Mr. Peabody reduces his stress level by enjoying some time in the

pool at White Barn Healing Arts Center...

...however, he also highly recommends trying out the weekly Guided Imagery and

Meditation Techniques class on Zoom.

Next Class to help reduce stress and anxiety on

Thurs., June 10th 6:30pm—7:30pm $12

Register (and get the weekly Zoom schedule) at

https://whitebarnhealingarts.org/weekly-meditations

The WEEKLY GUIDED IMAGERY and MEDITATION Series Includes… a relaxing hour of learning holistic and practical methods that

support overall health and wellness of body, mind and spirit, including...

Hosted by

w h i t e b a r n h e a l i n g a r t s . o r g

Mudras • Reflexology • Acupressure • Meditation in Motion A Wide Array of Meditation Practices • Parable Reflections • Guided Imagery

CLASS NOTES: Zoom Guided Imagery Class June 2nd 6:30pm—7:30pm

• Quote of the Week “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other, is as though

everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein

• Opening Prayer “Bless for us, Great Spirit, this Earth on which we walk.

Each mountain top, each sunlit sky.

Bless for us, Creator, the beauty that we see. The soaring eagle, the butterfly.

Bless for us, O Lord, the peace within our heart, When filled with joy or sorrow.

Bless for us, Dear God, the journey that we make,

and the footsteps that we follow.”

• Tai Chi—Qigong and Breathing Techniques - Breathing helps exchange the air in your body

- (Like the water that doesn't’ move, it becomes stagnant, old; water that is flowing and moving stays

fresh and clear and healthy) - Same with the air in your body

- Different types of breathing helps the air inside your body move and it helps exchange the air in your

body

- Healthy oxygen and air flow helps you to relax, which helps your muscles to relax, which helps you to

be healthier

- So much is connected to our breath and so often when we’re stressed or anxious, we forget to breath

- Breathing Naturally

- Breath naturally, let your breathing become deeper

- A very natural breath, don’t force it

- Often we breathe in a shallow way, so it’s good to encourage a deeper breathing

- But we’re not trying to control it in any way

- Some people create a tension in their body when they try to control their breathing in various deep

breathing techniques

- Even if you mind is not a calm or relaxed state, just Breathe naturally until our body starts to reso-

nate and match that

- Box Breathing—a-Balanced Breathing Exercise

- A breath that you count that has a certain rhythm

- Effective for calming down the unconscious stress we carry in our bodies

- Calming down the para sympathetic nervous system which control the blood pressure and respira-

tion rate

- Box Breathing has a certain rhythm

- The number is not important that you choose to work with as is the same amount of time spent in each

rhythm

- A well-balanced breathing exercise

- Can build the energy and calm the energy down as well

- Breath in 4 counts, hold breath for 4 counts, breath out for 4 counts, sit at the base and hold for 4

counts

- So it’s like a box

- Qigong Practice - Getting into a “Flow State” - be comfortable

- You want your legs are bent at a 90 degree and your feet are flat on the ground

- Always come back to the ready position, with the hands on the knees

- We’ll begin and end each exercise in the ready position

- Begin with a few natural breaths, nice calm clear energy

- Breathe out any tension, worries, stress, letting go of anything that is not necessary

- Turn hands over so palms are up, place your hands comfortably on your keens

- Normal breathing—breath calmly and gently

The RISE and Fall - Hands float up to shoulder level—do this 10x

- You may feel rigid or jerky as your begin

- As your body begins to relax, you’ll feel the flow easier

- If your feeling discomfort in your shoulders, you can bring your arms a little closer to your body

- If you’re feeling engaged and energized, you can reach your fingers and hands forward

CIRCULATING the Qi - Many different versions of this

- Start with one hand pushing forward in the front of the chest

- The other hand comes toward your dantien or your lower heaven

- turn your front hand down and bring it toward your dantien as your other hand comes up the chest

turn and push forward

- JUST REPEAT

- Your making 2 different circles with your hand and each time your hand is coming toward you your

pulling chi energy through your dantien which is your lower heave

- As your hand is coming away from you your taking away any tension or stagnation that s in your

chest

- Use as little force as necessary to move your arms

- Keep your feet flat on the ground

- Keep a positive thought in your mind, alight hearted attitude

- Does one arm feel a bit easier to move than the other?

