Deepak Chopra guides you to slow your breath to stimulate the vagus nerve, the body's healing nerve.
This episode of Daily Breath is a guided meditation session hosted by Deepak Chopra. It begins with Chopra inviting listeners to sit comfortably, plant their feet, and close their eyes for a meditation aimed at fostering harmony, peace, laughter, and love. He provides specific breathing instructions, advising inhaling for four counts, pausing for two, and exhaling for six to slow the breath rate from about 14 to 8 breaths per minute, which stimulates the vagus nerve as the body's healing nerve. After two minutes of breath observation, Chopra directs attention to bodily sensations, encouraging awareness of both comfortable and uncomfortable feelings. He guides a practice of alternating awareness between sensations and areas of non-sensation, framing sensations as islands of experience in an ocean of awareness. This leads to the insight that awareness itself is inherently free from sensations, which can be experienced or dissolved by shifting attention. Chopra explains that awareness is healing because it is spirit and consciousness, and he instructs listeners to let sensations melt into this ocean of awareness. The meditation then moves to the heart, where Chopra has participants mentally seed intentions of peace, harmony, laughter, and love, repeating these words while focusing on the physical, emotional, and spiritual heart. He concludes by encouraging rest in the body, awareness, being, and existence before opening eyes. The episode ends with a statement that consciousness enables healing beyond the divided self, and Chopra promotes his new book, Total Meditation, available on September 22nd. The format is a solo guided meditation without guests, emphasizing practical mindfulness techniques and philosophical insights into awareness and healing.
