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00:00Outro Music
00:30Outro Music
00:39We are so glad you're here. Welcome to the Essence Wellness House at War with COVID-19 and Healthcare Inequities Edition presented by Walmart and powered by AARP. We have an incredible all-day lineup of community leaders, wellness gurus, experts, and medical professionals all here to help you survive and thrive during the pandemic.
00:59My name is Nancy Redd. I'll be here all day as your host, helping you guide through these amazing panels and conversations.
01:08And I'll also be reminding you that many of our amazing guests have downloadables right there underneath their videos. You'll see a purple link where you have takeaways that you can go back after this event and use them in your own lives.
01:22Because the Essence Wellness House isn't just about today. It's about a lifetime of wellness in many facets, whether it is physical, mental, spiritual, or financial.
01:34We're getting today started off with the perfect event with Dr. Chelsea Jackson-Roberts. She is giving us a morning meditation, a tremendous blessing, because she uses yoga and meditation as a way to remove social barriers, just like the ones that's ravishing our community because of COVID-19.
01:52So without further ado, I present to you Global Ambassador for Lululemon, Dr. Chelsea Jackson-Roberts.
01:59Global Ambassador for Lululemon, Dr. Chelsea Jackson-Roberts.
02:29Global Ambassador for Lululemon, Dr. Chelsea Jackson-Roberts.
02:59Global Ambassador for Lululemon, Dr. Chelsea Jackson-Roberts.
03:29us to reset and recharge our nervous system. When I think about the ways in which we experience
03:36this world and how we accumulate all of the things that impact us and our bodies, our minds,
03:45and our hearts, meditation, yoga, anything that is going to get the energy moving through so that
03:52it doesn't stay stuck is a great way to reset. And so this morning, I invite you to join me for our
04:00morning meditation. So what you're going to do is set up your space so that you're comfortable.
04:05You're going to, I'm going to give you about a minute here to set up your space. And so I have
04:10a pillow, I have a block, I have a blanket if I need. So if there's anything that you can improvise
04:17and use around the room in your immediate space, go for it now. Meditation is never meant to be
04:23uncomfortable to endure any pain or discomfort. You can find moments where you want to escape the
04:30meditation because you think that it's getting too hard or you can't do it. But please just allow
04:36yourself to come back to the breath and I'll be with you every step of the way. All right. So hopefully
04:42you're getting your space set up and don't worry about it if you don't have pillows and blankets
04:48and everything else. All right. I just want you to make sure that you are comfortable. So we're going
04:54to move a little bit first so that we can open ourselves to receive the meditation. All right. So
05:00come sitting onto the earth or even onto a chair with the legs crossed. And if you're sitting in a chair,
05:07you can bring both feet onto the earth, just connecting with the earth and together. Let's
05:13take in a deep inhale, drawing the shoulders up toward the ears. Inhale. And then exhale the shoulders
05:20back around and down. Do that two more times on your own. Deep inhale, get long through the spine.
05:27Breathe in and then exhale, roll the shoulders back around and down. Last one, slow motion. Make this
05:32the best and biggest one. Inhale, reach the shoulders up and then exhale the shoulders,
05:39sliding the shoulder waves down the back. All right. And then from here, we're just going to bring the
05:44hands together right at the heart center, a prayer position that we're going to come back to during our
05:50meditation. But first, you're going to interlace the fingers. So interlace the fingers and then press
05:55the heels with the hands forward. All right. Now draw the shoulders back into the arms. So if you've
06:02disconnected and reached out so far, I want you to draw the shoulders up back around just as we did
06:07just a second ago. All right. Pressing the heels with the hands forward and then inhale, reach up
06:14and then exhale, creating a trident right here. Inhale, reach the arms up and then exhale. Hands come
06:22right back to the heart. Inhale, reach up. Exhale, hands to the heart. Two more times on your own. Inhale.
06:35Inhale. Last one. Inhale, reach up.
06:48And now inhale, reach the arms up. And now you're just going to turn to either side and you're going
06:54to bring the hand down onto the knee and then the opposite hand behind you moving into a spinal
07:00twist. So taking a deep inhale. And then exhale, just gently twisting, wringing out the spine. So I
07:08want you to imagine a sponge being filled with a liquid. And that is our spine, right? The sponge.
