The coronavirus is here and the whole world is talking about it. But what does it have to do with meditation? Can meditation help you stay safe, calm and fearless in these times of chaos? Are there specific coronavirus meditations? This article aims to answer these questions.
Behold, the natural uncertainty of life has now been increased! Maybe you’re worried about the coronavirus, or worried about family and friends getting sick or dying. Perhaps you are concerned about the future of your community or of humanity. You may also be feeling overwhelmed by the constant news updates and a growing number of deaths.
Although I take reasonable precautions, I personally am not afraid of the coronavirus (if you read this article you will realize why).
Don’t panic – practice!
This disaster is a great opportunity to take the skills and qualities you develop through meditation – such as serenity, equanimity and acceptance – and practice them in your daily life.
We can use this time to work on ourselves, grow as a person, meditate more, and spend quality time with the people we care about. It’s also a good time to think about what really matters in our lives.
Here are three principles to keep in mind.
Conscious preparedness
We must be careful, but not panic.
Let’s be careful with our hygiene, our health and let’s avoid non-essential contacts with people and gatherings.
These are all concrete steps we can take, but we don’t have to panic or become neurotic about them. That does not help; in fact, it simply weakens our immune system (which is not a good idea right now)…
As meditators, we try to find the middle path to balance: being gentle yet calm.
Human tribe
One of the lessons we learn from meditation is compassion and unity. This is very relevant now because we realize that we are all in this difficult situation together.
Caring for yourself is caring for others, and caring for others is caring for yourself. You are not alone in this!
Mental fitness
In situations of emergency and danger, taking care of your mental health is essential. Hence the importance of meditation. It helps you manage the stress and anxiety of this situation, stay calm and think positively.
Not only does this make you feel better, but it is also proven to strengthen your immune system, making you stronger against viruses.
What can we do
(Note: I am not a doctor nor do I provide medical advice. Everything in this article should be considered an opinion piece, the result of my own personal research.)
There are five types of actions we can take:
- Limit your exposure (avoid non-essential travel, meetings, events and public places)
- Hygiene (constantly and thoroughly wash hands, avoid touching your face and public surfaces)
- Prepare for quarantine (a few weeks supply of food, water, medicine, etc.)
- Boost your immune system
- Control your fear
In this article I will focus on the last two items, things that meditation can help you with.
The weaker your immune system is, the greater the risk to you. So, strengthening your immune system should be a priority now as it could be a matter of life and death!
As mentioned, there is still a lot we don’t know about the coronavirus. Some argue that boosting your immune system may not even help prevent you from getting the virus. Even if that is the case, a properly functioning immune system can make the difference between not developing illness from the virus or having serious complications.
There are several ways to strengthen your immune system. Many people talk about vitamin D and other supplements, getting enough sleep and a healthy diet.
Another thing that will help boost your immune system is taking a cold shower every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. This is a practice I have followed daily for the past four years and I feel the benefits in immunity and wellness.
And of course meditation! Because a stressed or overly anxious mind will weaken your immune system.
How meditation helps: immunity
Constant exposure to stress and anxiety is known to weaken your immune system (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The same goes for other negative emotions.
There is even a study published in it Psychosomatic medicine (2002) show that people with negative emotions are less resistant to colds than people with predominantly positive emotions.
This means that learning to manage stress, anxiety and other negative emotions is an essential part of keeping your immune system strong against viruses. And meditation is a great way to do just that.
If the stress and anxiety triggers of our modern lives weren’t enough, we now have all the triggers caused by the constant news and public panic about the coronavirus. So now it’s more important than ever to learn how to master your mind with meditation – in whatever way works best for you.
There are several scientific studies showing that meditation helps strengthen the immune system, makes you more resilient to stress and helps manage anxiety. You can see the full list of benefits and scientific resources here.
However, for that purpose, the practice must occur regularly (daily) over a period of time – and this is a challenge for most people. That’s the reason habit is the first pillar of meditation (learn more through this free video series).
Does it matter which type of meditation? Yes and no.
There are many different types of meditation, but they all have one thing in common: they calm you down and help you deal with stress and anxiety more effectively.
