Welcome to Elevate Meditation.
I'm Nina Englunder and this is a body-centered mindfulness exercise that will help you focus and connect so you can walk through your day or settle into your night with more peace and clarity.
Let's begin.
Find yourself in a comfortable seated position,
Preferably with your back upright.
You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor and your hands in your lap or you can sit at the head of your bed or sit on the floor on a cushion,
Whatever feels neutral and comfortable.
And if you feel comfortable doing so,
Close your eyes.
As you settle in,
Notice any sounds around you.
Try not to judge them,
Just notice them or any smells or other sensations that you may have.
As you continue to settle in,
Begin to notice your breath,
Its natural rhythm in and out.
Notice the breath coming in,
How it feels cool in the nose on its way in.
Notice the breath going out,
How the air coming out feels warm in the nose.
Let's do this for a minute,
Maybe making those breaths a little deeper now,
Still going at your own pace.
Air coming in on the in-breath,
Cool.
Air going out on the out-breath,
Warm.
Thich Nhat Hanh even suggests that you can think silently to yourself with each breath.
This is the in-breath and this is the out-breath.
Continuing this easy breath pattern,
Imagine that as the air comes in it fills your lungs,
Like the inward surge of air into a bellows.
And then,
Like the bellows blowing air out,
Your lungs soften and relax.
Feel the rise and fall of the muscles around your ribcage,
The gentle bellows bringing the air in and expanding,
And the muscles relaxing as the air gently goes out.
Continue to breathe and we're going to begin to create some energy in the body and start to play with it.
We will use the energy centers,
Or the chakras,
As our anchors for elevating.
First,
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 were a dog or cat.
This is the first chakra,
Or the root chakra.
Imagine a ball of energy or light forming at the very bottom of your tailbone.
And imagine that light circulating in a ball,
Starting to spin and grow.
Try to feel the vibration of energy there.
It might feel like a pleasant buzzing or a hum,
Or it might feel like warmth.
Please know that this is a skill that doesn't come naturally to everyone,
But it can be learned with practice by anyone.
So if you aren't feeling it right away,
That's fine.
You can also visualize a ball of light,
Any color you choose,
That's forming down by your tailbone.
Now imagine that some of that vibration or warm energy or light is starting to sprout out of your tailbone and down,
Down into the earth,
As if you're sprouting roots that will dig deep into the earth and will ground you.
Sit for a moment with the sensation of being grounded into the earth and feeling the warmth and vibration and light in your tailbone area.
Try to enjoy that feeling of connection to the earth.
And imagine that the earth sends her energy up into your body,
Nourishing,
Grounding,
And healing.
At any time in this process,
If you are really enjoying these sensations,
And don't feel ready to move on,
Please feel free to pause the recording.
But when you are ready,
Let's turn our attention to expanding this feeling upward or elevating.
Bring this beautiful energy that you have created up to the space just under your belly button in your lower abdomen.
This is the second chakra or the sacral chakra.
Bring that vibrational energy or warmth or the visual of light into this space in your lower belly and begin to fill up that space with the energy that you're creating.
When you're ready to expand that energy again,
Let these sensations rise in a column to the area above your navel just under the ribcage.
This is the third chakra or the solar plexus.
Bring the vibration,
The warmth,
Or your ball of light to this place and feel it in the whole belly.
Feel the whole column of vibration and light that you have generated as you prepare to expand this line upward.
When you are ready to elevate again,
Bring your awareness to your heart center in the middle of your chest.
This is the fourth chakra also called the heart chakra.
Let the light and warmth and buzzing expand in your whole chest.
Imagine it feeding your emotional heart as well as your physical heart.
When you're ready,
Bring this energetic awareness to the center of your throat.
This is the fifth chakra or the throat chakra.
Let those sensations grow in the throat.
You can even sing or vocalize to help feel the vibrational energy in the throat chakra.
And when you're ready,
Let the sensations rise up into your head and land between your eyebrows.
This is your sixth chakra also known as the third eye.
Sometimes stimulation of the third eye area is sensitive.
So if this is not comfortable for you to bring that vibration there,
You can try to visualize some energy coming out of your third eye like you're wearing a headlamp,
Giving off light.
I love this metaphor using our energy and our light to illuminate our way.
Finally,
Bring your awareness to the very top of your head.
This is the seventh chakra also called the crown chakra.
As the energy and warmth and light rises to the very top of your body,
Pause for a minute.
Keep remembering that you're still rooted into the earth.
Continue your breathing.
And remember that line of beautiful energy that you've created and drawn up from the base of your spine to the very top of your head.
Now,
Just like you sent a line of energy as a route into the earth,
You are now going to send some energy and light from the very top of your head and imagine it going up into the sky and into the heavens.
Once it's connected,
There you are.
You are sitting between heaven and earth.
You are here.
You are connected,
Energized,
Vibrant.
You are whole.
You are part of everything and you are not alone.
Breathe here for as long as you like.
Before you leave this space and prepare to go back into your day or your night,
Choose one thing that you're grateful for today and hold it in your mind for a few breaths.
Bring a small smile to your lips as you give gratitude for that thing or for everything.
Now start to wiggle your fingers and toes.
Maybe take a little stretch where you need one.
Gently open your eyes.
Thank you so much for elevating with me today.
I leave you with some words from the Metta prayer.
May you feel peaceful and safe.
May you feel content.
May your heart and mind awaken and be free.
