Breath Mantra Meditation - Wise Concentration

Breath Mantra Meditation also known as the practice of Ajapa Japa, is an excellent and instant practice for a busy mind. In this practice, we provide many 'tasks' for the mind and as the mind is occupied with them we allow a pure and calming sense of presence to enter our being.

In this practice, we will be introduced to the mantra of the breath - SO HAM. Chanting this mantra helps to develop wise concentration as we can steadily focus on our breath.
This practice is very calming and grounding.

Transcript

Welcome.

We are about to practice a short meditation of wise concentration,

Breath meditation.

This practice helps to concentrate and ease a busy mind.

In a way,

We keep the mind busy through this practice with different tasks.

And as the mind is busy with these tasks,

We actually sneak in and welcome presence through the back door.

You'll be introduced to the mantra of the breath through this practice,

A very healthy tool to connect to whenever we feel an instant need to become present.

So first,

Make sure your setting is beneficial for the practice,

Finding a quiet room with minimum distractions.

And then take some time to find a comfortable sitting position.

If it's down on the floor,

Maybe elevate your sitting position by sitting on a folded blanket or a bolster or a cushion,

Or maybe you prefer sitting on a chair or on a sofa.

It is rather important that you stay comfortable.

So take the time,

Find the most suitable sitting position for you.

And once you're settled,

Closing the eyes.

Allow the hands to rest on your knees.

And if you want,

You can bring the hands into a mudra.

A mudra is a psychic gesture.

You can see it as something like closing an energetic circle.

So one example of a mudra is we can take the tips of our fingers and lightly press them against the tips of our thumbs or the root of the thumbs.

Palms can be facing down or palms can be facing up.

So experiment with one of those two options if you wish and stay with it.

Now bring awareness to the physical body,

To the right foot,

The right leg and the right baddic,

The left foot,

Left leg and left baddic.

Feel the contact of the base of the body against the ground,

Against the floor,

And sense the gentle pull of gravity down towards the earth.

Start getting a sense of the weight of each leg as though you are able to weigh it independently.

Gauge the weight of the right leg and gauge the weight of the left leg.

And allow the weight of the body to be distributed evenly between the right side and the left side.

Then visualize the body sitting and observe the body from behind,

Observing the back of the body and dividing the body in half,

Drawing an imaginary line where the spine is and dividing the body into the left side and the right side.

And as you observe the body sitting from the back,

Visualize the left side to be completely identical to the right side.

Symmetrical and identical,

Both shoulders at the same height,

Head completely centered and not leaning towards one side.

Gently now tuck the chin down towards the chest ever so gently and feel the back of the neck elongating and pulling up the spine with it,

Elongating the whole spine.

Make sure the chin doesn't sink too much down or is not lifted up too much,

Completely centered.

Soften the face,

Soften the jaw,

Soften your shoulder blades.

Open down into the ground.

Bring a gentle awareness to sounds coming outside the room,

Welcoming all sounds evenly like a microphone.

Now bring awareness to sounds within the room and sounds of the body,

Listening to the sound of the breath entering and leaving the nose.

Bring a gentle awareness now to the mouth.

For a few moments let your tongue just roll and slide inside the mouth,

Maybe sensing any sensations of moisture.

And eventually let the tongue rest and let the tip of the tongue touch the meeting point between the upper gums and the upper teeth,

Gently resting there.

And this contact point is also considered a mudra,

A psychic gesture known as a modified version of Kecheri mudra.

So just resting now with the tongue lightly touching the contact point between the upper gums and the upper teeth,

Hands resting in a mudra,

Feeling the gentle pressure of the fingers and keep listening to the sound of the breath.

Now we'll perform Ujjayi breath.

If you're not familiar with this breathing technique,

Ujjayi breath is achieved by slightly constricting the throat.

And by doing that the inhalation and the exhalations become longer and softer and more audible.

It's the sound we would make if for example we were to fog up our glasses on the exhalation and it's the same sound,

Trying to achieve that same sound on the inhalation by constricting the throat a little bit.

So try it for a few rounds.

And the sound that's being produced might sound a bit like a baby snoring or perhaps the sound of ocean waves crashing from a distance.

Find your point of ease with this breathing technique.

Don't feel like you have to overdo it.

The sound can be very gentle.

And sometimes it also helps to visualize that you're breathing in and out through a little hole in the throat.

And what Ujjayi does,

It helps us to slow down the breathing and make it more controlled.

It's a very calming breathing technique.

So stay aware,

Listening to the sound of Ujjayi,

The sound of a baby snoring.

At the same time keep sensing the tip of the tongue lightly touching the roof of the mouth and the sensations of your fingers touching in the mudra of your choice.

And keep on performing Ujjayi.

And with each breath start visualizing the energy moving throughout the body.

With the inhalation energy is moving up and with the exhalation energy moving down,

Establishing that connection between breath and those polar forces of heaven and earth.

And to help this process imagine a frontal passage.

And in this energetic passage fluid like liquid mercury is lazingly flowing up with each inhalation all the way from the base of the body to the top of the head.

As you exhale this liquid mercury like substance is flowing down from the top of the head down towards the base of the body.

As this frontal passage with the energy moving up and down with each breath,

Simultaneously keep on listening to the sound of Ujjayi breath like the roar of waves crashing in the distance.

The touch of the tip of the tongue in Kecchari Mudra and the touch of your fingers in the mudra of your choice.

If you find that the awareness wanders that's totally fine and natural,

Gently and kindly bring it back whenever you notice that it may have drifted.

In that frontal passageway,

Each inhalation energy lazingly floating up with each exhalation energy flowing downwards towards the ground.

