My name is Raphael and today's meditation will help you raise your awareness when you are feeling sluggish.
As we go throughout our day,
It is normal to have moments where we feel down or low energy.
We cannot expect to walk through life feeling 100% all the time.
When we do feel down,
Meditation can help us change our state of mind by using the breath and the attention to move stale energy out of the body.
To begin today's practice,
Find a comfortable seat in a chair or on the floor,
Preferably in a quiet environment.
Close the eyes,
Tune into the breath,
Meaning simply observing its natural rhythm in this exact moment.
No need to change anything,
Simply watch the breath.
Do your best to let go of whatever has occurred so far.
Up until this very moment,
Your day could have gone all wrong,
But only in the here and now can we begin to shift that energy.
Start taking bigger breaths in through the nose,
Raising the shoulders towards the ears.
Exhale through the mouth forcefully,
SH.
Again,
Starting to move that energy.
Inhaling in through the nose,
Shoulders towards the ears.
Exhale through the mouth,
SH.
Soften the shoulders on the exhalations.
A few more rounds like so.
Now inhale,
Raise the arms above the head.
Exhale,
Let the arms fall heavy onto the lap.
Again,
Inhale in through the nose,
Raise the hands over the head.
Release the hands,
Arms heavy,
Letting go of any tension or stress on the exhalations.
Good.
Now gently shake your hands out in front of you,
Releasing any stale energy stored in the body,
As if your hands were wet and you were flinging water off of the fingertips,
Keeping the breath fluid.
What we are doing here is reading the body of any stale energy stored as biocellular memory,
Shaking the stress out of the cells,
Shaking that stagnant energy out of the body.
And now relax the hands onto the lap,
Tending to the breath.
Understanding that where attention goes,
Our energy flows.
What does this mean?
If the mind tries to pull you towards thoughts or emotions during the practice,
Simply observing the thought and bringing your attention back to the breath will help pull that energy away from negative thoughts.
When we practice meditation and we continually focus our attention on our breath,
With time the mind will not attach to thoughts as easily.
Now we will begin a simple breathing technique called the breath of light.
Listen closely.
This technique is a five-part inhalation in through the nose and a one long exhalation out through the mouth.
Each inhalation is like a sip of air in through the nose,
As if you are sniffing a rose or a flower five times in a row.
We will practice a few rounds here together.
So inhale five consecutive little sips of air through the nose.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold the breath.
Exhale out through the mouth.
Good.
Make sure with the sips of air that you are not taking in too much inhalation in one sip.
So it should be slow,
Small little sips.
So by the time you get to the fifth inhalation in through the nose,
You're not gasping for air.
We'll practice a few more rounds together.
Inhale in five separate parts in through the nose.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold.
Exhale out through the mouth,
Long and heavy.
Soften those shoulders with the exhalation,
Letting go of any tension you're holding on to.
One more time here together.
Five sips of air in through the nose,
As if you were smelling a flower.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Holding.
H-A,
Soften.
Letting go of any negative thoughts,
Of negative thought patterns of the mind with the exhalation.
Now we'll continue a few more rounds together.
Imagine with each sip of air you're filling the body with light,
Positivity,
Ease.
Not trying to force these qualities,
But seeing if we can come into contact with them.
Alright so at your own pace,
Five sips of air in through the nose,
Holding,
Exhaling out through the mouth.
Each inhalation,
Imagining filling the body with golden light,
Energy,
Calmness,
Ease.
If the mind drifts towards negative thought patterns,
Bring your attention back to the breath.
It is normal for the mind to wander.
If you focus on this technique as the anchor point,
You are shifting that energy away from stagnant energy.
Nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to do but breathe.
You're doing great,
Stay here with the technique.
If you feel comfortable with a five-part inhalation in through the nose,
You can move the inhalations up to seven sips of air through the nose,
One long exhalation through the mouth.
Otherwise stick with the five count inhalation as if you are sniffing a flower in through the nose in five parts.
Gently,
Sips of air.
Finding ease and softness at the end of the exhalation.
Letting go of whatever you're holding on to.
Three more rounds at your own pace.
You're doing great,
You're exactly where you need to be.
You are practicing meditation.
Continue.
Let go of the technique.
Good job for practicing focus.
Rest in the breath,
Natural rhythm for a few more moments.
Noticing how the body feels without judgment.
Now bringing your attention to any sounds around you.
Become aware of the space you are physically in.
And when you feel ready,
You can open your eyes taking in your surroundings slowly.
Remember,
Where your attention goes,
Your energy flows.
When our energy levels naturally get low,
We must recognize the need to pause and practice shifting our awareness through the breath.
With consistent practice,
We can learn to manage the natural dips of energy and navigate any difficult thoughts throughout our day.
I hope this meditation was helpful and I look forward to sitting with you again.
Until next time.
