The weather's gonna change - a 3 minute meditation

May this song be a musical guide to support you to get through the storm.

Some ways I use this song:

SINGING MEDITATION
Singing meditation works for me. It can be a fun practice to sing this song acapella. I repeat the beginning melody phrase until I find a groove to sink into. Then, when I’m ready, I change the melody or rhythm in some way. I improvise for a while and then come back to the original melody and repeat. I can get out of my head and sing my heart out while exercising my lungs and feeling the vibration soothe my body. Singing is great breath work. Keep in mind that putting aside self-judgement is necessary. Listen to the recording, and sing along if you prefer. When you sing it alone acapella, you have the freedom to let the song unfold in a new way… your way in the moment.

SINGING IN MY HEAD
I can let myself fall into a song by singing out-loud. And I’ve learned that singing INSIDE my head comes in handy when I want to stay quiet, when I don’t have privacy, or I am too exhausted to exercise my lungs. “The weather’s gonna change” for me personally, is a grounding sound-track to my day. Especially when something is troubling me or I’m feeling anxious.

I’m reminded of the prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.“

DUO or GROUP SINGING
It’s FUN to sing it with a friend or small group. Start by letting the repetitive, beginning melody ground you and sink into the groove, for as long as it takes. One by one, singers can trade off holding down the steady repeating melody and the next singer can explore singing a harmony, an alternate melody or percussive part. Get into a comfortable groove together, then try adding or changing a part, one person at a time. It’s ok if some parts are not “perfect”. Sometimes the off-notes help us get to the sweet ones. This is a good exercise for working on intuitive listening and improvisation and co-regulation with others. When a safe space has been created, this is a joyful activity!

DE-ESCALATION TOOL - Self-soothing
When the storm is dark, loud and scary, I use this song to comfort myself by listening to the recorded version on repeat. The first time, my brain is often still racing and overwhelmed. I may not be able to “listen” right away. I just keep playing it. Get comfortable. Put my hand on my heart. And thankfully, after hearing it a few times, I can start to focus on one of the vocal parts or on the rain-like percussion. I get to decide in the moment where to put my attention and to BREATHE. When I lose focus, I remind myself to breathe and select something to follow in the song again. If I notice I’m judging myself, I remind myself to breathe and to change-the-channel… to a voice to follow in the song. This is an example of using mindfulness to de-escalate and calm down a brain in distress. The song accompanies me through the storm. The song takes me through feeling the impending storm, being in the eye of the storm and then getting through it. It takes gumption.