We begin our practice by finding a comfortable seat.
Could be in a chair with the feet placed on the floor,
Sitting against a wall or on a cushion.
And this is a silent meditation practice which is called Soham meditation.
It is an internal mantra that we coordinate with the breath and the movement of our awareness.
We'll begin the practice by coming into the heart,
Taking a few breaths in the center of the chest and the heart.
And then bringing your awareness up to the crown of the head and taking a few breaths.
And now bring your awareness into the inhalation,
Breathing in through the nose,
Directly to the center of the heart,
The center of the chest.
And as you exhale,
Follow this breath back out,
Up the chest and out the nostrils.
And do this practice a few times as you settle into your body.
Relax.
And breathe in through the nostrils to the heart.
And out from the heart,
Back out through the nostrils.
The next time you breathe in again,
Being aware of the breath,
Moving in through the nostrils to the heart.
But now the exhale moves our awareness from the heart up through the crown,
Through the midline of the body,
All the way out through the crown of the head and the space just above the top of the head.
The inhale draws the awareness back down into the heart.
And the exhale moving up through the crown of the head.
And the breath can be soft and relaxed.
It doesn't need to be forced.
It doesn't need to be incredibly deep.
As you concentrate on this awareness to the heart on the inhalation and to the crown on the exhalation.
And now we'll add the internal repetition of the mantra,
SO HUM.
Breathing in to the heart and hearing or repeating internally the sound SO.
Breathing out through the crown,
Hearing or repeating internally the sound HUM.
The sound is the sound of the breath itself.
SO on the inhale and HUM on the exhale.
Allow this repetition to be soft,
Not forceful,
Just as the breath is soft.
And you may notice as we sink into this practice that the breath gets softer and softer.
If that is your experience,
Allow that to happen.
And eventually the breath might actually pause,
Coming to a still point.
In the gap between your exhale and inhale,
Focus on the space in the crown of the head.
And we'll continue this practice for the next 10 minutes.
Gently let go of the practice.
Letting go of the mantra.
Letting go of your awareness of the breath.
And take a few moments to integrate this practice into your being.
Noticing the effects in the physical body.
Noticing any energetic effects.
Observing any emotions that are present.
The effects in the mind.
Even on a spiritual level.
And we offer gratitude for this practice,
For the knowledge of these teachings which have been passed down over thousands of years.
And the presence of love and truth in our lives.
May you take this presence and this space with you throughout your day.
Namaste.