07:15And we're wringing that sponge out in opposite directions and letting go of any stress, anything
07:22that we've accumulated in the nervous system. And this is also a great way to detox or detoxify
07:30the body as well. So taking a deep inhale, return the arms back to center. And then you're going to go to the
07:37other side. So depending on which way you've turned, you're going to place the opposite hand onto the knee
07:45as you turn, looking over. And you can even look over the shoulder, inhaling. And again, this can be
07:54done seated in the chair and looking over the shoulder. And then inhale, return the arms back to
08:02center. Hands come back to the heart. Bring the hands onto your knees now. You're going to inhale,
08:07draw the chest forward. And then exhale, round the spine and tuck the chin into the throat. So spinal
08:14flexes. Inhale, heart open. And then exhale, round the spine, tuck the chin into the throat. Do that two
08:21more times on your own. Inhale, you open. This is a great way to start the day, y'all. Exhale, roll the
08:27spine back. Inhale, come forward. And then exhale, roll the spine back. So a great way to ignite the fire
08:37within, draw the chest all the way forward. You're going to lean over to either knee and then make a full
08:43circle around. So body rolls, chest comes forward as you inhale, and then exhale, you round the spine.
08:50Inhale, the chest comes forward. And then exhale, round the spine. So you can even close your eyes
08:58here, beginning to attune yourself to your body, because that's exactly what we do during meditation.
09:04We allow ourselves to trust the breath. Go ahead and switch directions if you haven't already,
09:11making circles in the opposite direction. And we allow ourselves to really arrive to the present
09:19moment. We carry so much with us from our past, even what we've inherited from our ancestors,
09:26right? The stress that we accumulate just from the system that we encounter daily. And so for me,
09:33yoga is a great way to counter or to respond to all of those factors that want to take me away
09:41from who I am, the essence of who I am. Bring the body back to center, taking a deep inhale,
09:47draw the palms right to the heart center. And breathe in here. And exhale fully.
09:56Now, go ahead and place the hands onto the knees, extend the legs out and just start to make some
10:02circles with the ankles. The great thing about our meditation is that it can go with us wherever we are,
10:09right? So these are also things that you can do wherever you are, especially if you are in
10:15stressful situations. Right now, a lot of us are in the home. Go ahead and switch the direction of
10:21the circle. So I'm doing my wrist here to show what your ankles are doing. Feel free to join in with
10:25the wrist as well, just getting into the joints. So just noticing how that impacts us. We are experiencing
10:32a moment in time that no one in this lifetime has experienced of a global pandemic, right?
10:38And so when you take that into consideration and acknowledge that we know that our body can
10:44remember the things that even if we're not conscious that we're being impacted by it, our body
10:49remembers. And so yoga, meditation, breath work is a great way to move that energy through so that it
10:56doesn't get stuck within the body. And so now we're going to move into our meditation. All right. So
11:03wherever you are, this is the importance of setting up your space. You can cross your legs in again,
11:08or you can be seated in the chair. Now I'm sitting on a blanket so that I can allow my low back to be
11:16supported. Otherwise, I may start to fold forward. And we want in our meditation for the heart, for the
11:24spine to be long and open so that we can receive whatever it is that we're bringing in. The other thing
11:30about meditation is you make this for you. I love yoga because it is certainly an interfaith practice
11:37or whatever it is that you want to bring into your consciousness, whatever it is that you connect
11:43with, whether it is religion or whether it is faith or whether it is nature, I invite you to connect to
11:51that in this moment now. And what's so beautiful is that folks from around the world, the country,
11:56wherever you are, we are connecting with the breath, but also celebrating our unique individual
12:02selves. So without further ado, let's get into this meditation. So either sitting on stacked blankets, or you
12:11can come onto your spine, and you can even place a blanket underneath the knees. So go ahead and set up your
12:18space now. And we'll get started. All right. So taking a deep inhale, draw your shoulders up to
12:26towards your ears. And exhale, then back around and down. Do that again, deep inhale. And exhale, back
12:39around and down. Shoulders slide down the back. And last time, deepest inhale, just as we did this
12:46morning. And shoulders come up, back around and down. And I invite you to close your eyes.
12:55If it feels uncomfortable for you to close your eyes, you can certainly keep them open about a
13:02quarter of the way and shift the gaze onto the earth. If you're lying down on your spine, feel free
13:08to cover the eyes with a scarf or a towel or a gentle cloth. What we're going to do now is really scan the
13:18body to notice where we're arriving, right? Some of us are waking up super early this morning,
13:24some may have not gone to sleep yet. So depending on where you are, I want you to do a body scan of how you're
13:32feeling in this moment. So go ahead and close your eyes, taking a deep inhale.