That said, each style is unique and some are given more emphasis take a deep breath (as Pranayama) and about relaxation (such as Yoga Nidra) – and are therefore probably even more powerful in terms of strengthening your immune system.
How meditation helps: Placebo effect
Meditation in the form of affirmation and visualization exercises can also help strengthen your immune system by using the Placebo effect.
The placebo effect, or placebo responseIt involves a bogus treatment – such as sugar pills, water injections, sham surgery, etc. – that improves a patient’s condition simply because the person expects it to be helpful. The more someone believes they will benefit from a treatment, the more likely they are to benefit from it. (source)
The most important element here is not the form of treatment, but how much you take to believe in his activity. Some claim that placebo is the mechanism that explains all kinds of ‘miracle cures’ and alternative medicine
[For a deeper dive into the placebo effect check the following three books: You Are the Placebo; Suggestible You; The Biology of Belief.]
Placebo and the immune system
The placebo effect shows us that our thoughts, emotions and beliefs change our bodies. Our psychology influences our biology.
By believing you’re healed while taking a “sugar pill,” folks Actually be healed. In fact, there are many documented cases of placebos working, as well as “real treatments” for depression, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, anxiety, asthma, epilepsy, high blood pressure, insomnia, and autoimmune diseases, among others.
So my argument here is simple: through believe that we have a strong immune systemour immune system will respond. It will become stronger and more effective in combating viruses and diseases.
My life experiment with placebo
I’m conducting a long experiment on this in my own life. Now a warning: this is where things start to get weird! 😉
When I was a kid, I had three bad bouts of pneumonia and a bunch of chronic allergies. For most of my adult life, I caught a cold or even the flu every year. Until I understood the power of the mind over the body, and decided to consciously use the placebo effect.
A few years ago I “convinced myself” of this I will never get sick again. It took some time and a lot of repetition – using affirmations and visualizations – but it is now an effortless faith for me.
What are the results? For the past six years, I haven’t taken a single drug or pill – no flu vaccine, no aspirin, nothing. And other than a few sneezes and a runny nose here and there, I felt great every day and didn’t get sick.
Once I was with a group of about fifty people aboard a small boat heading to the Great Barrier Reef when heavy rain and wind started. It lasted over two hours and was quite tough.
Everyone on board got seasick except me. And I was one of the only ones who didn’t even take the seasickness pill.
“I’m okay, I’m okay. My body is happy and healthy.‘ – I kept telling myself throughout the trip. I repeated this many times, with the clear intention of calming the body.
So I’m not panicking about this coronavirus business.
While I take every reasonable precaution, there is the realization that I can protect myself through the power of my mind.
And I know I’ll feel good no matter what.
Meditation has helped my mind become more powerful – and it can help yours too. We have barely scratched the surface of what a calm and focused mind can achieve!
The coronavirus is a serious matter; it is spreading quickly and there is no cure yet.
However, there are many steps we can take to protect ourselves. In addition to limiting our exposure and practicing good hygiene, we should do just that strengthen our immune system And dealing with the negative emotions of this situation (fear, stress, anxiety).
Meditation can help you with this.
In response to overwhelming demand, I created two special guided meditations for this purpose and incorporated them into my main meditation program: Boundless life.
Meditation 1: Immunity Booster
Learn three powerful tools to strengthen your immune system: relaxation, pranayama breathing, and a special visualization and affirmation exercise. This will help you improve your health and significantly strengthen your immune system.
Meditation 2: Fear and anxiety management
Maybe you’re worried about the coronavirus, or worried about family and friends getting sick or dying. This meditation will help you reduce fear and anxiety by processing them in your body through the ROAR method.
If you are already a member, go to the member portal and there you will find these meditations, under “Guided Meditation Library”.
You are not a member yet, click here to join now and take advantage of the $1 USD trial (first 14 days).
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to start a regular meditation practice, or go deeper with your existing practice, this is it!
You can do this yourself, but you can also become a member of the Limitless life program and follow a step-by-step system, with the help of a teacher (me) and the support of a community of conscious individuals.
Whether you participate or not, whether you practice a meditation for this purpose or not, I hope you stay healthy and stay safe 🙏🏻