Meditating with Dr. Chanequa

This grounding meditation invites you to gently come home to yourself through presence, curiosity, and self-compassion. Rooted in an awareness of the unique challenges of coming into selfhood—especially for those whose sense of self has been marginalized or diminished—this practice centers listening to the wisdom of the body and honoring your needs. No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publica...

This guided meditation combines loving-kindness practice with a body scan to invite you to reconnect with your body through gentleness, gratitude, and compassion. With slow awareness and supportive phrases, you’ll be guided to release judgment, honor your body’s experiences, and cultivate a kinder inner relationship with yourself. Get full access to No Trifling Matter at drchanequa.substack.com/su...

Inspired by the season of Advent, this guided meditation invites us to cultivate peacefulness in our bodies, hearts, and relationships. It’s appropriate at any time of year and for anyone who is striving for more peace in their lives and in the world. If you are not Christian, feel free to substitute other language for “God.” Be sure to subscribe to “Meditating with Dr. Chanequa” on Spotify and Ap...

This guided meditation is an invitation to honor your right to exist fully and unapologetically. Centered on the theme of taking up space, it uses affirmations to empower you to reconnect with your body, voice, and presence. Whether you're navigating environments that ask you to shrink or simply seeking to reclaim your sense of self, this practice affirms that your existence is sacred, and your pr...

The essence of mindfulness is the capacity to be present to what arises in our lives with compassion and without judgment. This guided meditation invites us to face what arises in our bodies and minds with kind curiosity. Get full access to No Trifling Matter at drchanequa.substack.com/subscribe

This is a departure from my normal guided meditation offering. It’s graduation season. And as I was thinking about what I should write for this week’s No Trifling Matter, I thought about a sermon that I preached at a commissioning ceremony seven years ago, a sermon that I’ve never shared and that still seems relevant today. Since it’s a sermon, it was written for the ear. So I thought I’d use this...

This guided practice invites you to embrace the renewal of spring with mindful awareness. Through deep breathing and intentional reflection, you’ll connect with the shifting energy of the season. By releasing stagnation and welcoming growth, you cultivate a sense of clarity, vitality, and openness to new possibilities. Get full access to No Trifling Matter at drchanequa.substack.com/subscribe

This guided visualization invites you to connect with the steady strength of mountains, the flowing adaptability of water, and the rooted wisdom of trees. This practice cultivates resilience, flexibility, and inner balance, helping you feel both grounded and free as you move through life. No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becom...

Political turmoil, environmental disasters, and personal crisis can make us feel like we are living under siege, triggering cycles of anger, fear, and grief. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, hopeless, and out of control. This practice helps to ground us in hope by recalling our gifts for survival. This can be done as a sitting meditation or as a guided journaling practice. No Trifling Matter is a r...

As the calendar turns from one year to another, we are invited to reflect and take stock of our journey. This guided journaling practice leads you through a process of reflection, encouraging you to revisit the highlights and challenges of the past year, to identify unhealthy patterns, and to cultivate gratitude for the people, experiences, and circumstances that have shaped your journey. While de...

This full body scan invites us to connect to our bodies with moment-by-moment awareness. I practice a body scan weekly as a way of checking in with my body. When done regularly, it helps us to cultivate attentiveness, compassion, and kindness toward our embodied selves. Try it and leave a comment to let me know what you think. Get full access to No Trifling Matter at drchanequa.substack.com/subscr...

In this practice, we direct attention to different areas of the body, such as the feet and the breath, in order to train our minds to be present. When our mind wanders, we gently bring our attention back to the chosen focus. This is a foundational technique for meditation. Over time, it enhances our ability to stay present in and to bring calm into any moment. No Trifling Matter is a reader-suppor...

This guided affirmation practice supports emotional and spiritual healing from harm that has been inflicted upon us or that we carry in our bodies from our family lineages. It reminds us of our capacity to heal and to release what does not serve us. No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full...

As the calendar turns from one year to another, we are invited to reflect and take stock of our journey. This guided journaling practice leads you through a process of reflection, encouraging you to revisit the highlights and challenges of the past year, to identify unhealthy patterns, and to cultivate gratitude for the people, experiences, and circumstances that have shaped your journey. While de...

This guided affirmation practice supports empowerment, agency, and self-definition. This is a good practice to use if you are a perfectionist or people-pleaser who operates with a lot of self-imposed rules and expectations that lead you to take on too much and to neglect your own needs and desires. It helps you connect to and honor your internal wisdom. Thank you for practicing with me! If you enj...

This practice invites you to embrace the ever-changing nature of life by visualizing it as a flowing river. Practice surrendering to the current, releasing attachments, connecting with the present, and remembering your capacity for resilience as you resist stagnation and weather rough seas. Get full access to No Trifling Matter at drchanequa.substack.com/subscribe

Start your day with this morning prayer and meditation practice. This Christian meditation practice integrates silent meditation and visualization with prayer for ourselves and others. It concludes with a reading of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13) from the Common English Bible. Thank you for practicing with me! If you enjoyed this practice, please share it with a friend. And be sure to subscri...

This practice uses guided visualization to supports the process of forgiving people who have harmed us as well as forgiving ourselves for the ways that we have harmed others and ourselves. It is appropriate in situations where the harm has ended and healing is well underway. If you are a survivor of abuse, trauma, or violence, please consult with a therapist to determine whether this practice is a...

This loving-kindness meditation helps us to cultivate love toward ourselves, toward other people, and toward the world. This is a good practice to use when you find your heart hardening, when you are working through forgiveness, or when you need a little self-compassion. Thank you for practicing with me! If you enjoyed this practice, please share it with a friend. And be sure to subscribe to No Tr...

Lectio divina is an ancient Christian monastic tradition of meditative reading that invites us to savor biblical scripture. In this meditation, we practice deep attention to Luke 10:25-27, the “Great Commandment,” listening each time in a different way for what the text is telling us about loving God, loving one another, and loving ourselves. Thank you for practicing with me! If you enjoyed this p...

Centering prayer is a form of Christian contemplation that pairs silence with a sacred word to ground us and to deepen our connection to the Divine. The sacred word can be be any word connected with our faith. In this practice, you are invited to meditate upon one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self...

Walking meditation helps us to cultivate awareness of our embodied experience through the practice of walking. It can be especially helpful for people who have difficulty sitting still for extended periods of sitting meditation. And it’s a great practice for anyone who needs to be better connected with their bodies. Thank you for practicing with me! If you enjoyed this practice, please share it wi...

Modern life often alienates us from our bodies, teaching us to value our mind and spirit over our physical selves. But we are embodied beings and good self-care requires tending our bodies. This brief body scan cultivates mindfulness by helping us to systematically pay attention to what is happening in our bodies. Did you enjoy this meditation? Be sure to subscribe to No Trifling Matter to receive...

This affirmation practice supports self-care, health, and wellness. This meditation is grounded in the Judeo-Christian concept that all humans are sacred and created in the Divine image. It reminds us that we are God’s perfect gift and deserving of care. No Trifling Matter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get...

This is a great introduction to mindfulness for beginning meditators or for anyone who is looking to incorporate a brief practice into their day. It teaches the foundational skill of using the breath as an anchor for meditation. This is a sitting practice, but it could also be done standing or lying down. Want more like this? Then subscribe to No Trifling Matter , my weekly newsletter on faith, ju...