Welcome to this practice surrounding friction and flow.
Exploring where your energy is moving freely and where it may be meeting resistance.
We will begin with a grounding breath,
Followed by Nadi Shodhana,
Which is alternate nostril breathing.
This is a yogic practice specifically designed to clear the energy channels and restore balance between effort and ease.
From there,
I will guide you into a brief somatic inquiry to help you locate friction in the mind and body.
And then we will move into the art prompt,
Drawing your personal energy as a stream.
We'll end with some journal prompts.
Let us begin.
Find a comfortable seat with your feet flat on the floor or legs crossed,
Whatever feels most supported for your body right now.
Let your hands rest softly in your lap.
You may close your eyes if that's comfortable or let your gaze soften towards the floor in front of you.
Begin simply by noticing your breath.
We won't change the breath yet,
Just notice the natural rhythm of the inhale and the exhale.
When you feel ready,
We will move into Nadi Shodhana or alternate nostril breathing.
This practice helps you clear your body's energy channels while restoring a sense of ease and flow.
If you are new to this practice,
Simply follow along at whatever pace feels comfortable.
First,
Raise the right hand towards your face and simply bring your right index finger and middle fingertip to rest gently towards the palm of your hand.
Begin by closing your right nostril gently with your right thumb.
Inhale slowly and completely through your left nostril.
And as you pause at the top of the breath,
Release the thumb and place your right ring finger against the left nostril.
Exhale slowly and completely through the right side.
Now inhale through the right nostril.
Release the ring finger and place the thumb on the right side.
Exhale through the left nostril.
This is one complete round.
Inhale again through the left nostril.
Pause,
Close the left and exhale through the right.
Pause.
Inhale through the right nostril.
Close the right nostril,
And then exhale through the left.
Continue at your own pace for the next several rounds of breath.
Okay.
When you feel ready,
Release your hands back to your lap and return to natural breathing through the mouth or both nostrils.
Notice any sensations.
And now from this place,
I invite you to turn your attention to the current of your own energy right now.
Imagine it as a small stream.
Bring to mind the flow of your daily life,
Your energy,
Your attention,
Your effort across a typical day.
And notice,
Where does the current move freely?
Do you have systems or practices that reduce decision-making or helps your day flow with ease?
This might mean something like setting your clothes out the night before work or preparing your meals a day or two in advance.
It might mean scheduling time just for yourself.
It might be your yoga or meditation practices.
Notice also,
Where does your energy meet more resistance than is needed?
Think of these as stones or debris that affects the flow.
These stones might reflect external things.
For example,
It could be the cookies in the cupboard that are there in your face when you're trying to eat healthier.
Or they might reflect an internal resistance,
Such as a belief that you're not worthy when you're trying to find higher-paying work.
Just notice the flow and the friction.
Internal and external friction,
All without judgment.
Simply observe the current and the stream.
In yoga philosophy,
Prana,
Or life force energy,
Moves through invisible channels called the nadis.
When these nadis,
Or I'm sorry,
When these channels are clear,
Vitality flows naturally.
And when they are blocked,
Even by small obstructions,
The current changes.
Things that should be nourished start to suffer.
Things that should move start to stagnate.
What we just practiced using the breath,
Or nadi shodhana,
This is one of yoga tradition's classical tools for clearing the channels in the body.
What we are about to do in the art prompt is the same practice for clearing the channels in life.
So take one more breath in,
And as you're ready,
Let your eyes open gently.
Continue with the natural breath.
We will move into the art prompt.
You will need your journal or a piece of paper and whatever materials feel right.
Drawing materials,
Paint,
Collage,
Whatever wants to be in your hands.
Today's art prompt is to draw your personal energy as a stream.
Where is your energy and attention flowing right now?
Begin with the current itself.
Where is it moving freely?
And give that section of the stream color,
Movement,
And aliveness.
Let it breathe on the page.
And then look honestly at where the obstacles are.
Are there places where the water pools or stagnates?
Places where the banks are eroding because the current has been redirected somewhere it is not meant to go?
Consider two kinds of friction as you work,
The external friction,
Which are the environmental stones,
The visible obstacles,
The things that can be moved or removed or reorganized.
And then also consider the internal friction,
The subtler resistance,
The conflicting beliefs,
Or the underground spring feeding apposition into the current from below.
Let the image be honest.
It does not need to be pretty,
But it needs to be true for you.
When the image feels complete,
Step back and observe what you've created.
Spend a few moments in quiet dialogue with the stream and then write using stream of consciousness and your non-dominant hand if that's comfortable for you.
Notice,
What is a safe and convenient way to remove these obstacles?
How can you reduce the friction?
How will you feel as a result of more flow and ease?
Let the image guide you toward what you already know but may not yet have said aloud.
Be curious and let the image surprise you.
As we close today's practice,
Thank you for taking the time to tune inward.
Life will always be putting things in the way of optimal flow.
It is simply the nature of a living,
Moving life.
The practice here is not to achieve a permanently clear channel.
It is to remain curious about what is happening to the current,
To notice when something has shifted,
And to be willing to tend gently,
Honestly,
And without drama to what belongs in the path and what does not.
You do not have to clear the whole stream today,
Just make one little adjustment.
I appreciate you and your creative practice.
The goodness in me honors the goodness in you.
