Energy Awareness Practice

A slow, grounding practice with gentle diaphragmatic breathing and a full-body energy scan. Perfect for days when you feel scattered, tired, or overwhelmed. Tune into where your energy feels bright and where it feels low, noticing without needing to fix anything.

This practice helps you feel clearer, steadier, and more connected, bringing calm and balance back to your body and mind.

Transcript

Sitting down either on your mat in a cross leg position or kneeling.

You can sit in a chair or lying down.

So just decide what you want to do for your meditation.

Find a posture that is comfortable for your body and you can stay in stillness for the duration of the practice.

If you're sitting on the ground it may feel good to sit on a little pillow or rolled up blanket just to tilt your hips forward just a little bit and it'll help you keep your spine tall.

If you're sitting in a chair make sure your feet are flat on the ground.

If you're lying down maybe bringing a bolster under your knees and wherever you are see if you can drop your shoulders down your back.

Let your neck and head stay in a neutral position so maybe slight tuck of the chin so the back of your neck is long.

Just soften from the crown of your head all the way down to your toes.

Soften your jaw,

Your forehead.

Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels comfortable for you and just take a moment to let your body arrive here.

Let your breath land where it is without trying to change it.

Just noticing how your breath feels right now.

If it's fast or slow,

Deep or shallow,

Just noticing it.

Allowing yourself to arrive in this moment.

Now if it feels comfortable bring your right hand to your belly and your left hand to your heart.

If this doesn't feel comfortable you can let your hands just rest comfortably wherever they land.

Take a slow breath in through your nose and feel your belly rise.

And then open your mouth slowly,

Sigh it out,

Let your body soften.

Now we're going to start breathing and with our breath we're going to fill the belly,

Then the ribs,

Then the chest.

Then as we exhale we're going to empty the other way around.

So empty from the chest first and then the ribs and then the belly.

And if your hands are on your body you can really feel your body move and experience how this breath feels in your body.

Take one more deep inhale through your nose,

Open your mouth,

Sigh it out.

Now as you inhale feel your belly rise,

Your ribs expand,

Your chest rise.

Hold at the top if you can.

Then as you exhale notice the chest fall first and then the ribs and then the belly empty,

Empty,

Empty.

All the way around.

So inhale,

Fill your belly,

Feel your ribs expand,

Feel your chest rise,

Hold at the top.

Then exhale your chest,

Your ribs and your belly.

Take another inhale from the belly to the ribs to the chest.

And a soft exhale,

Your chest,

Ribs and belly.

Good.

Keep going like that.

So letting your breath move slowly and feel your hands move up as you inhale and down as you exhale.

As you breathe let your breath slow your thoughts,

Just paying attention to your breath,

To your body as it moves and letting any thoughts go.

Staying with this for a little bit longer.

So inhale,

Belly rises,

Then your ribs,

Then your chest.

Then exhale your chest,

Your ribs and your belly.

As you breathe see if you can really deepen your inhale,

So maybe your inhales get a little bit deeper and longer.

And slow down and extend your exhale,

So maybe your exhales take a little bit longer than before.

Inhaling to your belly,

Your ribs and your chest.

Exhaling your chest,

Your ribs and your belly.

Really feeling your breath move your body and soften your mind.

A few more like that.

Now as you feel ready,

Just come back to the normal rhythm of your breath.

You can let your hands stay where they are or you can let them rest anywhere that feels right.

If you're lying down,

Maybe by your side,

If you're seated on your lap or on your thighs.

And just notice your breath now.

Letting your body breathe naturally.

Just notice the quality of your breath.

Notice if there's a difference from when we first started the practice.

Before we start the body scan,

Just sense your whole body.

Feel the weight of your body.

Feel the places where your body feels supported by the ground.

Notice if there's any areas in your body that you're holding tension or any areas that you feel relaxed.

You don't need to change or shift anything.

Just noticing,

Observing your body exactly as it is.

Let your breath flow naturally and gently.

Letting your shoulders drop down your back a little bit more.

Soften your jaw.

Let your eyes soften behind your eyelids.

As I name different body parts,

Just bring your awareness to that area.

You're not trying to change anything.

You're just checking in with the quality of the energy in each area.

Think of it as you're just checking in with that body part.

Noticing if it feels heavy,

Neutral,

Warm,

Cool,

Steady.

