As we begin our meditation practice,
Slowly move into a comfortable seated position,
Suited for your body at this moment in time.
Each day can feel different.
An important step is to give yourself the permission to be here fully,
To completely relax,
To be still in body and commit to the best of your ability,
To search for stillness in the mind.
We are here to move away from external distractions,
To set aside that which occupies so much of our day,
To move away from all thoughts and ways of thinking which are not serving us,
To let them fade,
Even if just for this short while.
With intention,
Straighten up through the spine,
Grounding down to your sit bones and extending out to the crown of the head,
Hands resting gently wherever feels most natural to you,
Palms facing up and open,
Shifting now into stillness,
Into focus.
Meditation at its core is no more than these two things.
Once there,
We take some time to further scan the body and release any areas of remaining tension.
Some we don't even notice because we are so used to being tense all day.
Areas like the muscles of the face and the shoulders,
Relax them downward,
The arms and the hands,
Let them become heavy,
The hips and feet,
Let the ground take their full weight,
Deep into any or all of these areas,
And as if your exhale can pull all the remaining tension out with it,
Let everything go.
I'm moving our focus inward to the sensation of your breath moving through the body.
Feel your breath as it flows in through the nose and deep down into the lower lungs,
Expanding into your belly,
Side body,
And lower back.
Over time,
We bring the breath to a smooth and equal cadence between the inhale and exhale,
And in doing so,
We bring balance to the energy,
The prana it carries.
In this practice,
We are working with the mantra Soham.
Soham is translated as I am everything,
Or I am that,
And in yogic philosophy,
It means identifying oneself with the universe or ultimate reality.
It's a universal and natural mantra because it is present within everybody as our breath.
If you listen closely,
Our breath naturally creates the sound of So during inhalation during inhalation and Ham during exhalation.
Today,
We will intentionally add the sound ourselves internally,
And over the course of the meditation,
Aim to see if the sound of our breath and the inner mantra become one.
Begin to softly attach this mantra to your inhales and exhales internally,
Inhaling So,
Exhaling Ham.
Envision the sound being created by your breath,
Completely immersing yourself in this ancient mantra.
Every time the mind wanders,
You can return to this mantra to guide us forward.
This will be the practice for the next little while.
Know that I will be here to guide you back when it is time to move on.
Let the repetition slowly fade from your mind,
Coming just a whisper,
And eventually only a memory.
Maintain your posture,
Maintain your inward focus,
Awareness staying on your breath.
It is believed that Soham is an answer to Koham,
Koham meaning who am I?
The universe answers this question with Soham,
Communicating that you are the same as I am.
To close the practice,
We bring the hands together at the heart and then raise them up,
Bringing the backs of the thumbs to the area of the third eye.
Take a small moment of gratitude for this practice and for yourself.
I know I am grateful to you for sharing your time with me.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Namaste.
