Hi,
I'm Maggie.
Welcome to another qi and gong meditation.
In Chinese medicine,
The kidneys are said to store the jing,
Our vital essence that depletes over the course of our lifetime.
We use it up faster due to lifestyle and stress,
And often this can leave us feeling tired,
Burnt out and less resilient.
The kidneys love rest,
Stillness,
Peace and warmth,
But many of us struggle to provide them with this during our fast-paced day-to-day life.
Taking a little time out each day to breathe and focus our innate healing and restorative power on the kidneys,
Our internal battery pack if you like,
Can really help us find more energy and nourish our reserves.
This is a guided meditation focusing on the breath and on the kidneys to help you do just that.
So grab a comfy seat,
Preferably with your feet flat on the ground,
And let's get started.
Sitting in a chair,
Let the crown of your head rise up a little,
Giving you a straight spine.
Relax the shoulders,
Relax the jaw,
And rest your hands in your lap.
Connect your feet with the ground,
Feeling the connection of the earth and the soles of your feet.
Notice your breath,
And allow it to slow right down.
Notice where the breath is in the body.
It might be up in the chest,
Or lower down in the belly.
Don't worry too much about where it is,
Just try and keep the belly nice and soft and relaxed,
And the breath will naturally slow and relax lower in the body.
You can keep your hands in your lap,
Or if you like,
Take the palms of your hands around your lower back,
At the level of the bottom of the ribs.
Feel the warmth of your hands radiating into the lower back.
So this is the kidney area.
The kidneys love warmth and tranquility,
And giving them a moment of stillness,
And nourishing them with the healing energy from your hands,
Helps replenish their vital energy.
You can leave the hands here throughout if it's not too uncomfortable,
Or just rest them back in your lap,
But try and keep the mind in the lower back,
Or at least in the lower belly.
Let that awareness sink down through the body,
Into the back.
And as you breathe,
Focus your expansion and contraction on the ribcage at the back,
So that you're effectively breathing into the kidney area.
With each in-breath,
You're expanding the ribs,
And expanding the energy in the lower back.
And with each exhalation,
You feel the ribs contract back in a little,
And the energy consolidates and grows stronger.
So as we breathe in,
We draw fresh new energy into the kidneys.
And as we breathe out,
We release old,
Stale energy,
And consolidate the power that's there.
And just spend a few moments breathing in and out,
Focusing on the lower back,
And the kidney area,
Growing your energy,
Cleansing old,
Stale energy.
Just give yourself this moment of stillness.
Now shift your focus down to the soles of your feet,
Or if you're sitting on the floor,
Perhaps leg is,
Shift your focus onto the perineum point,
The point at which the body meets the ground,
Or whatever you're sitting on.
We'll use these areas,
Depending on how you're seated,
As a portal for drawing the healing,
Nourishing yin energy from the earth,
Up into the body,
And into the kidney area.
So on your inhalation,
Feel energy,
Connect with the energy that rises up through the feet,
Or through the lower body.
Bring it up into the back,
Into the kidney area,
And as you exhale,
Release,
And let any stale,
Old energy leave the body,
Via the perineum,
Or the soles of the feet.
So we continue with this rhythm,
Inhaling,
Bringing that fresh energy in from the earth,
And exhaling,
Releasing,
And letting go,
Anything that no longer serves,
Back down into the ground.
Breathing in,
Allowing that nourishment to rise up from the ground,
Moving out,
Release,
And let go,
Anything you no longer need.
Breathing in,
Feeling that cool,
Replenishing yin energy from Mother Earth,
Nourishing the kidneys,
Breathing out,
Releasing any stagnation,
Toxicity,
Tiredness,
And pain.
As we breathe in,
Draw the fresh qi into the body,
Feel the back expand.
As we breathe out,
Feel it contract,
Release,
And let go.
And then we can focus on each kidney,
Perhaps on your next inhalation,
Focus on expanding and breathing into the kidney on the right,
And as you exhale,
Let go and release,
Down the right hand side of your body.
Often we think of the right kidney as our kidney yang function,
This is our energy,
Our vitality,
Our ability to transform energy.
Inhale into the right,
Feel the back expand on the right hand side,
And exhale,
Feel it release,
Back down into the earth.
Let's do one more deep breath in where we expand the ribcage at the back,
Just on the right hand side,
Drawing that fresh energy in,
And exhale,
Release,
Let go,
Feel the ribcage contract.
Switching onto the left,
Kidney yin,
Storing our vital essence,
Our jing.
Inhale,
Feeling the back of the left hand side expand,
With the new breath coming in.
And exhale,
Release,
Let go,
Energy washing down the left hand side of the body,
Back down into the earth.
Inhale,
Breathing into the left hand side,
Feeling the ribs on the left expanding.
And exhale,
Release,
Let go.
Let's do one more deep breath in,
Drawing that nourishment into the kidney on the left.
Exhale,
Release,
Let go.
And shifting the focus back onto the lower back as a whole,
The kidneys as a pair,
Breathing in,
Feel the back expand.
Enjoy that nourishment that the earth provides,
Rising up into the body.
Exhale,
Release,
Let go,
Let it wash back down.
Moving in,
Drawing more fresh nourishment into the back,
Feeling the back expand.
Exhale,
Release,
Feeling it contract back in,
Energy getting stronger,
More clear.
Another deep breath in,
Drawing that nourishing yin energy into the kidneys.
And exhale,
Release,
Let go,
Let it wash back down into the earth.
And we can let go,
Breathing into the back,
Just allow your awareness to sink a little bit further down into the centre of the abdomen.
This we refer to as our lower dantien,
Our lower energy centre,
Inextricably linked to the kidneys,
Just below the navel,
In the centre of the belly.
And just give yourself a few moments at the end of the practice,
Focusing on this lower energy centre,
Breathing steadily.
And if you like,
Cross the hands over and just place them on the lower belly,
Underneath the navel.
Once again,
Feeling that healing,
Nourishing warmth from your own hands,
Radiating into the belly,
Warming and nourishing.
Let's take a deep breath in,
Feeling the belly or the chest expand with the breath.
And take a long exhale through the mouth,
Releasing and letting go.
