Disclaimer: General meditation practice and services like Meditation Rocks are not a replacement for, or a form of therapy, nor are they intended to cure, treat, or diagnose medical conditions. Meditation can, however, be a component of an overall treatment plan, when monitored by a healthcare professional.
It started off as a bit of fun, but so many of you have told Lucy that your pets enjoy her live streamed meditations as much as you do, and Lucy's own cocker spaniel puppy Barney is quite often featured in her videos, snoozing or relaxed by her side.
So she decided to write and film the first ever "Petitation" a meditation especially for our pets (you can watch it here!) and it went down a storm, with 2000 views on youtube in less than 24 hours!
Lucy even had a guest spot on the BBC Radio Bristol Breakfast show this morning to chat to presenter Emma Britton about meditating with our pets. (Listen here, skipping to 8:24am)
In the 5 minute "Petitation" Lucy guides our pets through a relaxing body scan, where she encourages them to stop chasing squirrels and relax their paws, to stop sniffing things they shouldn't be and relax their nose and to stop wagging their tail and to let go of thoughts of getting into the bin.
Of course, we are not taking this all too seriously, but actually the rationale behind it is that pets love to hear soothing voices as much as we do, and if owners are calm and relaxed then pets are relaxed and happy (and vice versa).
The mental health benefits of being with animals is well documented and when we stroke our pets it is scientifically shown to be good for our health and well-being:
Six ways that meditating with our pets is good for us:
- Being with animals is shown to reduces our blood pressure
- When we are with our pets our breathing pattern slows, becomes more regular and deeper
- We have deeper feelings of love and compassion for others
- The tactile nature of stroking our pets reduces our sense of loneliness
- Muscle tension is relaxed within the body and
- Our heart rate slows
In the UK, it's estimated that 12 million (44 percent of) households have pets, with around 51 million pets owned, and that is likely to have increased recently. 95 percent of pet owners think of their animal as a member of the family.
So maybe if your pet is what gets you into meditation then that's got to be a good thing.
Lucy says:
"I never intended to write meditations for pets, but when I realised that so many of our furry friends were feeling the benefits alongside their owners, I thought maybe there is something in it. I also think that if this is what gets people meditating for the first time then that has to be a good thing. It's a strange, uncertain and nervy time, with many of us running in fight or flight mode, if we can find any little moments to de-stress, calm down and just stop and breathe for a moment with our pets, or just for ourself has got to be a good thing."
Catch up here with our founder Lucy Stone talking to presenter Emma Britton this morning on BBC Radio Bristol scroll to 8:24am chatting about "Petitation" meditating with pets!
We will share some of your pets meditating here!
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