- Just notice it…

- Try to feel that chi coming to your dantien, feel it storing there

- Try to keep your hands open, not closed down, nice and open

- And come back to the ready position, hands on the knees

HOLDING the BALL

- Right hand on top under the chin; left hand palms up at the lower dantien

- Just hold this position. Relax the shoulder, arms, the mind

- Try to feel the pressure in between the hands

- Take a big in breath, as you breath out rotate the hands

- Top hands comes down to the dantien area, bottom hand comes up to under the chin

- Try to use as little force as necessary to hold the upper arm up

- Keep the upper arm up—don’t let it collapse

BIG BEAR STRETCH

- Elbows together, fingers slightly bent, head down

- Bring arms back, raise head up, open the chest, the heart chakra

- Breathe in, take a nice big stretch like a big bear waking up in the morning when you bring your arms back,

and breathe out as you bring the arms back together

- Breathe in, breathe out

- Like a big bear, maybe you’re a polar bear

- Do this 10X ; back to the center

- Shake out your arms and hands

ROTATE THE QI ONE LAST TIME

- Your arms may feel a bit differently than when we first started

- They may move a little bit more freely

• Acupressure Points & Mudras that Compliment Each Other

• LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE COMBO

1. KD3 Kidney 3 — Taixi—the Great Ravine

BENEFITS - Helps to lower blood pressure to healthy lev-

els.

- To ease insomnia and improves quality of

sleep—especially for those tossing and turning;

and night sweats

- Great for low back aches and pains

- Ear aches and ear ringing

LOCATION

- Just above the heel on the inside of the foot

- Directly behind the ankle bone

2. Apan Vayu Mudra — Mudra to Lower Blood Pressure

(pronounced ah pah vie yu)

HOW TO

- Several ways to do this mudra

- Today we are going to do the more complex version

- Tuck your index finger down next to your thumb

- place the tips of the next two fingers on top of the thumb

- Pinky stay out in the air

• RELEASING FEARS COMBO

ACUPRESSURE POINT—YIN TANG

(showed up out of nowhere!)

The Yin Tang point is in the center of the eyebrows, just above the nose. Applying

pressure to this point may help relieve insomnia and other issues, including:

• To release fear

• To reduce agitation

• To ease restlessness

MUDRAS to RELEASE FEAR

(What are your fears? What are you afraid of? What would it feel like to live without fear? Fears are based in

not being able to control what happens in the future. If we release our need to control things, and just accept

that some things just happen, can we begin to release our fears?)

Gupta Mudra “My actions unfold from a place of rest and balance.” - Gupta means well protected, hidden, and secret

- is represented in this mudra by making the shape of a tortoise.

- This cultivates the feeling of entering into your inner sanctuary of safety and

rest, creating a sense of well-being, security and protection

- And all of that translates into not being afraid—fearing nothing

- Good for enhancing the health of digestive and elimination systems as well as relaxing shoulders, neck and

head

- Can be helpful for TMJ issues (jawbone)

Begin each mudra with 5-10 natural breaths and increase the number of breaths weekly to your practice.

Uttarabodhi Mudra (ooh truh bo dee)

- The mudra of enlightenment

- Reminding you that you are divine and

you need not fear anything

HOW TO

- Join the tips of your index fingers and tips of your thumbs together (with index

fingers pointing up and thumbs pointing more downward), and interlace your

other fingers.

- Bring the mudra to the front of the navel, our lower Dantien, with index finger pointing up and thumbs point

downward, pressed up against the body

• Way of Tea (Holding Object) - Explain “Way of Tea” Ceremony - About living in the here and now - How often do you try to concentrate but find your mind drifting off to something else that is waiting for your attention? - This practice helps us to pay attention to what is right in front of us - Just a Thought Before We Go Into This Next Exercise: Think about where you live—home, condo, apartment—and it may be easy to identify what the home or apartment right next door to you looks like - But think about now what does that house look like that’s 5 doors down from you? You can go in any direction, left or right, but what does that house or apartment look like that is only 5 units or houses away? - You may drive past it every day, sometimes several times a day, but is someone showed you a pic-ture of that house, would you be able to identify it as one that you live so close to? - This is a good example of how we can see things, maybe even see them every day, but not really see them, not really look at them. - Have your object—holding in both of your hands, with both hands touching the object in some way - Start with closing your eyes, taking a gentle breath in, and exhaling all the way. The second time you inhale slowly and calmly, reach the top of your breath, then as you exhale slowly let your eyes gently