Restore and Rejuvenate Meditation.
This guided meditation is designed to help you restore a deeper energy source within your body,
And is useful when you're feeling worn out,
Burnt out,
Or simply run down.
In the language of Western medicine,
You could call this a meditation to help support your adrenals or to help you deal with adrenal fatigue.
In the language of Chinese medicine,
This is a meditation to help strengthen your kidneys,
Or what is known as the lower dantian in Taoism.
The practice is fairly simple,
But does require some integration between your breathing patterns and bodily sensations.
Like many Taoist meditation techniques,
It relies heavily upon somatic awareness.
You can practice this for as short as a few minutes if you need a quick boost of energy,
But it works best when you can practice it daily for 10 to 15 minutes.
It's a great practice to do in the morning when you're trying to wake up,
Or if you find yourself feeling tired in the middle of the day.
Many people will find practicing it in the sunlight will also increase the benefits.
This is probably not the best meditation to do right before trying to sleep at night.
That time of day would be a better time for a practice like two-point awareness.
For people who run cold most of the time,
Doing this practice for 15 to 20 minutes every day will help you begin to generate a deeper source of internal warmth so that you don't feel as cold.
You don't need any previous experience with meditation to do this practice.
Just follow along and do it regularly.
The practice is meant to be done in a seated position with the soles of your feet upon the ground.
As always,
Make sure you're comfortable and give yourself 15 to 20 minutes where you can be isolated from the world,
Have some privacy,
And be able to concentrate.
The practice.
Assume a comfortable seated position,
Close your eyes,
Take a deep breath,
And allow your body to relax.
Take a moment to consciously give yourself permission to be here doing this meditation.
Let go of the outside world and give yourself the gift of coming into presence with just yourself.
Take a few slow deep breaths,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
Simply follow your breath in and out and let go of any tension or stress with each exhale.
Take a moment to connect into the physical sensation of your feet upon the ground.
Really try to feel the physical sensation of your feet and the boundary between your feet and the floor.
Focus on this for three to four breaths.
Now shift your breathing to being in and out through your nose only.
The breath will stay this way for the remainder of the meditation.
Place your hands over your lower belly.
Your hands will stay here throughout the course of the meditation.
Your arms should be relaxed and your palms should be touching your belly with one hand over the other,
Resting just slightly below your belly button.
Begin to breathe into your lower abdomen in the area where your hands are.
This is the area the Taoist called the lower Dantian.
As you inhale,
You should be able to feel the area expand,
But instead of expanding just to the front,
You want to feel your abdomen expand to the front,
To the sides,
And to the back of your body towards your kidneys.
It's okay if you don't feel this band right away,
Just keep your tension there and it will come with practice.
Take nine slow deep breaths with this singular focus.
Now while you continue to feel the expansion of the band around your waist,
Begin to slightly grip your toes or your feet with each inhalation.
You should feel like you're very lightly gripping the ground as though you are going to try to pick up something.
Relax your feet on the exhale.
This process will activate the acupuncture point kidney one on the sole of your feet.
Continue to breathe this way for nine more breaths.
Inhaling into the lower belly,
Feeling the band around your waist and simultaneously lightly gripping your feet upon the ground through the inhale.
On the exhale,
Relax everything.
You may notice that your body begins to feel slightly warmer as you do this.
You may also notice that you begin to salivate a bit more than usual.
If your mouth fills with saliva,
Try to swallow it mindfully to absorb that extra nourishment deep into your body.
Inhale,
Fill the band around the lower belly,
Grip the feet,
Exhale and relax.
Now,
Shift your focus up to the area of your chest.
As you inhale,
Begin to feel how much air you can comfortably draw into your lungs.
You want to fill your chest but not strain anything.
The key is simply to feel the pleasantness of your chest expanding with a deep inhalation.
Do this for three to four breaths.
Now,
After you inhale,
Pause very briefly for just a second to Now,
After you inhale,
Pause very briefly for just a second or even less,
And then,
Very gently,
Push the air pressure that is in your chest down to your lower belly without exhaling.
Your lower belly should expand,
And your chest should contract as you move the air pressure downwards.
Be sure not to exhale when you do this.
You want to be holding your breath.
If you feel any strain in your chest when you do this,
Simply inhale a little bit less air the next time.
As the air moves down to your lower abdomen,
The pressure you create there should be the same sensation of the belt expanding to the front,
The sides,
And the back in the way that you felt it earlier.
As you create this pressure in the lower abdomen,
Like before,
Gently squeeze your feet and grip the ground.
Now,
Slowly begin to exhale while you keep your feet slightly clenched and keep the feeling of pressure in your lower belly.
The goal here is to maintain that very slight feeling of pressure in the lower abdomen through the entire exhalation process.
More is not better,
So don't strain yourself,
The pressure should be very minimal.
At the end of your exhale,
Let everything relax completely and start the process over again.
Inhale into your chest,
Hold your breath while you gently push the air down to your lower abdomen and create the feeling of expansion around your waist,
Front,
Sides,
And back.
Gently squeeze your feet and then slowly exhale while you maintain the sensation,
Maintain the feeling of pressure around your waist.
Inhale into your chest,
Hold your breath,
Gently push the air down to your belly,
Create the sensation of a band around your waist,
Gently squeeze your feet and slowly exhale while you maintain the feeling of gentle pressure in your lower belly.
At the end of the exhale,
Let everything relax and inhale back into your chest.
Inhale,
Hold and push the air down,
Grip your feet,
Slowly exhale,
Maintaining the sensation of pressure in your lower abdomen.
Repeat this process for a minimum of nine breaths.
Again you may notice that your body starts to warm up and you may notice that your mouth fills up with saliva during the practice.
Each time you notice that your mouth is full,
Mindfully swallow to absorb that extra nourishment.
Inhale into the chest,
Gently push the air down to the lower abdomen,
Feel the expansion going around your waist,
Gently squeeze your feet,
Slowly exhale,
Maintaining the sensation of pressure in the lower abdomen.
After doing this breathing method for a minimum of nine breaths or until you feel you've done as much as you'd like,
Shift your breathing pattern back to going in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Reconnect the sensation of your feet upon the ground and take three slow breaths,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth to let go of any tension that might have built up in your body.
Gently rub your hands in a clockwise pattern around the belly button,
Around the lower abdomen and just make note of the warmth that comes from both your hands and the lower belly.
Bring your hands up to your eyes and gently massage them for a second or two and allow yourself to come back into the normal waking world.
This concludes the meditation.
With consistent practice over time,
You'll likely start to notice that your body warms up more and more with this practice.
You'll also likely find that you have more energy throughout the day and that even a short session of practice can recharge you when you're feeling tired.
A side benefit that many people will also discover is that they feel more grounded,
Centered and calm throughout the day.
This is a beneficial side effect of building this deep energy reserve within your own body.
Be mindful of the saliva that generates in your mouth during the meditation and be sure to swallow it,
To absorb it with the intention of absorbing deep nourishment.
It's not uncommon for the saliva to actually taste slightly sweet.
If you have a history of high blood pressure or headaches,
Please be mindful to create a very small amount of pressure in your abdomen during the practice.
You shouldn't feel any pressure go up into your head while you do this.
If you do feel that,
Simply reduce the amount of pressure and keep practicing until you don't feel it.
Always listen to your body and enjoy the journey.
Thank you.
