Hello and Namaste.
Today,
We are going to practice Shavayatra or the 61 points of light exercise as taught by the Himalayan tradition.
This is a systematic relaxation,
So it is best performed lying on your back in Shavasana.
And we will be bringing our attention to 61 points in the body,
One right after the other,
To allow our consciousness to shift from our normal state of being.
To prepare,
Please lay on the floor in a comfortable position.
Feel free to use any props to support under your head or your knees so you can feel as comfortable as you can possibly be.
If laying on the floor is impossible for you,
A bed or any other place where you can lay down would be great.
And if that's not possible,
A chair would be fine as well.
Take a few more moments to settle in now as I am describing the practice to you.
So as we settle in,
Let's take a few breaths.
So palms facing up,
Feel the body nice and open.
And let's take a deep inhale,
Feel the body rise as you inhale.
And exhale out the mouth,
Maybe a sigh.
Let's take a couple more breaths like that.
Inhale fills the body up and exhale out the mouth.
One more time like that.
Big inhale,
Hold the inhale at the top and exhale,
Sigh out the mouth.
This exhale is aimed at harmonizing all the faculties of the mind and somatic systems of the body by activating or sending vital life force energy to marmosetanas or energy centers within the body.
Kind of like creating a map of the stars,
But in our own microcosm.
So take a moment now to make yourselves 10 to 15% more comfortable and really start to settle in.
Become aware of your body and the space occupied by your body.
Draw your awareness around the entire body for a moment.
Notice the connection points between the body and the floor beneath.
And notice all that relaxing and letting go.
Become aware of the rise and fall of your abdomen as you gently inhale and exhale.
And let every exhalation allow you to sink a little deeper into the mat,
The bed,
The floor beneath.
When you're ready,
Close your eyes and try to visualize a point of light.
And the best way you can connect to a point of light could be a star or spark or simply a soft glow of light.
If you're not a very visual person,
Don't worry.
You can simply move your awareness from point to point as I name them in the body.
Try not to focus too hard.
Just draw your awareness to the location named.
And that's all we really need to do today.
We'll begin the practice now.
So let's bring our awareness to the point between the eyebrows and see that point illuminate there or simply rest your awareness.
Now move your awareness to the center of the throat.
And again,
See the light illuminate there or simply rest your awareness for around your right shoulder joint,
Right elbow joint,
Right wrist joint,
Tip of the right thumb,
Tip of the first finger,
Tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
Tip of the fourth finger.
Now move the awareness or see the light illuminate again in the right wrist joint,
Right elbow joint,
Right shoulder joint,
Center of the throat,
Left shoulder joint,
Left elbow joint,
Left wrist joint,
Tip of the left thumb,
Tip of the first finger,
Tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
Tip of the fourth finger.
Move the awareness or see the light illuminate again in the left wrist joint,
Left elbow joint,
Left shoulder joint,
Center of the throat,
Center of the chest,
I'm going to call that heart center,
Center of the right chest or the right nipple,
Back to the heart center,
Center of the left chest or left nipple,
Back to the heart center,
Navel center,
Pelvic center,
Right hip joint,
Right knee joint,
Right ankle joint,
Tip of the right big toe,
Tip of the second toe,
Tip of the third toe,
Tip of the fourth toe,
Tip of the fifth toe.
Return the awareness or see the light illuminate again in the right ankle joint,
Right knee joint,
Right hip joint,
Pelvic center,
Left hip joint,
Left knee joint,
Left ankle joint,
Tip of the left big toe,
Tip of the second toe,
Tip of the third toe,
Tip of the fourth toe,
Tip of the fifth toe.
Return the awareness or see the light illuminate again in the left ankle joint,
The left knee joint,
The left hip joint,
Pelvic center,
Navel center,
Heart center,
Throat center,
Eyebrow center.
Now relax the whole body through the gateway of the eyebrow center.
See all 61 points in the body illuminate at once and sense all the systems of the body and faculties of the mind are coming into balance.
Energy flows freely and the whole system is restored and harmonized.
This completes the practice of Shavayatra,
The 61 points exercise.
You could start by taking a deeper fuller breath and then making some small gentle movements in the body.
After you have stretched and moved for a little bit,
You can roll over to your right side to rest for a few moments and you can push up to a comfortable seat and begin a meditation practice or continue with your day.
Thank you for practicing the 61 points exercise with me today.
Namaste.
