Welcome to the Phoenix Helix podcast dedicated to autoimmune resilience.

Today, I have a mindset minisode for you, so let's dive right in.

Okay. Hello, friends.

Today we are going to do a guided meditation, specifically for people with autoimmune disease.

And before we start, I want to share why meditation is recommended so often for anyone trying to improve their health.

There are now thousands of research studies showing its benefits.

And one outcome I particularly love is called equanimity.

It's the ability to withstand the ups and downs of life with more peace.

With the flare-based nature of autoimmune disease, this can be incredibly helpful.

Meditation has also been shown to lower pain intensity, reduce anxiety and depression,

improve brain function, and overall improve the well-being of people with chronic illness.

And guided meditations are often the easiest way to begin gaining the benefits of meditation.

That's how I started my meditation practice 10 years ago, and that's what I'm offering to you today.

So the meditation I'm choosing is called Body Scan.

Some of you may be familiar with that if you meditate already. With autoimmune disease, we often have a complex relationship with our

bodies. And when we hear that our immune system is attacking us, it can feel like a war within.

And it's common to feel angry with our bodies and even disassociate from our bodies

wanting to leave them behind. But our bodies are our home and we cannot leave them behind. So this

meditation is designed to help us reconnect with our body in a gentle and loving way. It's one of

my favorite forms of meditation and I find it incredibly soothing to me

on a daily basis, actually, but especially if I'm experiencing an autoimmune flare. So this meditation

is often done lying down. If you have the opportunity to do that, go ahead. That's a great way to experience it.

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