This is Breathing Yin and Yang,
A meditation from the Fierce Compassion course.
It's a meditation to help balance the energies of fierce and tender self-compassion in an embodied way.
The suggestion is that you sit in an upright posture to help the flow of both tender and fierce what we sometimes call yin and yang energies to flow through your body but just choosing a posture that feels most supportive for you,
Most comfortable.
We'll be focusing on the breath but sometimes that isn't the right thing for us and if it feels really uncomfortable for you for whatever reason to be with your breath please feel really welcome to take your awareness out to your whole body and just feeling the physical sensation of energy flowing through your body or visualizing the energy of tender and fierce of yin and yang flowing through your body.
And if at any point in the practice you notice a sense of being out of balance in any way just come back to the soles of your feet with contact with the ground beneath you the space around you supporting you.
In this version of the meditation you'll hear me suggesting that you orient to the in-breath for the more yang fierce energy and to the out-breath for the more yin tender energy but if you want to swap that around because it makes more sense for you please feel really welcome to do this there's no right or wrong way to do this practice and you can just decide what works for you.
So making yourself comfortable now making sure that your posture is upright and at the same time easeful and placing both hands on your solar plexus your center or some other place that helps you feel strong and supported and starting to notice your breathing without needing to change it or make it be any particular way just letting your natural breath flow in and flow out.
Sooner or later you'll find your attention naturally wandering it's just what our minds do as soon as you notice you're present once again and you can bring back your attention to the inhalation and exhalation if that feels okay.
Without judgment and then when you're ready beginning to focus attention a little bit more on the in-breath just lightly resting it there feeling each inhalation all the sensations of breathing in and as you breathe in imagine that you're breathing in fierce yang compassion you might notice you take in naturally a deeper more energizing breath a breath that brings in strength courage clarity maybe feeling the energy arising from the base of your spine and through your entire body an energy that rises up if you like you can imagine the yang energy is a bright white light flowing through you or maybe a force of nature like a strong wind you might even allow this energy to move and sway your body just finding what feels natural to you as you connect to this fierce yang energy simply focusing on the yang strong energy of the in-breath for the next few breaths and now taking a big breath in and now taking a big breath in and holding it for like five to ten seconds and then releasing releasing the breath and placing your hands on your heart or some other place where it feels really soothing and shift your focus to the out-breath feeling yourself softening and relaxing with each exhalation as you exhale let go as you exhale letting go letting be and imagining that tender yin compassion is flowing through you the qualities of loving connected presence flowing down down your whole body let it nurture you soothe you and if you notice tension arising in the practice if at all possible letting this be as natural as breathing if you like you can imagine the yin energy is a soft golden light or a gentle aspect of nature like a soft breeze you might even imagine that you're moving or swaying in this soft breeze whatever helps you connect with the tender yin energy soothing energy and just staying with this for the next few breaths focusing on the out-breath and its tender qualities and then once again take a big breath in and hold it for five to ten seconds and then release the breath and this time experimenting with bringing yin and yang together tender and fierce together so putting one hand on your heart and the other on your solar plexus or some other place that feels right it might be that the hand that's expressing strength is in the shape of a fist and the hand that's expressing tenderness is resting gently over your heart or over your fist and as you breathe in imagining that you're inhaling fierce yang energy and as you breathe out imagining that you're exhaling tender yin energy and just as the breath flows in and out naturally effortlessly allowing these two energies to flow freely in your body merging and integrating flowing together like yin and yang perhaps allowing that image of a tree to form in your mind the strong trunk and the gentle branches imagining that you're breathing in the strength that you need letting it rise up your body and then out down your branches,
Softening,
Releasing,
Letting go letting be finding the balance that's just right for you right now so you might feel inclined to focus more on experiencing the tender energy or maybe the fierce energy for the remainder of the practice letting this be as effortless as it can possibly be breathing in strength breathing out tenderness a sense of wholeness balance and letting yourself receive the energy that you need right now and then when you're ready beginning to release the practice resting for a few moments with yourself just as you are however you're feeling and then slowly bringing some movement back into your body and opening your eyes you
