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February 3, 2025 • 13min
#793: How to Calm Your Inner Storm — A Guided Meditation to Tame Restlessness with Zen Master Henry Shukman
The Tim Ferriss Show
This episode introduces a new experiment called "Meditation Monday" featuring Henry Shukman, one of only a few dozen masters authorized to teach Sanbo Zen. The format consists of short 10-minute guided meditations designed to help listeners develop practical meditation skills they can apply throughout their week.
Tim Ferriss shares that he has been using Henry's meditation app "The Way" once or twice daily for several months, experiencing significant reduction in anxiety. Listeners can get 30 free sessions by visiting thewayapp.com/tim.
#793: How to Calm Your Inner Storm — A Guided Meditation to Tame Restlessness with Zen Master Henry Shukman
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Key Takeaways
- This is part of a new "Meditation Monday" series featuring 10-minute guided meditations with Zen master Henry Shukman
- The goal is to develop a Zen toolkit over 4 episodes to find greater calm, peace and effectiveness in daily life
- Key meditation principle: Stillness is one of the most powerful agents of transformation
- Main focus of this episode: Working with difficult emotions and restlessness during meditation
- Core technique taught: Allowing and welcoming uncomfortable feelings rather than fighting them
Introduction
This episode introduces a new experiment called "Meditation Monday" featuring Henry Shukman, one of only a few dozen masters authorized to teach Sanbo Zen. The format consists of short 10-minute guided meditations designed to help listeners develop practical meditation skills they can apply throughout their week.
Tim Ferriss shares that he has been using Henry's meditation app "The Way" once or twice daily for several months, experiencing significant reduction in anxiety. Listeners can get 30 free sessions by visiting thewayapp.com/tim.
Topics Discussed
Introduction to Difficult Emotions in Meditation (1:10)
- Common challenge: Meditation can seem to exacerbate difficult emotions since we can't distract ourselves from them
- Traditional Buddhist view: Emotions like worry, regret, frustration, craving and aversion were seen as hindrances to meditation
- Key insight: These emotions often lead to restlessness and resistance to meditation practice
- "Many of us have difficult emotions at times, and meditation might seem to exacerbate them sometimes because we're more exposed to them" - Henry Shukman
Getting Comfortable and Settling In (3:03)
- Physical setup:
- Find a comfortable seated or reclined position
- Focus on being completely comfortable to facilitate relaxation
- Mental preparation:
- Put aside to-do lists and responsibilities
- Frame this as personal time for yourself
- "This is really a time just for you" - Henry Shukman
Progressive Relaxation Technique (4:42)
- Systematic relaxation sequence:
- Let shoulders sink and settle
- Allow arms to become limp
- Soften facial muscles
- Create warmth in chest and belly
- Relax hips, legs and feet
- Key focus: Creating overall bodily softness and comfort
Working with Restlessness (6:47)
- Approach to restlessness:
- Instead of acting on urges to move or leave, remain still
- Try to locate restlessness sensation in the body
- Often felt as energy in torso, belly, chest or throat
- Key instruction: Allow whatever is present to be there without trying to change it
- "Let it actually be part of your experience" - Henry Shukman
Welcoming Difficult Emotions (8:54)
- Practical techniques:
- Mentally note "restlessness is present"
- Say to yourself "restlessness is welcome"
- Locate physical sensations of emotions in body
- Body awareness: Maintain soft shoulders, flanks, back and torso
- Key principle: Let bodily softness welcome any discomfort
Understanding Emotional Nature (10:56)
- Philosophical perspective:
- Emotions are natural part of being human
- We share emotional capacity with other mammals
- Learning to allow emotions represents growth
- "Learning to allow emotions is a real form of growth" - Henry Shukman
Closing the Practice (12:57)
- Completion sequence:
- Gradually bring movement back to body
- Take deep inhale and exhale
- Move body as needed
- Key point: This approach offers an unexpected tool for working with difficulties in meditation
Conclusion
This inaugural Meditation Monday episode introduces a practical approach to working with difficult emotions and restlessness in meditation. Rather than seeing these challenges as obstacles, Henry Shukman teaches how to welcome them as part of the practice. The guided meditation demonstrates how combining physical relaxation with mental acceptance can help practitioners develop a more sustainable and effective meditation practice.
The episode provides a foundation for future sessions in this series, establishing core principles of Zen meditation while making them accessible to beginners. The emphasis on allowing rather than fighting difficult experiences offers a valuable tool for both meditation practice and daily life.