Starting with the head,

Bring your attention to the crown of your head,

The very top of your head.

Notice any sensations,

Tingling,

Heaviness,

Warmth.

Or maybe you don't feel anything at all and that's also okay.

Let your awareness move down to your forehead,

To your eyebrows,

And the space between your eyebrows,

Your third eye.

Notice if this space feels tight,

Tired,

Or spacious and open.

Bring your awareness to your eyes.

Feel the space around them,

The muscles,

The eyelids,

The area behind your eyelids.

What is the energy level here?

Is it bright?

Is it dull?

Is it calm or busy?

Let your awareness drift to your cheeks and your jaw.

Just notice if it feels tight or relaxed.

Move to your mouth and your tongue.

Notice even tiny sensations in your mouth on your tongue.

Bring your awareness into the throat area.

Let your attention move around to your neck,

To the sides,

In the back,

And the base of the skull.

Notice any sensations in these areas.

Moving down to your shoulders.

Are they holding a lot?

Are they tired?

Or maybe they feel light today.

Follow the energy across your upper back,

The shoulder blades,

And the muscles that wrap around your ribs.

Notice how the energy feels here.

Does it feel high,

Low,

Or stuck?

Just noticing.

Bring your awareness to the center of your chest,

Your heart center.

Just feel the breath moving here.

Notice if it feels open,

Smooth,

Or maybe tight.

Notice the energy in your heart center.

Is it soft,

Expansive,

Warm,

Or quiet and guarded?

Let your awareness linger a little bit longer in this area.

Your heart center tells you a lot about your overall state,

Where you are,

How you feel,

Your emotions.

Just noticing anything that comes up.

Shift your focus to your belly.

Notice any sensations here.

This is also a place where a lot of the emotional energy lives.

Notice how it feels today.

Is it relaxed,

Heavy,

Or light?

Maybe there's movement,

Or maybe it's still.

Feeling into the whole core of your body.

The front,

The sides,

The back.

Now bring your awareness to your hips and pelvis.

Notice the energy.

If it's grounded,

Or tired,

Or steady.

Or maybe it's deeply relaxed and heavy.

You might feel warmth or heaviness.

Just observe.

Moving slowly down your thighs,

Your knees,

Your shins.

Notice the energy moving through your legs.

All the way down to your ankles,

Your feet,

Your toes.

Feel the connection to the floor,

To the ground,

Whatever's supporting you.

Does the lower part of your body feel strong?

Or drained?

Stable?

Weak?

Anything that shows up,

Anything that you feel is valid and completely okay.

Now zoom out and sense your entire body again.

All at once.

And all the different energy levels and all the different sensations that you felt.

And gently ask yourself,

Where is my energy highest?

Just notice it without trying to force or change it.

And where is my energy lowest?

Again,

Just noticing without labelling or being too hard on yourself.

Energy shifts day to day and sometimes moment to moment.

We're just taking a snapshot of how our body feels right now.

Visualize your breath moving into the area that you feel the highest energy spot.

And then visualize your breath moving to the lowest energy spot.

Neither needs to change or improve.

You're breathing to both equally.

Sending love and energy to that area in your body without judgement.

Just noticing.

And stay with this sensation for a few more breaths.

Take a deep breath in through your nose.

Fill your belly up slowly.

And then take the longest,

Softest exhale you've taken all day.

Empty all the air out.

One more like that.

Deep inhale through your nose.

Fill up.

Exhale all the air out.

Let it go.

And when you're ready,

Start to bring some movement back to your body.

Maybe wiggling your fingers,

Your toes.

Gently rocking your head from side to side.

Maybe rolling your shoulders up towards your ears and down your back.

When you're ready,

You can slowly open your eyes.

Bring your hands to your heart center.

Bow your head to your hands.

And thank yourself for your practice.

Bring your thumbs to your third eye,

The space between your eyebrows.

May your thoughts be kind.

Thumbs to your lips.

May your words be caring.

Thumbs to your heart center.

May your heart be filled with love and gratitude.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Namaste.

Reviews

This practice felt like a gentle pause—almost a mini yoga nidra. Maryam’s calm, soothing voice and the slow breathing and body scan helped me settle into stillness and reconnect with my energy, deeply supportive on a low-energy day with a lot ahead.