Breathing Yin & Yang Compassion

Breathing Yin and Yang Meditation: This meditation is designed to help us harness Yin and Yang energies to balance the fierce and tender sides of self-compassion. This balance is essential for all gender identities.

Transcript

This meditation is called Breathing Yin and Yang.

And it's designed to help us harness yin and yang energies to balance fierce and tender self-compassion.

So please adopt a posture you feel comfortable meditating in.

Perhaps closing your eyes.

Just start to notice your breathing.

You don't need to change it or control it.

Just breathe naturally.

And your mind will almost immediately start to wander.

Just pull it back without judgment,

With kindness.

To focus again on your breathing in and out,

Very natural and easy.

And so now what I would like you to do is to start to notice your in-breath.

And you can start to notice your breathing in and out.

And what I would like you to do is to start to notice your in-breath specifically.

Feeling each inhalation.

And we're going to be breathing in fierce yang energy.

To help us do this,

I would like you to sit up tall.

Straighten up your back.

Hold your head high so you embody a more fierce posture.

And you can also use your hands in a way to support you.

Maybe both hands on your solar plexus,

Your energetic center,

Which is just below your ribcage.

Or perhaps you can put like a fist on your heart if that feels comfortable.

Just some way to use your hands to help you feel strong and supported.

And again,

We're focusing on our in-breath.

And as you breathe in,

Imagine that you are breathing in fierce yang energy.

You might even feel the power rising up from the base of your spine and flowing through your body with each in-breath.

If you want,

You can add a visual.

You might imagine your body being filled with a bright white light with each in-breath.

And when your mind wanders,

Simply bring it back to the in-breath.

Feeling that fierce energy flowing through your body up the base of your spine,

Energizing you,

Empowering you,

Filling you with a bright white light.

And then take a big breath in and hold it for a moment.

Hold it and let it go,

Blowing out.

So now we're going to switch our focus toward the out-breath.

So noticing that on the exhalation,

Your body kind of relaxes.

So maybe you aren't sitting up quite so straight.

You aren't slumping,

But you're more relaxed.

And you maybe want to move your hands so that they feel more gentle and soothing,

Perhaps both hands on your heart.

Start focusing on your out-breath and feeling a more gentle,

Nurturing energy flowing through you.

And as you exhale,

Just let go and let be.

You might imagine that the light flowing through you is now more of a soft golden or perhaps even pink light,

A gentle light.

So letting this tender self-compassion nurture you and heal you as it flows through your body.

And then once again,

Take a deep inhalation,

Big breath in and hold it.

Hold it and let it go,

Blow it out.

So this time what I'd like you to do is notice both your in-breath and your out-breath.

Notice the flow of air in and air out.

And so again,

Your posture might be again a little between sitting up really tall and being relaxed,

So upright but relaxed.

Put your hands in a way that symbolizes both the fierceness and the tenderness.

Maybe a fist on your heart with a hand over it gently or one hand on your heart and one hand on your solar plexus.

So again,

Using your hands to support you.

And now imagine that as you breathe in,

You're breathing in this fierce yang energy and as you breathe out,

You're releasing this tender yin energy.

So you're breathing in and you're breathing out and these two energies are merging and mingling within you.

Don't try to keep them totally separate on the in-breath and the out-breath.

Just have this be a vehicle to invite.

You might even say to yourself,

I invite yin and yang to merge and integrate within me.

Perhaps even the two lights merge and integrate,

The white and the pink or the white and the golden,

Just to become a gentle but yet bright light within,

Flowing on the in-breath and the out-breath.

Letting these two energies flow as easily as the waves on an ocean in and out,

Natural,

Effortless.

And if you feel you need a little more focus on the yang in-breath,

Feel free to focus on that if you need to energize yourself.

If you really feel you need to relax and let go,

You can focus more on the out-breath.

Just remembering that we always need to breathe both in and out.

So give your body what it needs.

I invite yin and yang to merge and integrate within me.

Fierceness and tenderness.

And when your mind wanders,

Simply bring it back to the breath,

Allowing the yin and yang to flow freely,

To attain harmonious balance.

And you don't have to do it.

Let nature do it for you.

It's the way of things.

The way of life.

So one last time,

Taking a deep in-breath in,

Holding it.

Letting go of the practice,

Letting go of the meditation,

And opening your eyes.

And hopefully you can carry this sense of balance and integration with you throughout your day.

Thank you.

Reviews

Such a powerful balancing meditation to start the day with. Thankyou Kristen 🙏✨

The words of Brene Brown, strong back and soft heart ran through my thoughts during this meditation. Ahh…so wonderful and perfect for beginning this day.

Quite relaxing and energizing!🙏🦋

🙏

My meditation Journey started with Kristen Neff on her website I was thrilled to see her on Insight Timer which is continuing to guide and teach me to become a meditator. You made my day.
Edit: I've been using the mantra let go and let be for a couple of weeks now to help remind me to be easy with myself. Now I know where it came from. Great meditation to repeat as I integrate and find balance on the emotional spectrum. I give my fierceness space so that my gentle energy does not leave me vulnerable to being walked on

Not sure about yin and Yang but this was a pleasant, restorative meditation. Thanks.

Your work has changed my life - thank you. I am a mother and partner and so much more - you have helped me be gentler with myself and others -thank you!

Thank you!

Just what was needed to start my day

Very nice, sweet voice.

Thank you. Wonderful practice.

Namaste 🙏

So soothing

My first meditation with Kristen. I am a follower now. Her clarity, compassion and healing helped my yin and yang parts. Thank you 🙏🏻

Insight on how Ying&Yang would relates to our breathing and way of life. Thank you Kristin

Beautiful thanks! 🙏

Excellent! I’ve struggled with balancing my masculine/feminine or yin/yang side and this meditation really helped me feel more integrated with both. Feeling very thankful. Thank you Kristin Neff!

Lovely start to my day. Thank you x

I am a fan of all Kristin's meditations, they really help me, this one included. Thank you so much!

I appreciate Kristin’s groundbreaking work on the yin and yang of mindful self compassion. I am a student of this work and highly recommend that every one explore the complex and valuable tool of self-compassion.