Embrace The Ending With Mini Yoga & Meditation

We as humans fear or resist endings because we don't like change and get uncomfortable not knowing what is on the other side. Embrace any endings in your life, big or small, in this embodied practice of stillness with just 3 simple yoga poses intertwined with a guided meditation. Reframe endings as portals to new beginnings.

Release any resistance around an ending in your life and understand how the Hindu gods of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva teach us about the eternal cycle of creation and destruction.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this meditation with some guided yoga on the theme of endings.

I find that endings are both scary and beautiful things.

As humans,

We tend to resist change or endings because it can be a source of fear when we don't know what's on the other side of it.

I invite you to explore the concept of endings in this practice of stillness.

For this practice,

I'll guide you through just three simple,

Easy,

Different yoga poses.

If the pose doesn't serve you today,

Feel free to just get into your comfortable meditation position at any point,

Whether that is seated with the spine long,

Reclined,

Or lying down with the option to visualize how the yoga shape would feel in your body.

To begin this practice with gentle yoga,

I invite you to start on the floor or on your yoga mat in embryo pose.

Start seated on your knees with your heels tucked under your hips.

Then begin to bring the forehead down in front of you towards the earth.

Extend your arms long by your side so that your fingers are reaching towards your toes.

Settle into this embryo shape as if you are a little egg resting on the ground,

Tucked into a safe ball.

Allow the body to settle in,

Relaxing any tension away from the shoulders.

Sink the third eye or space between your eyebrows deeper into the ground.

Take a slow,

Deep inhale through the nose.

Exhale release from the mouth.

Take a few more of these deep breaths.

Feel the exhale soften your body even further,

Melting away any inner tension or resistance.

Embryo pose represents the beginning,

Like a new seedling preparing to sprout.

Here in the space of this new beginning,

The start of your meditation practice,

Just observe the new sensations in your body.

As you settle deeper into this easeful pose,

I invite you to reflect on any endings that may be currently happening in your life.

It can be as big as a major transition or change in your life,

Like the ending of a relationship,

Job,

Or living situation.

Or it can be as small as parting ways with an old piece of clothing,

Ending a membership you might have,

Or even finishing your cup of coffee or tea.

Whatever ending it is,

Bring this ending to your awareness of your inner world.

And notice if you're feeling any resistance around it.

You know this ending has to happen,

That it will serve your highest path,

But what is holding you back from letting it go?

Now begin to feel into your body again.

Feeling the end of this shape in embryo pose.

Notice how your body might feel ready for this pose to end.

Then with full awareness of the transition,

Very slowly stretch your hands forward.

Plant them beneath your shoulders and gently press up to a seat.

Taking your time as you make your way up,

You can unwind the legs,

Straightening them out and move them just to allow the blood flow to return and rebalance the legs.

Find ease and grace in this transition,

Maybe even closing your eyes and taking a few easy breaths,

Allowing the blood flow to return to your head.

Then we will transition to our next yoga posture,

Sukhasana or easy seat.

You can sit cross-legged on a pillow or blanket.

If you feel cold,

You can even move to your couch or chair or even recline somewhere comfortable.

Take a moment in this sacred transition from the ending of embryo pose to the beginning of easy seated posture.

Once you find your easy seat,

Settle the eyes behind your eyelids.

Soften the body into the support beneath you while keeping a nice long spine.

Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale it out through the mouth.

On your next inhale,

Connect it seamlessly with the exhale,

Smoothing the transition between each breath.

Take a relaxing variation of conscious circular breathing.

Begin to envision your breath as a circle,

Rolling each inhale into the exhale in a circular fashion,

Almost as if each breath is cycling along an eternal wheel.

As you weave each slow inhale into each long exhale,

Begin to visualize your breath rolling along this circular wheel.

As you inhale,

The wheel spins up.

As you exhale,

The wheel spins down.

Seamlessly connecting each breath with the ebb and flow of this circular shape.

Continue this breath and this time,

Notice how the end of the inhale,

That last very moment of your inhale,

Naturally transitions to the beginning of the exhale.

Then how the end of the exhale,

The very last moment of that exhale,

Naturally transitions to the beginning of the next inhale.

Like the wheel,

One ending leads to a new beginning,

To another ending,

And so forth.

Let go of this circular breath and gently return to your natural rhythm of breathing.

