Welcome to today's guided meditation.
As you exhale,
I invite you to settle in and feel the weight of your sit bones connect with the earth.
As you connect with the sit bones grounding you,
Feel them like your two feet connecting you with the earth.
And if you happen to be seated on a chair,
Also feel the base of your feet connected with the earth.
Notice if it feels more rooted on one side compared to the other.
See if you can make any small adjustments,
Maybe wiggling your hips very slightly or adjusting your feet slightly.
And then as you settle in,
If it feels good for you,
I invite you to let your eyes half or fully close,
Taking a moment to arrive in your midday.
For those of us joining live,
This is midday.
Maybe if you are watching this on recording,
You might be doing this at any other time of the day.
And as you tune from outside,
Outwards to inwards,
Start by noticing the sensations in the most physical,
Most outward layer of you,
Your physical body.
Can you feel the weight,
Shape and form of your physical body?
The points of contact of your body with the ground or the chair beneath you,
Supporting you.
We'll take three breaths and then with each exhale,
The invitation is to let go of any unnecessary weight you are carrying and let that release down through these points of support.
So let's take a deep breath in and then a long breath out.
If you wish,
You can sigh it out.
Feel the ground or the chair supporting you.
We'll do this two more times.
Deep breath in and then long breath out.
Let's try this one more time.
Deep breath in and a long breath out.
Ah Connecting with the most superficial layer of you,
Feeling the weight,
Shape and form of your physical body.
Within yoga,
The panchamaya kosha or the five sheaths,
Five koshas,
This is your most superficial,
The most outward body or layer of you.
See if you can connect with that feeling of being in your body and connected with your body.
And now with your next exhale,
Guide your awareness a little bit deeper,
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath.
As you notice the rise and fall of your breath,
Notice that there are four seasons of your breath.
There's your breath in,
The slight pause after that breath in when your breath is full.
There's your breath out when the breath leaves your body.
And then there's that slight pause,
That emptiness when the breath has left your lung.
Connect with these four seasons of your breath.
And today,
For the rest of today's meditation,
The invitation is to connect more with the transition,
That's the pause right after your exhale,
And then gliding into that inhale,
Which mirrors the transition of winter into springtime.
So after you exhale,
There's that slight pause of emptiness,
Which is the winter season,
The water element.
And then after that emptiness,
There's that rush and there's rising of that full breath in,
Which is this rising energy of the word element of springtime.
See if you could feel that transition that we often describe within yin yoga as the transition from the peak of yin energy into rising yang energy.
As you continue with your breath,
Noticing this pulsation,
And through this pulsation,
Connecting with your energetic layer,
Your panchamaya kosha sheath.
Feel that this layer is more subtle than your physical body,
And feel it ebb and flow along with your breath.
As you observe the ebb and flow of this breath,
With your next exhale,
Let your awareness drop even deeper within you.
As you let your awareness drop even deeper,
Notice the part of you inside that hears the sound of my voice,
That notices the sound of my voice and the words that are being said,
And that these sounds map on to words,
And the words,
When put together in a specific way,
They convey meaning.
That's the layer of you that connects with your mental body,
That processes and is able to take in the world and make sense of it.
Sense and feel that part of you and connect with your mental body.
And as you stay connected with both your physical body,
Your energetic body,
Your mental body,
These three most superficial layers or sheaths of you,
With your next exhale,
Let your breath drop even deeper,
And let that arise,
And let that connect you with your intuitive body,
The part of you that knows and knows that it know.
Within the five elements in the practice of yin yoga and qigong,
There are also the five spirits,
And the spirit connected with the word element is that of your intuition,
The ability to see in situations where you might feel blocked or unsure,
But tap into that deeper knowing that is beyond an everyday consciousness.
Exhale and let yourself reside there.
As the darkness and the cold of winter gently descends,
And the rising energy of spring comes to surface,
Connect with this energy and let yourself,
With your eyes closed,
See the full possibility for what this new cycle and this new year can and will bring for you.
What would you like to welcome and manifest this new cycle,
This spring season?
Ask yourself this question,
And be patient as you allow the answer to be revealed to you.
As you stay connected with your deeper knowing,
With your next exhale,
Let your awareness drop even further inwards into the deepest layer or sheath of you.
At the center of you,
Deep within,
In a place and space that only you can access,
Resides your bliss layer or your bliss body,
Your ananda maya kosha.
As you exhale,
Allow yourself to reside,
Relax,
And be fully present here.
Return to the remembrance of the true nature of your being.
Feel that sense of bliss permeating and saturating all of you as you reside connected here with the deepest part of you.
Feel all five layers,
All five sheaths of you deeply connected from the most superficial to the most deep.
Feel and sense and embrace all of you as you are here and now.
With your next inhale,
Connect with your bliss body,
And as you exhale,
From the well of your heart,
Feel this bliss overflow,
Spilling over from this deepest core and center of your being.
Into your intuitive layer,
Feel it overflow into your mental layer,
Feel it overflow into your energetic layer,
And feel it saturate also your physical layer,
Your body,
Filling all the spaces and places within you that need a reminder of the true nature of your being,
Of who you are,
And what it is you are welcoming into this world,
Into your life.
You are welcome to reside for as long as this feels good for you.
Connecting with all five layers of you,
Embracing this transition from this stillness,
This dark patience and deep energy of winter,
Into that creativity and possibility of spring and this wood element energy.
If and when you feel you'd like to transition to conclude this meditation practice,
With your next breath in,
From that pause after your exhale,
Feel the breath of spring,
Of the wood element,
Enter your nostrils.
Let that invigorate you,
And let that create endless possibilities for all that is your heartfelt intention,
For everything that you'd like to create and manifest,
And welcome into your life,
This new cycle and this spring season.
And then with your next exhale,
Release that breath and reside in that sense of support,
Knowing that having been here,
Connecting with yourself,
With all of you,
All aspects and layers of your being,
What you are seeking is seeking you.
All that you are hoping to manifest,
It is in your heart already true.
Gently and slowly,
I invite you to join me as we bring both our palms together,
Uniting left and right,
Yin yang,
Shiva shakti,
In a gesture of prayer and gratitude,
In the front of your heart,
Acknowledging all five layers and sheaths of you,
And let your head bow down towards your heart,
Towards these five layers and the deepest layer of you,
Connecting with your inner wisdom,
Acknowledging your inner teacher.
And then gently and slowly,
If your eyes are closed,
Slowly let them blink open.
Thank you so much for choosing to be here and practice with us,
With me today for this guided meditation.
