| Fall 2001 Volume III, Issue III |
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CD Release "Speak
through the earthquake, wind and fire Nancy Wardle, M.D.
When I was young girl, my mom often advised me to "calm down", hoping I suppose to curb my excited and restless nature. At the time, it felt like an admonishment, a lid on my enthusiasm. Now I recognize that in a restless, excited and challenging world, calming down is a way of preserving and focusing my enthusiasm for life. Daily practices of pausing, breathing deeply and responding, versus reacting, are part of living a creative, sustainable and balanced life. I am also easier to live with. "Calm Down’ is the title I have chosen for my new C.D. featuring a series of guided meditations and relaxation exercises (and one song) that use various mind/body breath techniques. Over the past twenty years, in private practice and in workshops, they have been used successfully with my patients dealing with medical crisis and other clients who need to enhance their stress resiliency. It is my hope that they afford you the opportunity to experience, be it for one and a half or twenty minutes, the voice of calm and repose within yourself. Calm Down 21 min A deep relaxation that includes an anchoring of peace, safety and serenity that can be accessed at any time throughout the day within seconds. I suggest listening to this meditation for several days sequentially to fully connect with the ‘calm beneath the waves’ that our breath can connect us with, whenever it is needed. Pain and Tension Release 6 min Our usual reaction to pain or tension is to contract or resist, which in the moment, and over time only increases our discomfort. In this meditation, the mind/body connection is used to facilitate a perception shift, opening and softening around pain or tension, allowing for release. It takes practice to "let be" what we fear or resent, so I suggest using this both when in discomfort and in more comfortable moments. Release and Renew 6 min This is a ‘condensed’ relaxation useful when time is short to focus on the breath’s ability to bring us into the precious present by inhaling and exhaling in a released and conscious way. Letting Go Breath 5 min Instruction on the importance of exhalation in the breath cycle. It is in fully letting go that we can most fully take in all that we need to live full, vital, loving lives.
Parable 3min A beautiful poem entitled "Letting Go" by Jamie Sexton Holmes that reminds us that change and letting go are essential if life is to continue, season after season. And that these necessary, though difficult lessons are ones we learn over and over. At the end of the poem, there is time to practice what needs to be let go of in your life in order to move on. Open Focusing 14 min A profoundly relaxing exercise where the power of the mind uses the breath to open and create spaciousness in parts of the body we normally sense as hard and closed. Very effective at night for sleep enhancement. Music for Meditation 14 min Gus Verstraten's beautiful and soothing composition "Calm Down" for use in practicing breathing and being. Blessing 1min 30 sec I have used this for years at the end of seminars and workshops, an acknowledgement of the infinite love, peace and energy that is available to us, in each moment, that can and will guide us home to ourselves and each other. Music by Victoria composer Gus Verstraten "I know this tape helped my mind, body and spirit
deal more effectively and easily with my medical interventions." "I love having the ability to connect to calmness
and peace at anytime…especially in the middle of demanding situations."
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