Just be in this space of your awareness with your breath.

With this awareness,

Recognize how the ending is a portal to the next beginning.

Sometimes in life,

We feel like endings have to be black and white,

Abrupt and dramatic.

But just like the breath,

What if beginnings and endings unfold in a circle instead of a sequential line?

Just like how you took the breath in as momentum for the breath out,

What you take from one ending comes with you in the next beginning.

Even between one yoga pose to another,

From embryo to seated,

You brought the ease and surrender of the muscles from the first pose to this seated position you are in now.

When we stop fighting endings and embrace them,

Letting them happen,

We can move through any ending with more grace and ease,

Despite any grief or resistance around the ending.

Flowing from the ending of one breath into the beginning of another.

Flowing from the ending of one shape in our body to the beginning of another.

Feel into the ending of this seated shape.

Notice how your body feels after being in this position for some time.

Drawing in a few easy deep breaths.

Feeling the body crave a new shape or some form of transition.

Then with your full awareness of every moment as you transition,

Begin to straighten the legs from your seat.

Then very consciously and slowly lie down flat on your back in shavasana pose.

Final resting posture or corpse pose.

Mindfully bring any pillows,

Blankets or props to support your body in this lying posture.

In yoga,

Shavasana or corpse pose marks the end of our practice.

Completing this cycle of your practice so that a new one can begin.

Embodying the ending.

As you surrender to the earth beneath you in this pose,

Take a deep inhale through the nose.

Then slowly exhale out the mouth.

Let the breath fall away.

Taking a few slow deep breaths,

Anchoring you to the ground beneath you.

In yogic practice,

We glean wisdom from the Hindu gods.

The three main ones are Brahma,

The god of creation.

Vishnu,

The god of preservation or sustainment.

Then Shiva,

The god of destruction.

Oftentimes when we think about Shiva,

We might have harsh or negative feelings towards the danger around destruction.

But what if we saw Shiva differently as creative destruction instead?

That in the ending or destruction of what was old,

More space is created for the evolution of what is new.

Destruction clears the energy for creation.

Making space for something new to be reborn.

Just like the circular connections of our breath.

We birth or we inhale.

We sustain or we hold the breath.

We destroy or we exhale.

Then we rebirth,

Taking another inhale.

This is a part of the constant eternal cycle.

To create,

Something must be destroyed.

Reflect on any endings you have been navigating.

Take what you gained from the previous chapter or ending.

Any lessons,

Connections,

Newfound strength or depth.

And bring it with you through the portal.

To your new beginning.

As you lie here in this final ending pose,

Allow yourself to fully surrender to the ending.

Whatever ending that is in your life right now.

Embracing it with ease.

Exhaling any resistance.

Releasing any fight.

Open your palms towards the sky and let it go.

Let it end.

Without moving your body just yet.

Just become aware of the ending.

Of this Shavasana corpse pose.

Linger in this space of the ending.

As the pose and the practice draws to a close.

Feel yourself suspended in this space of the very end and the very beginning.

Stepping through the portal of transition with ease.

Take a deep inhale through the nose.

Feel the front body reach for the sky.

Then exhale fully.

Back body tethers into the earth.

Continue these deep breaths.

Connecting you to both sky and earth.

As the breath deepens,

Your awareness becomes more external.

Extending that awareness towards your fingers and toes.

Consciously move your fingers and toes ever so slightly.

Eventually making those movements a little bit larger.

Rolling the wrists and ankles.

Rocking the back of the skull side to side.

Ease into this ending with a new beginning.

Stretching your arms overhead.

Bringing energy back to the whole body.

Close your practice in any position you would like.

Whether that is in Shavasana pose,

In a fetal position on your side,

Or in an easy seat.

Whichever pose you decided to close your practice in,

Bring your hands to heart in a prayer.

Feeling the circular shape of your arms.

Creating this eternal connection and union within your own body.

Let's close the practice by inhaling and bringing thumbs up to the space between your eyebrows,

Honoring your higher self.

And as you exhale,

Bow towards the heart by tucking the chin into chest with a deep sense of gratitude for yourself,

This practice,

And the gift of an ending.

Thank you so much for joining me in this practice today.

May you find peace and acceptance in whatever ending is happening in your life.

Reviews

Thank you for this lovely practice, everything I was in need of !