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 str

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)

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

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.