Guided Meditation for Calming the Mind and Nervous System with Dr. Peter Van Houten

Dr. Peter Van Houten leads a 13-minute guided meditation and teaches us a simple breathing technique for calming the mind and nervous system.
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Guided meditations include focuses on:
Inner balance
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Dr. Peter Van Houten is a longtime meditator and teacher at Ananda. Dr. Peter Van Houten is a family physician with close to 40 years of real world experience in primary care medicine. He is nationally known for his pioneering work integrating meditation and behavioral healthcare into the medical setting. Sierra Family Health Center, which is the clinic he founded in 1982, has been widely seen as a leader in this field. His background includes his medical training at the UCSF School of Medicine. He has published two books promoting yoga as a therapeutic tool which focus on treatments for common medical problems like insomnia and headaches. These were among the first books ever published bringing yoga therapy into the medical office setting. He has lectured extensively on the transformation in brain function brought about by meditation and spiritual practices. Well-known for his charitable works, Dr. Van Houten’s clinic cares for a large indigent population in Northern California using cutting edge behavioral therapies as well as traditional medicine.
Peter has co-authored Yoga Therapy for Headache Relief and Yoga Therapy for Overcoming Insomnia. He also maintains an active interest in ongoing research into the subtle and powerful relationships between brain physiology and personal spiritual development.
Ananda, which means “divine joy” or “bliss”, is a spiritual organization dedicated to sharing the heart of Paramhansa Yogananda.
ABOUT ANANDA WORLDWIDE
Ananda is a worldwide movement to help individuals realize the joy of their own higher Self. Ananda is based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda and was founded by his direct disciple Swami Kriyananda in 1968. Learn more at ananda.org.
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[@PrettyinGreenn]

I love science. - this helped me get it together just now while I was panicking about college student things.

[@nessie3764]

4:26 - the breathing starts

[@annettejohnson784]

Thank you...this truly helped. My husband passed away 10 days ago and I am going up and down the emotional roller coaster. Today was a bad day as I couldn’t seem to stop the negative thoughts and anxiety. I’m going to keep this technique in my back pocket for sure.

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Dear Annette, our deep condolences and many blessings to you. May this help you to find the inner peace and strength within you.

[@Lafingflower]

Condolences prayers blessings holy spirit comfort sister💝🌠🙏deep bow big hugs🔥💝🌍🌎🌏

[@leilajuneh]

May his spirit be at peace. My condolences 🙏

[@etharalasmi3536]

I hope you are doing well today ❤️

[@robynoleary2859]

Sending you love xx

[@edwingoh4094]

4:54 meditation technique starts

[@rajeshpawar8684]

Thank you Thank you very much

[@Angelicamartinz]

thank you so much for sharing!!

[@djbarkhakaul1423]

Gratitude 🙏

[@TheOnlyTeeJayB]

Nice video, one tip would be to bookmark the start of the mediation. It was frustrating trying to find the start, not great if someone is looking for relaxation 😂

[@rgrantconacher5300]

Excellent thank you for this wonderful teaching and teacher 😃🔥

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so much Dr Peter 🙏it really helps 👌🏼🙏♥️

[@sunitasharma2617]

Thanks for sharing 🙏

[@derekwallace2278]

Amazing. Love this . Nice simple . N beneficial. Ty

[@googoo554]

Thank you for sharing the info, so kind of you to help others. I tried it and it was very calming. Much appreciated

[@AnandaWorldwide]

You are very welcome. Blessings!

[@courtneydawson4473]

Thank you

[@candicejohnson4562]

Thank you. This is the best type of belly breathing through the nose.

[@manmohanbisht4697]

Thanks for your valuable guidance my gratitude to you Sir Om Namo bhagwatae vasudevai LtCol Man Mohan Bisht

[@azarahhusayn7901]

This really relaxed me, thank you so much Doctor. Blessings and love 💖

[@djhobbie]

Thanks for sharing, I tried it without any distractions or giving up and it really helped.

[@Loopynesss]

Super effective thank you. I was anxious, felt a bit burned out and a headache start and this completely relaxed and profundly healed me

[@mirelabordean690]

Thank you very much for the teaching, during the daily practice do we always start on slow or we get to the 5 breaths straight away?

[@Angelicamartinz]

same question here!!

[@neem33]

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and time-this is very informative and helps me.

[@googoo554]

How wonderful! Fantastic video. Thank you so much, so grateful for this and your calm, kind voice and great knowledge. Thank you for helping the human race.

[@conordawson2649]

Anyone else find it hard to inhale for 5 seconds when you’re short of breath ?

[@Arxillia_]

Thank you this helped so much I'm going to secondary school and now I'm nice and calm.

[@littlemimi1904]

5:02

[@akakonoha]

Very highly effective. Thank you so much 🙏🏽

[@sahasrarachakra1]

Thank you for making this video. It's helping me to get grounded.

[@gittel_malky]

Very helpful. Thank you

[@mrredcoat9202]

hi, i am an up and coming golfer and I find it extremely hard to be relaxed and in my element whenever i line up to hit my ball or putt. Today i am revisiting meditation to help me show how actually good i am. Thank you sir

[@NatalieNicole2222]

some people you can see it in the eyes that they are good human beings 👍 this makes me happy

[@blueclarity]

Well atleast I'm not ready to choke someone anymore.

[@justech05]

Thanks Doc, very helpful. Can you please advise how this technique can help with my ectopic beats. Thanks 🙏

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so much Dr 🙏what a blessing for your patients to have you with your knowledge. Joy to you 🙏♥️💚

[@alyssalee1116]

Grateful 🙏🏼 Thank you Dr Peter!

[@Ani3-ql4jr]

4:50

[@leahbailey2154]

why do I always feel lightheaded and funny breathing like this? will this get better?