The sound of Ujjayi,

Tip of the tongue resting between the gums and the upper teeth,

Fingers in the mudra.

And now as you listen to the sound of the breath in Ujjayi,

Start listening out to the sound of the mantra of the breath.

Just listening out to it,

Establishing a pattern.

The mantra of the breath,

Soham,

Quite literally just imitates the sound of each inhalation Soh and each exhalation Hum.

But the mantra also has a meaning,

I am that or I am Shiva or Brahman,

Meaning I am pure consciousness.

And the way we use this mantra is we sound it inwardly.

With each inhalation we inwardly chant the sound Soh.

And with each exhalation we inwardly chant the sound Hum.

For example,

If the inhalation is very long,

We simply dress the sound Soh on the entire length of the inhalation.

Soh.

If the exhalation for example is short,

We just dress the sound Hum on the length of the exhalation.

If it's short,

Hum.

If it's long,

Hum.

Start practicing now,

Chanting inwardly the sound of the breath,

The mantra of the breath Soham.

Allow the breath to be natural while still practicing Ujjayi,

Dressing the sound of the mantra on the length of each inhalation and each exhalation.

So this tool of the mantra Soham really helps us to stay with the breath.

The breath is one of our best companions,

Always with us as long as we're around,

And always an instant tool to connect with the present moment.

If the awareness drifts,

Kindly and gently bring it back to the mantra Soham.

Keep visualizing the frontal passageway,

Energy lifting up with the inhalation,

Sinking down with the exhalation.

Keep on performing Ujjayi breath,

Throaty breath.

Sensing the tip of the tongue,

Touching the meeting point between the gams and the upper teeth in Kecchiri Mudra,

And sensing the touch of the hands and fingers in your mudra of choice.

Enough tasks for the mind to be busy with.

Click in once in a while,

Making sure the awareness hasn't drifted.

If it has,

Don't be angry,

Be kind.

Just like training a puppy.

Gently bring the awareness back to the practice.

Explain,

Free a.

And as you keep on chanting the mantra Soham inwardly,

Switch the emphasis around to Ham Soh.

So Soh is still dressed on the length of the inhalation,

Hum still dressed on the length of the exhalation,

Nothing changed here,

But simply the emphasis of our inner pronunciation changes.

Hum Soh.

So switching the emphasis around,

More emphasis on the exhalation.

.

Keep on performing Ujjayi breath,

Keep on visualizing the frontal passageway and the movement of energy up and down with the breath.

Keep on sensing Kecheri Mudra,

Tip of the tongue resting in the mouth,

And keep on sensing the touch of your fingers in the mudra of your choice.

.

Practicing the mantra Ham Soh.

.

And now release the mantra,

But keep on visualizing the movement of energy with the breath,

Movement through that frontal passageway,

Up with each inhalation,

Down with each exhalation.

Keep on performing Ujjayi breath,

Keep the tip of the tongue resting in Kecheri Mudra,

And keep the hands resting in the mudra of your choice.

With each inhalation feeling that connection with heaven,

The sky,

And with each exhalation the connection with the ground,

Body sinking towards the ground,

Body elevated up with each inhalation,

Grounding with each exhalation.

.

And now release the visualization of the frontal passageway,

And stay with Ujjayi breath,

Kecheri Mudra,

And the mudra of your hands and fingers,

Listening to the sound of Ujjayi,

Like gentle snoring of a baby,

The gentle roar of the ocean waves crashing in a distance,

Ujjayi breath.

.

And now release Ujjayi breath,

And simply stay with natural breath,

Stay with Kecheri Mudra with the tip of the tongue still resting,

Lightly touching the contact point between the upper gums and the upper teeth,

And sense the gentle pressure of your fingers in the mudra of your choice.

.

And you can release Kecheri Mudra now,

Let the tongue just rest anywhere it wants to,

Stay with natural breath,

Listen to the sound of the breath entering and leaving the nostrils,

.

Become aware maybe of the temperature of the breath,

Noticing if there's any difference in temperature between the inhalation and the exhalation,

.

Sensing that tingling of air with each inhalation and each exhalation,

And start becoming aware of the touch of air on any exposed parts of the skin,

The touch of clothing on the skin,

.

In the mudra of your choice,

Their contact with the knees,

And become more and more aware of the contact of your body with the ground or with the seat you're on,

The gentle pull of gravity down towards the ground,

.

Start listening to the sounds in the room,

And by listening to the sounds in the room,

Start determining the size of the room you're in,

Start visualizing the different objects in the room,

Their colors,

Colors of your clothing,

Your position in the room,

And your sitting posture,

And now allow the awareness to externalize further as you listen to sounds coming from outside the room,

And remember the time of day and visualize the activities happening outside,

And start externalizing the awareness more and more and placing yourself back in the world,

If there's any to-do lists,

Start recalling them and place yourself back in that world,

Externalizing the awareness further,

.

Knowing you have practiced a meditation practice of wise concentration using the breath meditation,

And the practice is now complete.

You can start wiggling the toes,

Moving the fingers,

Fluttering the eyelids,

And releasing the sitting position,

A good tool to further externalize is palming,

This is achieved by rubbing both hands together quite vigorously,

Keep rubbing them until you sense a real fiery sensation between the hands,

And when enough heat is generated,

Take the hands and cover your eyes with the hands,

Allow the head to just sink into the hands and be nourished by the heat,

And repeat the process as many times as needed,

And it actually helps if you feel like the legs might have gone numb,

Just place those warm hands on any numb areas,

And take your time until you feel ready to stand up again.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day.

Reviews

Excellent quality recording, great voice

By far, one of the best meditations on the app. Thank you🙏