13:36inhale. And exhale the breath out through the mouth, sighing it out.
13:42Do that again, deep inhale.
13:48And sigh it out.
13:52And just beginning to notice the breath, how it moves in and out of the body, noticing the spaces
14:13that the breath may not move freely. Bring your awareness to the joints, whether it's the shoulders
14:30or the hips or the knees or the knees. Just noticing how the body feels in this moment, taking a deep
14:45deep inhale. Sigh it out, exhale it out, noticing what parts of the body feel at ease or feel at peace.
15:10And noticing what is in a deep longing for connection, for a hug, for community.
15:31Allow yourself to be honest with how your body feels in this moment.
15:43Acknowledging the transition, the changes.
15:49Acknowledging and honoring that part of us that may be in a deep loss of the way that life was before it began to change.
16:12But then also find that part of you that holds on to hope.
16:30Even the memories of connection of our loved ones.
16:38Just giving ourselves permission to acknowledge the gravity.
16:45The task of what we are now holding.
16:50Our families, our children, our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors.
17:01Really allow yourself to be honest with how that has or has not impacted you in this moment.
17:11Taking a deep inhale.
17:12And let that go here.
17:17And now bring the awareness back to the breath, inhaling through the nose.
17:33And let that sigh out through the mouth.
17:39So this is an audible sigh, really allowing our body to embody what it feels like to let go.
17:46So let's do that again.
17:48Taking a deep inhale through the nose.
17:50Audible sigh out through the mouth.
17:55Softening the shoulders, the throat, the jawline, the brow.
18:13Notice where the body is holding tension in this moment.
18:22And if you feel those spaces that are holding on, we're going to do an exercise to escort that tension out.
18:39So bring your awareness to the right side of your body, whether you're lying on the earth or sitting upright.
18:49We're going to take in a deep inhale when I cue you.
18:52And on that inhale, you're going to tighten everything on the right side.
18:58All right.
18:59So I'm talking this shoulder up to the ear, squeezing the right side of the face, doing all that you can to create tension.
19:07All right.
19:08Let's go.
19:09Taking a deep inhale.
19:10Start to squeeze the shoulder up.
19:12It may feel silly, but you're creating tension.
19:15If you're on the earth, squeeze the glutes, squeeze or point the toes, and then exhale.
19:21Let it go.
19:22You can let that audible sigh go.
19:24All right.
19:26Left side.
19:27Deep inhale.
19:28Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
19:30Squeeze your nose in like a prone.
19:33Shrug the shoulder up.
19:34Squeeze the hips.
19:36Squeeze the fist.
19:37And then exhale.
19:38Let it go.
19:39Inhale.
19:40Now we're going to do the entire body.
19:42Inhale.
19:43Inhale.
19:44Inhale.
19:45Squeeze.
19:46Create tension.
19:47Create it.
19:48Inhale.
19:49And exhale.
19:52Let it go.
19:53And then return to the breath.
19:58Allowing the body to return to the state of welcoming in whatever it is that we need to receive in this moment.
20:23So now allow the softening to happen.
20:27Perhaps bringing in a thought of a person or an animal or an action.
20:45That when you think of this thing or this person, it is easy for you to soften.
20:55For me, I think of the young women of yoga literature in art camp at Spelman College, who use the practice of yoga to be change agents in this world.
21:17Who do you think of that allows you to soften?
21:24And now listen to your breath.
21:25Notice how it moves in and out of the body.
21:31Just begin to count backwards.
21:32Starting with the number five.
21:33Each time you inhale.
21:34And then exhale.
21:35That's a new number on the countdown.
21:36And then exhale.
21:37That's a new number on the countdown.
21:39And then exhale.
21:40And then exhale.
21:41And then exhale.
21:42And then exhale.
21:43That's a new number on the countdown.
21:44And then again, Sen's schwer.
21:50Not always.
21:51Like the day you want.
21:52There's a few more solutions.
21:54That's not liquids.
21:56Never minds.
