Thank you for joining me in today's guided practice.
This is a series of three focusing on disentanglement from false and limiting self-perceptions,
Imposed by our psychological imprints.
In the first of the three-part series,
We engaged in self-study,
Using basic breath awareness as the conduit.
Today's practice is the second step of this process,
In which I will lead you on self-identifying samskaras or the behavior grooves dug through repetitive behaviors.
We will examine these,
Studying them so we can release what does not serve us.
And in step three,
We will engage in contemplative exercises and mantras,
Returning again and again to these mantras in order to arrive at an intuitive,
Transparent vision of self.
I recommend doing these guided practices in a relaxed,
Seated position in order to maintain active engagement.
I also recommend keeping a journal or notepad nearby to write down any thoughts or emotions that come up now or that may surface later on.
It is a helpful tool you can go back to and reflect on as you move through all three practices.
According to yogic philosophy,
We are born with a karmic inheritance of mental and emotional patterns known as samskaras,
Through which we cycle over and over again during our lives.
We will use today's meditation practice as the arena in which you can witness your deeply ingrained habits and thoughts.
Gently close your eyes and let's begin our journey.
With your eyes closed,
Turn the gaze upward,
Gazing towards your third eye center.
That is the point between your eyebrows.
The mind's attention is gently held at that point.
It is a fixed gazing,
Not a staring or straining.
Like our practice in the first of our series,
We must bring awareness to our breath.
Begin here to feel your breath.
Place one hand on your heart and one on your abdomen.
Feel the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe.
Notice the expansion in your abdomen on your inhale and the grounding through your sitz bones on your exhale.
Become aware of the length of your inhale and of your exhale.
Through this awareness of the breath cycle,
We bring greater sensation and awareness to our samskaras and begin our journey of exchanging the negative for positive ones.
This is how we grow.
Continue for a few breaths here.
Now we will turn our breathing to engage in what's known as the resurrection breath.
This breathing technique will assist you in maintaining vigilance and refraining from the physical,
Mental and emotional pull towards the places we often gravitate to.
Let's begin.
Turn your head over your left shoulder and double exhale out through an open mouth.
This is symbolic of leaving the past behind.
On your inhale,
Turn your head back to center.
Now turn your head to your right shoulder and as you exhale gently blow the air out through pursed lips.
This is symbolic of extending the future from grasp.
Return the head to the center position having established a ritual of new beginning.
Repeat this process.
After you complete a few breaths,
Bow your chin towards your heart center allowing yourself to consciously connect to the present moment with greater focus and clarity before we go on in our next phase.
Come back to a natural,
Gentle breath.
And as we practice our natural breath,
Relax,
Letting the breath flow in and out.
Begin to catch each thought as it arises.
And as those thoughts arise,
Simply label it as positive or negative.
Now the hard part is decide if it truly is positive or negative.
To assist you,
I invite you to ask yourself,
Is this thought helpful or unhelpful?
Is this thought true or untrue?
Discard those labeled negative,
Unhelpful or untrue as quickly as possible and shift your attention back to your third eye center or engage in that resurrection breathing practice we just did together.
Practice this exercise as much as possible throughout the day,
Catching those thoughts that no longer serve you and shifting your focus.
This is the path to carving a new groove,
One that is more powerful than the old.
The more you reinforce the new groove,
The stronger it will become.
This will demand fearlessness.
Be fearless.
Detecting movement patterns and engaging the breath,
The focus,
Will help us disconnect from repeating the lightning fast responses that activate those old samskaras.
Commit to the daily work of your practice.
Revisit these exercises here today as often as you need to.
Continued renewal of your commitment to changing samskaras will create the discipline from which you can draw on when you need to,
Ultimately awakening your true self.
And as we begin to come to the close of our practice today,
Remember most importantly to be kind and compassionate to yourself.
Exploring and examining these negative aspects of your mind can leave you feeling beat up in your heart and broken down in your spirit.
Be kind to yourself,
Acknowledging that these techniques are difficult and challenging to practice.
And give yourself permission to be loving and caring to your heart and to your mind when exploring the suffering our minds often create in our lives.
In fact,
Make a list of the things that feel especially nurturing to you,
And do those things when the need for self-kindness arises.
With this,
I leave you until next time.
Namaste.
