or touch someone close to you, your hands are always a physical extension of your mind, a manifestation of your mental activity, conscious or not. They lie at the intersection of the shadowy world of thoughts and feelings and the hard-edged, tangible world of form and matter. Indeed the root of the word manifest is Manus or hand. The hands manifest ideas into tangible world around us. When our hands or fingers are sore, our ability to communicate itself can become limited or impaired. So let’s take the time to help our hands and fingers, to give them the love and attention they deserve.Note: I am not a doctor or physical therapist so if you are suffering acute pain or have been injured, please seek the help of a trained medical professional. Also, I have found that applying ice and taking limited doses of over the counter anti-inflammatory medication are always a welcome supplement to mind-based therapy.This is a 30 minute version of the wrist and forearm movement therapy/stretch. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You can use this moving meditation to help release their tightness and restore them to a smooth and relaxed resting state. Chances are that they are bothering you because they have been overused. Computers and smartphones have added hours more of delicate hand use for all of us. And when you combine that with other activities it can all just be too much. But the hands represent the expression of your power and your ideas and thoughts so there could be more information embedded in this pain. Whether you are gesturing while speaking, using your hands to write or draw, employing them to move an object or touch someone close to you, your hands are always a physical extension of your mind, a manifestation of your mental activity, conscious or not. They lie at the intersection of the shadowy world of thoughts and feelings and the hard-edged, tangible world of form and matter. Indeed the root of the word manifest is Manus or hand. The hands manifest ideas into tangible world around us. When our hands or fingers are sore, our ability to communicate itself can become limited or impaired. So let’s take the time to help our hands and fingers, to give them the love and attention they deserve.Note: I am not a doctor or physical therapist so if you are suffering acute pain or have been injured, please seek the help of a trained medical professional. Also, I have found that applying ice and taking limited doses of over the counter anti-inflammatory medication are always a welcome supplement to mind-based therapy.(This is a 15 minute version of the Relieve Aching or Sore Hands and Fingers episode) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hemorrhoids is a problem people don’t like to talk about. But it is very common condition. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, as many as 75 percent of Americans will be affected by hemorrhoids at some point in their lives.With hemorrhoids, there is a swelling of the veins of the anus due to too much contraction in this area. This distension of the blood vessels, like varicose veins in the legs, results from excessive blood accumulation in this area. The blood that is stuck in the anus veins is blood that in the normal course of events would have returned to the heart but instead has been held onto down below.Emotionally speaking, hemorrhoids suggests that you have difficulty in letting go and this difficulty is manifesting at the key point where your body let’s go naturally every day. Hemorrhoids suggest fear of the future, low self-esteem and a lack of happiness. You are so afraid of what might happen that you can only let go with pain, even shedding blood in the process. Pain in the anus can also indicate guilt or even an unconscious desire to be punished. “I deserve this, I was not good enough.” Or it could mean you are in a situation where you are getting royally screwed and your body is manifesting the pain of that experience. They may also be brought on because you are stressed about deadlines or you are dwelling on the consequences of something you said or did or anticipating something bad happening in the future. You are expressing this insecurity through a continuous and unconscious holding or tightness in your anus which, in turn, shows up as hemorrhoids. The simple idea your body is expressing here is that by holding down there you are hopefully preventing the bad thing from happening. It doesn’t make sense to our logical brains but that doesn’t mean it isn't true. A dog that doesn’t want a bath is going to resist and hold back like crazy even though the bath is inevitable. The level of the intelligence of our emotional self (which is what controls our muscles) is like that of a dog. So, like the dog holding back from a bath, you hold your anus tight as a technique, however silly it may seem, to avoid something bad happening.The tension associated with the holding in the anus could be very specific. For example, it may be related to your relationship with a work colleague, a friend, a spouse or a significant other. Or it could have to do with the death or potential death of someone important in your life. Or it might be driven by simple physical imbalances: for example, it could be from too much sitting or lack of fiber or straining too hard from constipation. Whatever the cause, or combination of causes, the muscles in your rear sphincter have forgotten how to relax and are carrying a continuous tightness or holding. This, in turn, makes it harder for the blood to do its thing and return back up to the heart, leading to the painful bulges in the anus called hemorrhoids. And when the hemorrhoids arise, it is at a point where you can’t use your intellect to reduce the pain or make them go away. You have to speak the language of your body which is loving kindness and movement. So, how do you speak this language in the case of hemorrhoids? Chances are that if you have hemorrhoids, you have a higher than normal resting muscle tone in your anal canal. This is another way of saying that the smooth muscles of your anus are tighter than average, even when you're not straining to go to the bathroom. Making things even worse, the connective tissues that support and hold these muscles in place become weaker with age, meaning that the hemorrhoids may bulge. Bulging hemorrhoids irritate and erode the overlying skin and the pain or itching can come on suddenly and very strongly. These bulging protrusions can also cause also sorts of problems, from bleeding to itching to blood clots.So you are going to have to retrain the muscles in this part of your body. And that means you have to give yourself a number of days or even weeks before you’ll see a change. Doing these exercises once or twice a day will quickly remind your anus muscles how to relax and restore the healthy range of muscle tone to this sensitive area of your body. