Good morning and welcome.
My name is Vinash,
And I'm here to take you through a morning meditation practice.
There are lots of different meditations that allow us to cultivate greater senses of clarity,
Open the heart,
Stillness,
And they can be used at any time.
This meditation in particular is going to lean on three different techniques to allow us to start our day with more energy,
Vitality,
And a sense of clarity and calm.
So before we begin this practice,
Be mindful if you have a heart condition or if you are pregnant.
I invite you to take the first technique in particular,
A strong breathing exercise,
Very,
Very lightly and maybe even avoid it.
And when you are ready to begin,
I invite you to sit in a comfortable chair with your spine in an upright position.
You can be in bed,
You can be on a couch,
Just somewhere where you feel like the spine is relaxed,
Upright and alert,
But not too rigid.
The first technique we're going to explore is actually a yogic breathing technique.
It's commonly referred to as breath of fire,
Or in the Sanskrit language,
Kapalabhati.
What we're going to do in this practice is use our navel to press firmly against the diaphragm and the spine,
And this is going to expel the out-breath quite rapidly.
The inhale will naturally come in,
But our attention and our focus will be on the exhale itself.
Now we'll go through this very slowly the first round,
And the second round we'll move a little quicker.
Please go at your own speed and at your own pace.
If I'm going too quick,
Then you can slow it down.
For those of you that are a bit more experienced in this technique,
If you wish to speed it up,
Then mindfully speed it up.
So as you begin the first round,
You might want to place your right palm over your stomach.
And just notice how your belly naturally rises and falls.
It's important for this technique that the exhale breath is coming in and coming out of the stomach,
Not your chest.
If you breathe in and out through the chest,
You'll begin to hyperventilate.
So effortlessly exhale through your stomach.
So it's going to sound like this.
Okay,
So place your right palm over your stomach to begin.
Notice the natural flow of your breath,
Inhaling and expanding through the navel.
Then begin by taking a long,
Deep inhale.
A long,
Deep exhale out.
And then we'll take a breath in to begin.
And start.
Take a big breath in.
Hold the breath at the top.
For a count of 5.
Four,
Keep squeezing your stomach.
Three.
Two,
And then open your mouth,
Big exhale out.
Inhale all the way down your body.
And then exhale through the nose.
Close your eyes and just notice if you feel anything.
Maybe it's a slight vibrancy in your body or a tingling sensation in the face.
And maybe it's nothing.
We're going to go into the second round of that.
You can place your hand on your stomach or not this time,
But I will simply give you a cue.
And you'll go at your own pace.
Inhale to begin.
And Emptia.
And making it a little quicker.
Take a big breath in.
Hoarse at the top.
5.
2.
Open the mouth,
Exhale out.
Inhale long through the nose.
And then exhale through the mouth.
Keeping the eyes closed.
And just begin to notice.
Anything you feel or sense.
Without any expectation.
And I want you to lift your right palm up and with your right thumb gently close your right nostril.
You might like to place your index finger and your third finger in between your eyebrows.
This next technique is known in yogic practice as Nadi Shodhana or alternate nostril breathing.
It's an effortless technique that aims to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain,
And slowly begin to reduce any cortisol or adrenaline that we've cultivated through the initial practice.
So as you place your right thumb on your right nostril,
Second and third fingers in between your eyebrows,
Close your right nostril and inhale deeply and slowly through the left.
Pause at the top.
With your fourth finger,
Close your left nostril and exhale through your right nostril.
Inhale through your right nostril.
Close the right nostril and exhale through the left.
Inhale through the left Close at the top and exhale through the right leg.
In breath through the right.
Close and out-breath through the left.
Now keep going like this to your own timing.
Moving at a tempo that feels appropriate for you.
And as you begin to notice the body calm down,
Can you allow your attention to focus on the range and the depth of each breath.
And then taking your time.
You'll end by finishing.
On your left nostril.
Release the hands onto your lap or onto your palms.
Keep the eyes closed.
And very effortlessly now.
Begin to notice any sounds.
Could be the sounds that are the furthest away.
Or the sounds that are the closest to you.
Without analyzing why they are here or where they came from.
Simply let sounds come and go.
Begin to notice the feeling of your skin.
Notice the physical sensation of your skin.
The skin that touches your clothes.
The skin of your face.
With all of this going on.
You'll notice that your body is breathing effortlessly.
Notice how effortless the breath moves in and how effortless the breath moves out.
When you're ready to do so.
You can let go of all these techniques.
And just take a moment to notice how your body feels.
You feel more present and alert.
Perhaps more calm and connected.
Whatever it is,
Take a moment to acknowledge that this morning you spent time practicing meditation.
Take a deep breath into your heart.
With a big open mouth,
Let it go.
You can begin to open your eyes.
And I wish you a beautiful day.
See you next time.
