Welcome.
My name is Antonia and I am looking forward to guiding you through today's pranayama and meditation.
We will begin with the four purifications pranayama,
The purpose of which is to cleanse the nadis,
Or subtle body energy channels to prepare the body for meditation.
We practice the four purifications together to allow for prana to flow freely and naturally.
The four practices are considered complementary,
As they each are meant to purify different areas of the body using different types of breaths.
Today's prompts are kept to a minimum to maximize practice time.
If you would like to learn the four purifications in more detail,
I invite you to visit my tutorials three through seven for in-depth instruction on each of these methods.
Let's begin.
Find a comfortable seat in a chair or any meditation posture.
Keep your head,
Neck,
And back tall but relaxed so that energy can ascend to your higher chakras.
Close your eyes or keep a soft gaze,
Whichever is most comfortable to you,
And take a couple of deep breaths.
Breathe in deeply through your nose and exhale.
Let's do two more of these.
Take a deep inhale through your nose and breathe it all out.
Exhale all the way in and exhale.
And return to your natural rhythm and start focusing on your breath.
Exhale it all the way in and all the way out.
Let's begin with the four purifications.
The first one is Nadi Shorana,
Subtle energy channel cleansing or alternate nostril breathing.
This is a yogic breath.
With your right hand in Vishnu mudra,
Breathe in a horseshoe pattern.
In through the left nostril,
Out to the right,
And then back in through the right,
Out through the left.
This constitutes one round.
Concentration is on your Agnya or third eye chakra.
Let's do eight to ten rounds as time allows,
Beginning when you're ready.
I will set the timer for five minutes.
Let this be your last round.
Kapalabhati,
Skull shining.
Take a natural inhale followed by a series of mildly forced exhalations and reflexive inhales performed in a rhythmic fashion.
Concentration is at Agnya chakra or third eye chakra.
Let's do two rounds,
40 to 60 breaths.
Concentration is on your Agnya chakra or third eye chakra.
Let's do two rounds,
45 to 60 breaths.
Agnissar Dhati Firewash Beginning with a complete exhale,
Holding the breath out and pumping the abdomen.
Do as many pumps as you are comfortable on an out-held breath.
Concentration is at Manipura chakra or your solar plexus chakra.
Let's do two rounds.
Take a full yogic inhale,
Holding the breath in and rhythmically contracting and releasing the anal sphincter muscle.
Do as many contractions as you are comfortable on an in-held breath.
Concentration is at Muladhara chakra or root chakra.
Let's do two rounds.
Concentration is at Muladhara chakra or root chakra.
Once you've completed the four purifications,
Return to your natural breath and observe any effects these practices might have had on your body and mind.
We will now move into a 10-minute meditation.
If you need to adjust your seat,
You can do so now as mindfully as you can.
This meditation will begin with some guidance followed by stillness and a single bowl strike at the five-minute mark to help you bring your attention back to your breath.
Three strikes of the bowl will signal the completion of our meditation together.
Finding stillness and ease in the present moment,
In the calm after pranayama,
Connected to your breath with an open heart,
Grounded in your seat.
In today's meditation,
We will visualize a bright light as a protective cloak or halo around your body.
You can also visualize a bright shining orb or a warm flame or maybe a container of light.
Picture in your mind as being surrounded by light,
Making you feel calm and secure.
The light acts like a shield,
Deflecting any vritti or thoughts that enter the mind.
It is like a spiritual armor that gently turns away thoughts that pass through as you sit in meditation.
Every time a thought comes in,
The light protects your mindful state from being disturbed.
You can also visualize a bright shining orb or a warm flame or a container of light.
This is the light that is in your mind as a protective cloak or halo around your body.
In today's meditation,
We will visualize a bright shining orb or a warm flame or a container of light.
In today's meditation,
We will visualize a bright shining orb or a warm flame or a container of light.
Enjoy this feeling of being safe and protected by your spiritual shield of protective light.
In today's meditation,
We will visualize a bright shining orb or a container of light.
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