Come into a position where you feel both comfortable and alert.
You could be lying down in a reclined position,
Sitting upright,
Or perhaps you have your legs up the wall in an inversion.
Tune in to your body and see if you can tell what it needs today.
As you settle in,
Close your eyes or soften your gaze,
Beginning to take this journey inward.
Let's take three deep breaths together.
Take a deep breath in through your nose,
Filling up the belly,
And on the exhale,
Open your mouth and let it out.
Feel your shoulders dropping away from your ears.
Take a second deep breath in,
This time filling up the belly and lungs,
Holding at the top,
Then open mouth,
Let it out.
Take a third deep breath in,
This time filling up belly,
Lungs,
Chest,
Holding at the top,
Then open mouth,
Let all the air out.
Now keeping the lips sealed,
Start to breathe in through the nose and out through the nose.
Let's practice the four,
Seven,
Eight breathing exercise.
This breath acts as a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system.
We will be breathing in through the nose for a count of four,
Holding for a count of seven,
And exhaling for a count of eight.
This is a breath retention practice,
And if it's not comfortable to hold your breath for the full count of seven,
Release the breath as soon as you need.
We will practice three rounds together,
And then I'll give you a few moments to practice at your own pace.
You can count as slow or as fast as you'd like.
For this breath,
You'll keep the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue behind your upper front teeth.
Completely exhale through your mouth,
Making a whoosh sound.
Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Holding your breath for two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhale completely,
Making that whoosh sound two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Closed mouth,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhale two,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Six,
Seven.
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Now continue this breath for a few rounds on your own,
Counting as fast or as slow as you'd like.
Let go of this breathing exercise and allow your breath to return to a normal rhythm.
Let's go deeper by considering the yogic concept of Tantra.
Tantra represents a balance of masculine and feminine and is an expansion into liberation.
It encourages you to move past the mind that judges everything as right or wrong and head to the truth that comes from integration.
The masculine energy within you creating presence,
Focus,
Stillness,
And determination,
While the feminine energy within you results in creativity,
Flow,
Movement,
Sensuality,
And nurturing.
Regardless of your gender,
You require a balance of both types of energy.
Make sure that you are nurturing all aspects of yourself.
Turn your focus inward and ask yourself,
Is there an aspect of myself that I am denying,
Shaming,
Or judging?
Sit with this question without trying to analyze or think.
Just allow any answers to come up from deep within.
Is there an aspect of myself that I am denying,
Shaming,
Or judging?
As you practice tuning into your intuition,
You may have noticed that you don't always hear words.
Maybe you've gotten images,
Impressions,
Memories,
Even random thoughts.
Or perhaps you didn't get anything.
Something may come up later.
Take these next few breaths just to process whatever your experience was.
Now listen to the following affirmation and repeat it to yourself.
I accept myself for who I am.
Accept myself.
As we reach the end of this practice,
Bring the palms together at heart center,
Slightly bowing your head.
Take a moment to reflect on this experience.
Were you able to connect with your inner wisdom?
Did you practice listening and being open?
Allowing this experience and any insights that you have gained to stay with you,
Bring this back to your physical surroundings.
Take your time and when you are ready,
Open your eyes and allow your body any movement that it needs.
