Welcome to Elevate.
I'm Nina Englander.
Thanks for joining me.
Elevate is a process that focuses on the energy centers in the body in order to move into a place of peace and awareness,
No matter what's going on in your life or in the world.
Elevate can be used daily as a short and sweet mindfulness exercise,
Or it can be used more intentionally to help you move toward a goal or manifest something in your life that you feel might bring you more happiness.
Today we're going to focus on the root chakra,
The energy center at the base of your spine.
Orienting yourself to the root chakra can help you feel more grounded and stable.
This is a good process to do when you're feeling overwhelmed or have too much in your head about something.
Bringing energy to the root anchors us in the physical world and helps us to feel more safety and belonging and helps us get out of our head.
So let's begin.
Find yourself a comfortable seated position with your back upright.
You can be fully relaxed and if you're comfortable doing so,
You can close your eyes.
And as you settle in,
Notice any sounds around you.
Try not to judge,
Just notice.
Now begin to tune into your breath in its natural rhythm.
Notice the breath coming in how it feels cool in the nose and notice the breath going out,
How the air coming out feels warm in the nose.
And let's do this for a moment,
Maybe making those breaths a little deeper.
Going at your own pace.
Focus on the air coming in on the in-breath.
Focus on the air going out on the out-breath.
Continuing this easy breath pattern,
Bring your awareness to the chest and abdomen.
Feel the air coming in and filling the lungs.
And then as the air comes out,
Notice the lungs softening and relaxing.
The breath is our anchor throughout our session.
When you notice that you're starting to drift off or starting to plan the rest of your day or having distracting thoughts,
And you will,
Acknowledge them,
Give them a little polite nod,
And then come back to the breath.
Now bring your awareness to the inside of your body.
Start by focusing attention on the very bottom of your spine,
The area around your coccyx or where a tail would be if you had a tail.
This is the root chakra,
The first chakra.
And while you continue to breathe in your regular pattern now imagine a ball of energy or light forming at the bottom of your tailbone.
Imagine that light circling,
Spinning,
Getting a little bigger.
Can you feel that vibration of energy there?
It might feel like a pleasant buzzing or a warm feeling.
This is a skill that doesn't necessarily come naturally to everyone,
But gets easier with practice.
So if you aren't feeling it right away,
That's okay.
Start by visualizing a ball of light at the tailbone.
Maybe it has a color.
Now imagine a small light green shoot starting to sprout out of your tailbone.
It's small and very,
Very pale green at first,
But as it grows it gets thicker and greener.
See if you can feel it sprouting out of the tailbone and descending down very slowly through the floor,
Into the ground as if you are planting roots that are going to dig deep into the earth.
Even if you're sitting on a high floor of an apartment building,
Send that root down through all of the floors below you and into the earth.
Now sit for a minute with the sensation of being grounded into the earth and feel the warmth and vibration in your tailbone area and enjoy the connection.
Imagine that as you are sending this loving energy into the earth,
The earth is sending her loving energy back up the root and into your body.
This is a symbiotic relationship,
Each feeding the other.
Continue to breathe as you sit in this connection.
Imagine that you are a tree.
You are a big,
Beautiful tree that has long roots going solidly into the ground.
That grounding allows you to grow upward into the forest canopy and spread your branches overhead.
Feel what the tree might feel about its roots,
How the roots are what nourish it and give it stability and allow it to communicate with other trees.
As you conjure up this positive feeling,
Feel it in your body and begin to give gratitude for something that makes you feel stable or strong or give gratitude to trees that give us so much of what we need and keep that grounding connection to the earth.
When you notice the thoughts coming in,
Just simply notice and acknowledge,
Oh,
Thinking.
Then you can gently move back to the breath.
You can stay breathing here in this connected place for as long as you like.
You can always pause the recording if you want more time.
And as we bring this practice to a close and you begin to come back to the present moment,
You can start to wiggle your toes and fingers,
Maybe take a little stretch where you feel you need it and open your eyes.
Thank you so much for elevating with me today.
I hope you carry this feeling with you into your day or your night.
May you feel safe.
May you feel grounded and connected and that you belong.
