Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - Lean Into Winter (Even If You Hate It) | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

Rest is natural and needed. Appreciate and embrace the mammalian seasonal shifts.About Jeff Warren:Jeff makes meditation and practice accessible to diverse audiences in order to help people live more fulfilled and connected lives. He’s taught meditation to suspicious journalists, US Army cadets, burned-out caregivers, Arizona cops, formerly-incarcerated youth, virtuoso popstars, distractible teens, and every other conceivable demographic of freethinker, including squirmy six-year old kids.  He tries to do this in a way that’s rigorous and clear and adventurous. You can find out more about him at jeffwarren.org. To find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Winter Hibernation.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to 10% happier early and ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. It's the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey, everybody. Time for a bonus meditation. It is the first day of December, which means we're getting into winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. A lot of us notice our physical and mental rhythms change as the days get shorter and colder.

Instead of fighting against this, let's take our cues from my favorite Canadian, Jeff Warren, who knows how to lean into hibernation vibes. A little bit about Jeff before we get started here. He has taught meditation to suspicious journalists, US Army cadets, burned out caregivers, cops in Arizona, formerly incarcerated youth, virtuoso pop stars, distractible teenagers, and every other conceivable demographic

of free thinkers, including squirmy six-year-old kids. He tries to do this in a way that is rigorous and clear and adventurous. You can find out more about him at JeffWarren.org. Here we go now with my friend Jeff. Hi, this is Jeff. So every winter here in Toronto, I feel a bit more tired and moody. And this makes sense.

In this meditation, we unapologetically embrace our winter selves. Let's go. Take a moment to notice where you are. Maybe it's cold outside. Maybe the light is low. It's all good. This is winter. So let's get cozy.

Close your eyes and take a few slower, more deliberate breaths. As you breathe out, let it be with a sigh of relaxation. Like you don't have to keep the energy up anymore. You don't even have to keep the posture up. So maybe you wanna slouch a bit. It's all welcome. You might also tune into your mood. So how do you feel?

You don't have to pretend here. However you feel is however you feel. Now choose something to pay attention to. This will be our anchor, a place to come back to. Could be the breath, could be a feeling of relaxation in the body. It could be the blowing wind or the hum of a heater. Choose something and then just be with it. No straining. Good.

So we're in winter mode here, appreciating this opportunity to take a break. Keep going. You're replenishing your inner stores like a mama bear in her cave, or a fuzzy chipmunk curled around a pile of nuts. This is deep rest, it's mammalian. You're really allowing yourself to embrace the season here, to be part of something that you've been doing for so long. You're really allowing yourself to embrace the season here, to be part of something larger than you. Okay, good. At this point, if you like, you can let go of any anchor and just be. There's a wisdom in seasonality, a time for work and a time for rest. When you're ready, go ahead and open your eyes.

Okay, my friend, thank you for your practice. Now go and unapologetically hibernate. Thank you, Jeff. You can find more meditations like this one over on the Happier app. Just download the app wherever you get your apps to get started. This holiday season, give your loved ones only the best from L.L. Bean. For 80 years, L.L. Bean has been making their Scotch plaid flannel shirts the same way, better than everyone else's. Their Scotch plaid is brushed on each side to create a smooth and cozy feel. And

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