Welcome to the practice of Tratika,
Also known as Candle Gazing.
Find a comfortable seat.
You can either cross the legs and slightly elevate your hips,
Or you might find this practice more comfortable seated into a chair.
Allow your spine to form a straight line of energy from the tailbone to the crown of the head.
And then placing your candle in front of you at about eye level,
Begin to find stillness as your gaze softly focuses towards the flame of your candle.
You might like to half close the eyes as you take what's called a Drishti Gaze,
Allowing the mind to start to focus here at one point.
We're beginning to practice Dharana,
The limb of yoga which leads us into meditation.
You'll find that as the mind starts to focus,
You can tune into the flow of your breath and begin to feel your body and your mind entering into a deep state of calm and relaxation.
As you focus on the flame of your candle,
You might like to visualize that you're watching the flame,
Not from the physical eyes,
But from the third eye,
Which is located at the eyebrow centre.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to tap in to your own centre for intuition and inner wisdom.
Once you feel that you've watched the flame and have that image burning here in the mind's eye,
You might like to close the eyes and imagine that you're watching inward towards your own inner flame and your own inner light.
Each time the mind wanders,
Just simply open the eyes again.
Once you view that flame and hold that image,
You might like to again close the eyes and continue with the meditation.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you focus here,
Watching from the third eye,
Begin to feel your own inner flame and your own inner light.
As you continue to watch that flame,
You might like to stay here for a little longer or now gently open the eyes,
Bringing presence and awareness back to this space.
The practice of candle gazing is over.
Namaste.
