Stress Management, Ram Dass's Teachings & Nature Mysticism with Jon Vasu Seskevitch

Support us to create more episodes like this one on Patreon here  Get in touch with Vasu & learn more about his life, his story with Ram Dass & his teachings here: https://jonvasu.com Follow the podcast on Instagram  Recorded on Ram Dass’s lanai here on Maui, in this unique episode we deep dive into the crucial skills of stress management that are so needed to be active agents of regenerative change in this global moment. We’re exploring how to work with our nervous systems with one of the best possible guests to teach us about this, Jon Vasu Seskevitch, who has taught over forty thousand hospital patients with complex & challenging health conditions stress management & self relaxation in their hospital rooms. (Vasu is the name Ram Dass gave Jon, and it means that part of god that gives himself to others.) Ram Dass’s teachings are a big part of John’s lifelong journey with mind-body medicine, and we explore those as well as several immediately actionable, research-backed techniques such as mantra meditation for stress management. Show Notes:  Change, good or bad means stress. We explore the science of stress & how it physically affects the body. The biggest stress is waiting and not knowing Ram Dass’s basic teachings & how that helped teach mind-body medicine: Be Here Now with loving awareness TECHNIQUES: Mantra meditation: Take a short, positive thought, and think those words intentionally over & over. This allows your body to calm and give energy to managing stress. “Mantra” literally means something that protects the mind, and 15 minutes per day is all that’s needed to see the benefits. A crucial piece of this is WHEN you notice other thoughts come up, kindly and gently let go of that thought and return to the mantra Soft belly breathing: Put your hand on your stomach and aim your breath towards it. The result is stress goes down and control goes up. How to relax: Feel the chair or bed holding you, which allows a softening & relaxing all through the body. MIndfulness meditation: pick a primary concentration, such as breath, sound or physical sensation Importance of practicing regularly so it’s established for you to lean on in times of stress Nature mysticism: working with our operating systems & the living systems of the Earth as two essential halves