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our Mid- and Upper backs hold the weight of the world, our world at least. And this weight can bring chronic or periodic pain. Fortunately we can use our bodies and minds to release this pain, to heal ourselves. We just need to know the code. Listen to this or the longer version to help you learn that code.Obviously, if are having a serious traumatic episode and are suffering from whiplash or very real back pain, please seek the help of a professional.If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the other Serena Podcasts which include more traditional guided meditations as well as the Ancient Masters Podcast which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our Mid- and Upper backs hold the weight of the world, our world at least. And this weight can bring chronic or periodic pain. Fortunately we can use our bodies and minds to release this pain, to heal ourselves. We just need to know the code. Scientists have identified and synthesized the parts of marijuana that make people feel so good and along the way they have figured out the answer to the mystery of why all human brains would have evolved a specific receptor in the brain for a plant that until recently only grew in South Asia. It turns out that the cannaboid system is key part of our brain’s regulatory structure. So we didn’t evolve to respond to that particular plant. We, and every other organism down to the lowly sponge uses cannaboids to maintain balance in the body. Amazingly, the effect of our self-produced cannaboids in our bodies, while not as strong as the highly concentrated versions that people consume from the cannabis plant, is the same. Our bodies also produce endorphins and anyone that regularly exercises is familiar with the fact that these chemicals activate the same opioid receptors as morphine and heroin, albeit at a much lower intensity. The point is that we have the power to create these chemicals ourselves. In fact, producing these cannaboids might be the most important physiological system we have for creating and maintaining health in our bodies. These extraordinary compounds, while performing different tasks in different tissues, always have the same goal: the achievement and preservation of a balanced internal environment despite changes in the external environment.So we can synthesize the active agent in marijuana in our own bodies when we choose to and not have the costly side-effects from the over the counter or illicit kinds. But how? We can’t say to our brain “Okay, I’ll have some endorphins now.” We have to go exercise. The same goes for cannaboids. We have to speak the language of our bodies. We do that through movement, touch, music, attention, and love. We’ll bring these insights to releasing tension in our backs in this guided moving meditation. When we speak of chakras and energy and spirit this engages our brain in a conversation with our muscle tissues in a way that we can’t have using everyday language. So even if you don’t believe in a numinal realm and energy channels and chakras and so on, just play along and think of these ideas as simply ways to hack your brain, as ways to take command of the extraordinary chemical factories we have within us. Obviously, if are having a serious traumatic episode and are suffering from whiplash or very real back pain, please seek the help of a professional.If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the other Serena Podcasts. There is a Guided Meditation one as well as an Ancient Masters one which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ready to release the tension in your back and shoulders? Having pain and tightness again? You have the power to fix it by taking advantage of the way the brain works, by hacking its mode of operation. The world we perceive isn’t what we think it is. Take the vision processing center of our brain. 90 per cent of all connections coming in to this part of our cortex don’t come from our eyes. They come from other parts of our brain, carrying predictions about what is in the world we “see” out there. Neuroscientists have concluded that this means that we construct our reality in our minds. A small trickle of fresh data from the outside world is used only at the margin to update the model in our mind of what we are “seeing.” This invented reality allows for much faster response to dangers so was evolutionarily advantageous. We are optimized for survival, not for complete and accurate perception of what is “out there.” This world-simulation feature also applies to our model of our bodies and its movement. Unfortunately it means that we often are ready for a "fight or flight" situation far more often than is necessary. But it also means that we can heal our body through simple movements or even without even moving. We can take advantage of this aspect of human consciousness to conjure the world and the self image that is going to be most healthy for us. All we have to do is set our intention in this direction, simulating it in our heads and the physical reality will follow! If you are a beginner, the results may not be instant but this miracle is available to each and every one of us. All it takes is a little practice and when done right you’ll quickly begin to see results. So let’s get started!If are having a serious traumatic episode and are suffering from whiplash or very real back pain, please seek the help of a professional.If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the other Serena Podcasts. There is a Guided Meditation one with more traditional meditations as well as an Ancient Masters one which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Imagine that you have a daughter and she has just come in from playing outside. She has a freshly skinned knee and is crying because the bully who pushed her down also took her dolly. Our bodies are like that. They can’t speak the language we use with each other so they tell us their troubles and fears through pain, soreness and restricted movement. We can learn the language of our bodies and demonstrate mastery of our selves by understanding and practicing this truth. And our sore muscles will feel better in the process! But a tight or spasming muscle can reach a point of complete debilitation so we may have to bring out the full tool box to settle our little girl down. So before you begin, consider deploying some of the other options you have available to you. They include things like: making sure we are drinking plenty of water, massaging in arnica cream or tiger balm, taking ibuprofen or other NSAIDs, using ice packs, a foam roller, calcium-magnesium supplements, hot baths/showers or Jacuzzi/sauanas, and of course eating a high omega 3 fatty acid and alkaline diet. You may have to bring out every tool over several days to deal with a real flare up. But unless we get to the root of the problem, unless we are able to really listen to the message the universe and our bodies have for us, we can count on the pain coming back, maybe even louder next time. So let’s take the time now to see if we can figure out what we need to do to help. Obviously, if are having a serious traumatic episode and are suffering from whiplash or very real pain, please seek the help of a professional.If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the other Serena Podcasts. There is a Guided Meditation one as well as an Ancient Masters one which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ever wonder why a hug feels so good? Or a massage? Or hot baths? It is because these are the sorts of “words” our bodies understand. We can’t command a muscle to relax with a thought or a sentence. We have to speak the body’s language. We do this by combining love and attention with movement and touch. Music works too. This is the language our bodies understand. We all carry the stresses of the day and the traumas of our past in our bodies. One of the common but often unrealized spots is our jaw and our mouths. Some of us grind our teeth as we sleep or seem to be more prone to toothaches or cavities than others. Or we square and tighten our jaw to face the challenges and fears and stresses of our day to day life. Avoiding that tension in the first place is the cure but fortunately, we can treat the symptom in a way that not only helps release this muscle tension but also contributes to the cure. By learning the language of our bodies we can practice mastery of our selves and our body and take a giant step forward on our path to rewiring our brains. And our sore muscles feel better in the process!If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the other Serena Podcasts. There is a Guided Meditation one as well as an Ancient Masters one which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.