Go ahead and take your seat.
You can sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground and your hands gently resting on your thighs.
Or you can be seated on a cushion with your legs crossed in front of you and your hands resting gently on your thighs.
You want to sit upright in an alert posture but not one that's uncomfortable.
And you can close your eyes for this practice or gaze softly downward a couple inches in front of you.
Take a couple moments now to settle into the space and into the room and notice and welcome the sounds that you hear near and far.
Sound is never a barrier to meditation.
And relax your body.
And as you do move your chest so it's lifted and this way you can breathe easily.
Tuck your chin in slightly and relax your shoulders down and back.
If during this practice you need to shift your position feel free to do so mindfully.
If you'd like to open your eyes do so then close them again and return to the meditation.
Begin by taking three long slow deep breaths.
Exhaling slowly and deeply through your nostrils and exhaling slowly and fully through your nostrils.
This sends a signal to your body to relax even more deeply.
Inhale slowly through your nostrils feeling your belly expand.
And exhale slowly through your nose feeling your belly fall.
Inhale feel your belly expand.
And exhale feel your belly fall.
Now try to match the length of the inhale and the exhale.
And inhale for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One and exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale through your nose feeling your belly strengthen.
And exhale through your nose feeling your belly expand.
Now return to your natural breathing.
There's no need to control it or regulate it in any way.
Just let it be natural,
A natural easy breath.
And throughout this practice you'll breathe naturally,
Ideally through your nose.
If during this practice strong emotions arise,
There's no need to judge them as good or bad,
Right or wrong.
Allow them to be as they are.
Sit with the sensations until they no longer command your attention.
And then come back to the meditation.
It's your time to let go of expectations and to be kind to yourself.
Place your attention on your throat and notice the sensations.
Does it feel dry,
Tight,
Clogged in any way?
Is there an aching or a soreness?
Now place your attention at the base of your throat.
And imagine the color blue circling this area.
And silently say,
Hum,
Hum.
Placing your attention on this mantra,
Hum,
Hum.
Whenever you notice your attention has drifted away from the mantra to a sound or a sensation or a thought,
Gently refocus.
It doesn't matter how many times you have to refocus.
Remember meditation is a practice.
Be kind to yourself.
If you're waiting for something to happen,
Return your attention to the mantra.
There's nothing to figure out.
No particular feeling you should feel.
You are exactly where you need to be.
Time,
Num.
According to the Hindu tradition of Tantra,
It's possible to clear out the chakra by repeating the mantra and focusing on the location of the chakra,
In this case the throat.
Whenever your attention has drifted,
Gently refocus.
It doesn't matter how many times you have to refocus.
It doesn't matter how many times you have to refocus.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Stop repeating the mantra.
And imagine you are inhaling a white light into the throat area.
Inhale this white light into the throat area.
And then exhale any feelings of discomfort or blackness.
Inhale white light and exhale the clutter in the area,
What is clogged in the area.
Visualize your throat clearing of anything that may be blocking it.
Continue to inhale a white light and exhale discomfort.
With your eyes so closed,
Let go of the white light and give yourself some deeper breaths.
Begin to notice your physical body,
The sounds you hear near and far.
Then wiggle your fingers,
Circle your head and stretch out into the space around you.
It's important to come out of meditation slowly so take your time,
There is no rush.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
Notice the shapes and colors and objects that surround you.
And take your time to move slowly back into activity.
