My name is Erica Anderson.
This is a pranayama meditation focusing on the third eye or ajna chakra.
Buddhists call this the eye of consciousness.
In Sanskrit,
The word ajna means to perceive and command.
It's said to be linked to the pituitary gland,
Which is responsible for regulating serotonin,
Which is a neurotransmitter or chemical that mediates our satisfaction,
Our happiness,
And our optimism.
Serotonin also plays a key role in bodily functions such as mood,
Sleep,
Digestion,
Nausea,
Wound healing,
Bone health,
Blood clotting,
And sexual desire.
When this chakra is in balance,
We can tune into and trust our intuition and our imagination.
We see our lives with clarity,
Self-awareness,
And emotional balance.
This trust in our inner knowledge helps us to make balanced decisions and to experience the physical world around us with inner wisdom and light.
When unbalanced,
We might doubt ourselves and be close-minded.
We might feel lost and lack confidence and find ourselves reliant on others for validation and even permission.
We may feel paralyzed by indecision and seek someone else who can tell us what to do.
Physical sensations that may be present with an imbalance include tension in the brow area,
Headaches,
Eye strain,
Blurred vision,
Sinus issues,
Hearing problems,
Or dizziness.
In this meditation,
We'll perform nadi shodhana or alternate nostril breathing and we'll chant the bija mantra,
OM.
Let's practice nadi shodhana now.
Place the index and middle fingers of your right hand between your eyebrows.
This will help keep the focus on the ajna chakra.
Close your right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril for a count of four.
Hold the breath as you close the left nostril with your ring finger,
Releasing the right nostril and exhale through the right nostril for a count of four.
Keeping the left nostril closed,
Inhale through the right nostril for a count of four.
Now close the right nostril with the thumb,
Open the left nostril and exhale for a count of four.
It might be helpful to remember this pattern by thinking of switching nostrils after the in-breath.
There is a mudra or hand posture you can use during the chanting portion of the meditation.
This is the Hakini mudra and it's thought to promote awareness and focus which will lead us to better insight and intuition.
To practice it,
Bring your hands together with the fingertips and thumb tips in contact,
Leaving a space between the palms.
Have your thumbs pointing towards your body with your arms relaxed and your elbows pointed out to the sides.
The color associated with this chakra is indigo and the element of the third eye chakra is commonly stated as light.
Light gives us the ability to see,
To take in the shape and form of things around us from a distance.
Let's begin.
Go ahead and settle into your seat.
Allow your eyes to close or you can leave them slightly open with your gaze lowered.
As you're settling in,
Be lovingly intentional with how you adjust yourself.
For instance,
If you normally wiggle your bottom in your seat,
Notice the wiggle a little bit more today.
Place your feet on the ground intentionally.
Lay your hands in your lap or on your thighs intentionally.
Let your breath be natural.
Notice how your body breathes itself.
Notice how each inhale kind of just happens.
And it's followed by an exhale that also just happens.
Find comfort in this rhythm of your own breath.
Notice how it feels to trust this.
You can test this trust if you like by trying to hold your breath.
Soon enough,
Your body will expel that breath in order to draw the next one and it will do so effortlessly.
Notice the depth of your breath.
There's no good or bad.
Or right or wrong.
Just noticing.
Simply allowing yourself to be drawn into a deeper state of calm.
We can deepen this state of calm by being a bit more intentional with our breath.
Let's do that now by making your next few breaths a little bit slower.
A little bit longer.
And a little bit deeper.
Now bring your attention to your beautiful face.
And scan your face for any places you might be holding tension.
Perhaps you can release little bits of tension in your jaw by creating space between your back teeth.
Perhaps you can play with creating a bit of happy tension by letting yourself smile.
Smile a little.
And then releasing that smile as the muscles relax and you return to your resting face.
Move your focus to your eyes.
And to the space behind your eyes.
Conjure up some softness behind them.
And keep breathing.
Relax jaw.
Soft eyes.
And on your next inhale,
Move your attention to the area of your third eye chakra.
So under your closed or capped eyelids,
Gently roll your eyes inward as though you're crossing your eyes.
And look upward as though you're seeing the area of the third eye chakra.
This point of intuition.
This point of your own inner knowing.
Now see if you can tune into the feeling in this area.
Perhaps you can sense the movement of the chakra wheel as it spins like a spinning top.
And as it does so,
It emits a gorgeous deep indigo color.
The perfect mix of red and blue.
Your gentle attention feeds the chakra,
Encouraging it to keep spinning and moving that energy all the while.
Fueling the glowing light.
And as you hold on to that connection to the pulsing glowing indigo light,
Say to yourself,
I am receiving and I am trusting.
I am receiving and I am trusting.
I honor and trust my intuition.
I honor and trust my intuition.
I learn from my experiences.
I learn from my experiences.
I am connected to the universe.
I am connected to the universe.
I have clarity and peace of mind.
I have clarity and peace of mind.
And now you can let go of the imagery and the messages and linger for a moment in stillness.
We'll practice the Nadi Shodhana Pranayama now.
I'll guide you through the first few breath cycles.
Begin by placing the index and middle fingers of your right hand between your eyebrows to help you keep the focus on the third eye chakra.
Close your right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril for a count of four.
Pause at the top of the breath as you close the left nostril with your ring finger,
Releasing the thumb from the right nostril and exhale for a count of four through the right.
Keeping the left nostril closed,
Inhale through the right for a count of four.
Inhale through the left for a count of four.
Close the right nostril with your thumb.
Open the left nostril and exhale for a count of four.
Keeping the right nostril closed,
Inhale through the left for a count of four.
Close the left nostril.
Release the thumb from the right and exhale.
Keeping the left nostril closed,
Inhale through the right.
Close the right nostril and exhale through the left.
Inhale left.
Switch nostrils and exhale right.
Inhale right.
Switch nostrils and exhale left.
Inhale left.
Switch,
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Switch,
Exhale left.
Continue this on your own for three minutes and I'll keep track of the time.
If you lose your way,
Simply pause and breathe naturally and begin again whenever you're ready.
Now you can let go of that pranayama and let everything settle.
Just observe any activity in your body,
Your mind or your emotions.
Now we'll chant 11 rounds of the Bija mantra,
Aum.
If you want,
You can add the Hakini mudra with the fingertips and thumb tips of each hand in gentle contact.
With an open space between your palms,
Point your thumbs toward your body with your arms relaxed and your elbows pointed out to the sides.
We'll inhale together and on the exhale you can chant aloud or silently,
Aum.
Let's begin.
And inhale.
And on the exhale,
Aum.
Inhale.
Aum.
Inhale.
Inhale.
Aum.
Inhale.
Aum.
Inhale.
Inhale.
Inhale.
Aum.
Inhale.
Inhale.
Aum.
Inhale.
Aum.
Inhale.
Aum.
Let go of the mantra,
Then we'll sit in silence for 5 minutes and I'll keep track of the time.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Start to take some deeper breaths now as you begin to transition out of your practice.
Slowly reacquaint yourself with the sensation of being in your environment.
And take your time.
You might begin to wake your body up by bringing slow movements,
Perhaps circling your wrists and ankles.
You might adjust your arms and legs.
Simply allow for any movement that your body is asking you for.
Start to tune back into the sounds in your environment.
Notice your consciousness.
Notice your connection to the surface beneath you.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