21:57and then exhale that's a new number on the countdown
22:03and even allowing yourself to get lost in that countdown
22:15bring your awareness to the soles of your feet
22:27and on your next inhale imagining energy moving through the soles of your feet connecting you
22:37with the earth with your ancestors with those who have walked this earth before us
22:42allow that to travel through the body
22:46and then once that energy reaches the top of the head
22:53you're going to exhale and return it right back down through the body to the soles of the feet
22:59do that again inhale connecting
23:04and always softening
23:07and then exhaling returning that energy right back down to the soles of the feet
23:15so imagine
23:21continue to breathe
23:24imagining yourself clearing the path with the breath
23:31perhaps waves
23:37of water
23:39or wind
23:43whether it's cooling
23:45or warm
23:47imagining that energy moving up and down the body right now
23:54give yourself permission to be held
24:03you have been holding so much
24:09moving through these days
24:16these weeks
24:17these months
24:19through uncertainty
24:20and all the while
24:27taking care
24:31of the household
24:35taking care
24:39of the responsibilities that come with your job or your work
24:46and perhaps even coming to terms
24:53with a tremendous loss
24:55give yourself permission to be held
25:02if not by this earth
25:06then by your faith
25:07whether it's within you
25:12or outside of you
25:13or both and
25:15imagining that each time you breathe in
25:22you are connecting
25:23with this community
25:25that is attuned
25:27to this practice right now
25:29in this moment
25:29and as you exhale
25:34imagining your breath
25:35moving beyond
25:36your physical body
25:37beyond
25:38the safety of your home
25:40and moving into communities
25:44into families
25:45into households
25:46into spaces
25:48that are experiencing
25:52a tremendous amount
25:54of pain
25:55of loss
25:58of change
26:00and also remembering
26:06that one thing
26:14is true
26:14and that is that
26:15you have this breath
26:16right now
26:17what are you going
26:18to do with it
26:19sitting in
26:30the sound
26:32silence
26:32the stillness
26:36answering to the calls
26:48of folks
26:51who are in need
26:52and working hard
26:57to show up
26:58in ways
27:02that we are presenting
27:04to be strong
27:05but it's in this moment
27:09I give you permission
27:11to let whatever it is
27:12that you've been holding
27:13to let it go
27:14as my teacher
27:23Tracy Stanley
27:24reminds me
27:27you cannot teach
27:29what you do not practice
27:31how can we teach
27:36our children
27:37and our loved ones
27:39to take care
27:43of themselves
27:43if we do not practice
27:45that for ourselves
27:47bring your awareness
27:53back to your physical body
27:54and in meditation
28:01we use
28:02something called
28:04a mantra
28:05and that's simply
28:07a statement
28:08or a word
28:09or words
28:10that are repeated
28:11and in this moment
28:13I invite
28:14a collective
28:15mantra
28:16of thank you
28:18each time
28:25you breathe in
28:26allowing yourself
28:30to whisper
28:30thank you
28:31thank you
28:36for seeing yourself
28:37worthy
28:38of this practice
28:39this moment
28:40of pause
28:41of release
28:42of trusting the earth
28:43to hold you
28:44of trusting
28:45whatever it is
28:46that container
28:47that continues
28:48your steps
28:50each day
28:50especially
28:51in uncertainty
28:52thank you
28:57bring your awareness
29:01to your heart
29:02and on your next inhale
29:09we're going to hold
29:11the breath
29:11with a thought
29:15of resilience
29:16together
29:18take in your deepest inhale
29:20inhale
29:21inhale
29:23hold the breath
29:24hold it there
29:26right at the heart center
29:27feel it build
29:28that is your resilience
29:29now strong exhale
29:32out through the top
29:33of the head
29:34imagining that energy
29:35covering the shoulders
29:36the arms
29:36the body
29:37and that is how
29:38you will walk
29:39from this day forward
29:42giving thanks
29:45and resting
29:47and resilience
29:47when you're ready
29:48begin to bring
29:50your body
29:51out
29:52of this moment
29:54of meditation
29:55by gently
29:56opening the eyes
29:58you can stretch
30:00your arms overhead
30:01either on the earth
30:04or seated
30:06and then exhale
30:07bring the hands
30:08right to the heart
30:09center
30:09together
30:09let's take
30:10in a deep inhale
30:11and exhale here
30:14thank you
30:15for joining
30:16me
30:17thank you
30:18for attending
30:19our essence
30:20wellness house
30:21virtual summit
30:22I am Chelsea
30:24loves yoga
30:25and I hope
30:26to connect
30:26with you soon
30:27may peace be
30:28with you
30:28we'll see you
30:38we'll see you
30:41next time
30:41we'll see you
30:42next time
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