[@jasminkleiner-bf4fo]

What will be the benefits though? because I get even more heart racing when I do this and have been doing this for a while now before sleep because I suffer severe insomnia where I even barely sleep with klonopin every night

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Hi Jasmin, sorry to hear about your insomnia. The techniques Dr. Van Houten is sharing work well for most people, but it sounds like it would be best if you would focus especially on guided relaxations, of which many can be found. Also prayer is very effective. Many blessings!

[@rachelsmyth9912]

Thank you, God bless

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

🙏🙏🙏🙏💚💚💚💚♥️

[@annelizabeth9872]

Thank you so much for this technique! I have been incredibly tense and on the virge of a panic attack and this surprisingly helped significantly. I was wondering if the twelve mnutes a day should be all at once or two six minute sessions? Also, wondering if you increase the duration, how much times per day and for how long to get optimum benefits?

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Hi Anne, wonderful that this meditation technique is helping you! You can experiment with the length and see what works best for you, but sitting a little bit longer at a time (12min, for example) can help you to relax deeper and will have a longer lasting effect. You can do it several times a day - whatever works for you! You'll see that you'll greatly benefit from it. Most people suggest to practice in the morning, before going to work etc, and in the evening. (best not right after eating, as the body will focus on digesting :-) If it's possible to do it also once more in the middle of the day (as possible), it'll help you even more. Many blessings!

[@annelizabeth9872]

@@AnandaWorldwide Thank you very much for sharing! I was so happy to try it and discover how well 5 minutes helped!!! If 5 minutes brought me out of a near panic state I can only imagine what a daily practice will do. Bless you for helping so many people in need!!!!

[@graciadlrosario26]

Thank you so much Doc. I had a good sleep last night...

[@missEvaMarie58]

Thank you. 🪴

[@ANYTHINGISPOSSIBLEAPRIL]

doctor (or anyone really asking for a friend) …um i couldn’t stop myself from bawling and physically feeling pain to the point of tears any tips/helping hand with this circumstance?

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so Dr for this wonderful time meditating with you God bless you 🙏♥️💚

[@videomaster8580]

I find this a bit stressfull, because the count make me so focused on matching the breath. Can deep long breathing do the same with out the counts? thanks.

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Deep long breathing is also very beneficial, and you can do that if you prefer. The breathing with the counts has been shown to be more effective, however.

[@videomaster8580]

I suppose I can deep breathe as best I can with the pauses between breath? what do you think?

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Yes, that will certainly be helpful. There are also some breathing/pranayama apps for phones & tablets where you can select any length which works for you, and then you don't have think about the timing. I don't know any specific one to suggest but you could look and see if it helps.

[@videomaster8580]

Thank you kindly. I have Tinnitus & Neuropathic pain, so any thing that can lower my stress is good.

[@AnandaWorldwide]

This will be helpful, and hope it'll reduce the pain in time! Blessings!

[@djbarkhakaul1423]

At it... Thank you

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you Dr for your explanation of this technique 🙏💚💚❤️

[@violetlawal3120]

Does it reduce palpitations

[@AnandaWorldwide]

It can help with that, through calming the body and mind. But every case is different and it's best to consult a doctor to find the best help.

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you Doctor it’s a pleasure to see a dr helping people with meditation 🧘‍♀️ 🧘🙏💚

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

For me too it was hard to breathe longer than three minutes 😂but we will not give up 😂thank you so much Dr ❤

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

I loose track at every single breath we did but I am determined to keep trying even if I have to do it for the rest of my life 👏🏻

[@jessicaburgers]

This is not meditation right? This is breath exercise?

[@AnandaWorldwide]

It's a pranayam which then will calm your mind and help you in the actual meditation.

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so much for helping others with this technique. Joy to you Dr 🙏

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so much Dr Peter V for this great video 🙏💚❤️

[@McRusen]

4:55.

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so much for this technique Dr 🙏💚♥️

[@marjsusan4456]

I'm very grateful 🙏 to have found you this morning ❤

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you so much for this practice it helps me a lot 🙏💚♥️

[@mildrisplested4804]

Thank

[@ohanbrown5733]

Very useful...thanks alot

[@AnaiDesigns]

Wow thank you for this

[@leilajuneh]

Love how this technique eases me into bliss. Because of my health deteriation, I was having difficulty with my regular meditation practices. But this method of starting out with 1,2,3...and slowly building myself up to my prior level of 1, 2,3,4,5!! It helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt that I was able to experience Nirvana again. ❤️

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you Dr 🙏💚

[@ElisaGuzman-u1s]

Thank you Dr 🙏💚❤️

[@jessicaburgers]

Why through the nose?

[@AnandaWorldwide]

It's better to breath through the nose for energy reasons, it'll be a higher vibration.

[@moupiyasawoo1504]

Thank you

[@igobynish]

Doc, I have a chronic anal fissure which leaves me constantly feeling the urge to poop.. it causes me anxiety and heightened stress and then I get the anal spasms at night preventing me from sleeping. My bowels don't seem to work well either. What do you think can help?

[@jamelerzaigui6569]

Can I do this technique before bed ?

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Yes, it'll help you with your sleep.

[@ck868ck]

I really wish videos like this had a skip to the practical part button. When I'm having a panic attack I don't want to hear your explanation, I want to hear what to do. Explain after. Or make a short cut to the practical part please. The science is interesting but it's not helpful when I'm desperately trying to not let my extreme anxiety tip over into a full blown panic attack. I'm not meaning to be rude I just wish people who make these videos understood the need for that

[@leep2230]

Too much talking..get to the meditation.

[@ANDREEA_only_One]

When one is stressed I find it hard to breath in. Exhaling is also through nose?

[@AnandaWorldwide]

Exhaling also through the nose. Blessings!