Welcome,
My name is Nikki from True Equanimity Yoga.
Today's practice is the Blue Mist Meditation for clearing the emotional body.
This meditation practice may bring stability to the emotional body,
It may help dissolve emotions that you've experienced,
And it may assist to leave you feeling grounded and stable.
So come to a comfortable seated position in a chair,
Or sitting on the floor with a stool or a cushion.
Spine upright but relaxed.
Just doing everything you need to bring the body to a comfortable,
Easeful sitting position.
Sitting with energy.
I'm going to practice this pranic relaxation.
So I invite you to bring your awareness to your breath.
Just notice the inhale,
Notice the exhale.
No need to change the breath,
Just become a witness to the breath.
As you breathe in you might feel the spine gently expanding and lengthening.
And as you breathe out,
The spine gently contracting into an upright,
Alert but relaxed position.
And then let your awareness come down to the feet.
As you breathe in through the nose,
Imagine you can breathe in through the soles of the feet.
Letting that breath rise up to the ankles.
And as you breathe out through the nose,
Imagine you can breathe out through the area of the ankles.
The feet both soften and relax.
Imagining you can breathe in through the ankles,
Let the breath rise up through the calves.
And on a breath out,
Imagine that breath coming out through the knees.
Breathing in through the knees,
Up through the thighs.
And imagine that breath coming out at the hips,
The base of the spine.
As you both let both legs soften and relax,
You might like to then breathe into the area of the hips,
The base of the spine.
Let the breath rise up through the torso,
Up through the spine,
Up through the abdomen.
Letting the breath out come out through the area of the shoulders,
The base of the neck,
The whole torso softening.
Then let your awareness come down to the hands.
Imagine you could breathe in through the palms,
Up to the wrists.
Then breathing out through the wrists.
Both hands soften and relax.
Imagine breathing in through the wrists,
Let the breath travel up through the forearms.
And imagine that breath out coming out of the elbows.
Breathing in through the elbows,
Let the breath travel up the upper arms.
Breathing out through the shoulders,
Letting both arms soften and relax.
Then breathing in through the base of the neck,
Awareness rises up through the face,
The head,
Crown of the head.
Let the breath leave through the crown of the head as you feel the neck,
The face,
The head softening and relaxing.
You might like to tune in or feel the whole body breathing.
Almost like the air is flowing in through the pores of your skin.
Each part of your body gently expanding on the in-breath and softening on the out-breath.
Imagining that breath out flowing out,
Diffusing out through the pores of the skin.
And if you feel comfortable,
Allow recent events or situations to begin to run slowly across your mind.
It might be one where you feel stuck,
Or that one that elicits a difficult reaction.
And maybe not choosing a situation that is too challenging or overwhelming.
If anything about this practice becomes overwhelming,
Remembering you can always return to your breath,
Return to the feeling of the surface.
You're seated on feet on the floor.
So coming back to this situation,
Notice how you feel about it.
The emotions that arise,
The emotions you experienced.
I invite you to bring in a sense of compassion.
The first step is to recognise and identify the feelings or emotions.
Can you name the emotion,
Label it?
Is it maybe a combination of two or more emotions?
Maybe noticing that by recognising and naming the feeling,
There is less identification with it.
Maybe noticing or being aware that you are not the emotion itself.
Allow the feeling and experience to be there.
Acknowledge the emotions without judging them.
Give yourself permission to feel this.
You might even like to send a message to your heart to let be the entire experience.
I invite you to investigate your feelings or emotions with a gentle,
Curious attention.
Maybe noticing where you feel that emotion in the body.
Notice the effect of the emotion on your breath.
And as we continue,
I invite you to begin to visualise the emotions and feelings you have experienced.
Begin to evaporate through the body,
Through the pores of your skin.
A bit like a blue mist that slowly diffuses through the pores of the skin and slowly builds up around you.
A safe distance from your physical body.
The blue mist begins to get denser and denser.
As you visualise all the emotions that have been running through your mind in recent times,
Evaporating into the air around you.
Letting them join the blue mist that is growing denser and denser surrounding you.
Still at a safe distance from your body.
Keep going with this process until you feel you've released all the emotions.
When you feel that you have released all the emotions,
I invite you to allow the blue mist to begin to start to solidify.
It might become a little like wax or ice,
But still at a safe distance away from your body.
You can breathe easily.
You are completely safe.
You might even be able to notice the beauty of these solidified emotions now they are at a distance from you.
I invite you to nurture these feelings with self compassion and kindness.
You might offer yourself a loving message or send a tender embrace inward.
You might even like to place a hand over your heart area as you bring awareness to the heart space.
And at this heart space,
I invite you to begin to visualise or imagine a calm but bright flame there.
Totally still.
Maybe like the flame of a candle or a lantern.
Let this flame begin to intensify with each breath.
And as it does so,
You begin to notice the wax or ice starts to melt.
A hole begins to appear as the warmth of this flame,
The power of your heart melts through.
Continue to imagine this emotional wax or ice melting.
You might even like to imagine that it's allowing all the emotional energy to flow away like water,
Unable to impact you.
You might begin to feel an increasing sense of peace.
I invite you to relax and let go into the heart space that has emerged.
Let the light of your heart centre fill you with a sense of peace and self compassion.
Filling your body and mind with a deep inner sense of joy.
You might like to rest in the awareness of your heart space for the next couple of minutes.
And then you will hear the singing bowl and my voice again.
Let the sound of the singing bowl begin to reawaken the mind,
The body,
The spirit.
You might choose to become aware of your physical body as it sits here in this place of meditation.
Be aware of your head and draw your awareness into its centre.
Be aware of your chest and draw your awareness to the heart again.
Be aware of your spine,
Strong and tall and draw your awareness down it.
Be aware of your arms and legs and bring your attention into the limbs.
Maybe bringing a bit of movement into the fingers and the toes.
Be aware of your breath.
I invite you to take a slightly deeper refreshing breath.
Be aware of and welcome back in the environment around you,
The sounds,
The sensations.
You might like to bring your hands joining the palms,
Touching thumbs,
Touching the sternum and jali mudra,
Prayer mudra at the heart.
Bowing your wise mind to your compassionate heart.
The divine light in me honours the divine light in you.
Namaste.
