Ground In Your Innermost Self - 3.8.2021

Here is the recording from my Insight Timer LIVE Session on 3.8.2021. We begin this practice by checking in and relaxing our body, mind, and breath. We then connect to our senses and our innermost self by observing sensations throughout the body. I hope this practice leaves you with a sense of acceptance of where you are in life. Namaste.

Transcript

Can be laying down, You can be seated, You can be in any position that's comfortable. I just encourage you to encourage your spine to be straight. So just taking a moment to feel that your shoulders are aligned over your hips and you can feel that line of energy from the back of your head and your neck to your pelvic floor. Whenever you arrive, If you feel safe to do so in your space, You can allow your eyes to gently close. You can take a nice big cleansing breath as you arrive, Signifying the start of your practice. Just calling in all the energies you want to attract, All the things you want to bring into your life, Into your mind and body, And exhaling to release anything that's within you that you no longer need to hold on to. And you can take a few more of these if you feel like you need it. Just letting the inhales be long, Deep and slow, And same with the exhales. Just noticing the four parts of your breath. Your inhale, The pause when you're full of breath, The exhale, And the pause when you are empty. So maybe letting yourself take in a few more sips of air even when you think you're full, And letting yourself exhale a bit more even when you think you're empty. And then when you're ready, You can just release all control over your breath. Allow your breath to be exactly as it is, Inhales and exhales coming naturally. And practicing being the observer, Observing the breath without control, Knowing that some days that can be very difficult, Other days that can be a lot more simple. Relax all the muscles in your forehead. Let the corners of your eyes separate just a little bit more. Let the corners of your mouth widen. Totally release any holding in your jaw, And just let that release all the other muscles up your face, The cheeks, The eyelids, The forehead, The scalp and hairline. Softening the lips, The chin, The neck and the shoulders. Allow your heart to breathe as well, So feel your heart become a little bit more proud, Feeling that triangular shape from the collarbones to your sternum. Just allow that to get a little wider, Chest and collarbones and shoulders sitting up a little bit more proud, Whether you're laying or sitting. And as you let your heart come forward, Notice if your chin starts to come up as well, And then just let your chin fall slightly toward the heart, So that you encourage all of the length in the back of your neck. So really notice that channel of energy that you're creating from your heart center up the neck into the mind and the head. And totally release the muscles in your arms. Allow for the hands to be soft, Any natural curving in the fingers. If you want to encourage more grounding in today's practice, Your palms can be facing down. And if you want to encourage more receptivity, Then your palms can be facing up. You can have one palm facing up, One facing down. Just letting the hands be wherever they feel the most natural to you right now. And you can soften your rib cage, The lungs, The stomach, The lower belly, The hips, The pelvic floor, And the glutes. And soften your thighs, Your knees, Shins, Calves, Ankles, And feet. So just letting that first general wave of awareness spread over your entire body. Now feeling all the muscles in the body have been checked in with. All the muscles feel seen. And as we continue with the practice, You can notice what muscles tend to tense up again once you tell them to relax. It's kind of like a dance. You allow the tension to release in the face. You might notice your hands start to tense. So then you release the hands and you notice your stomach starts to tense, Or whatever pattern it is for you. So you can always use that as an anchor into the present moment. You can always use your breath if you find your mind starting to wander to future things you got to get done at some point, Or past things that you're ruminating over. And trusting the process that it is totally natural and expected that your mind will wander throughout a meditation practice. And the goal is just to notice when the mind is wandering, To observe the thoughts rather than be so wrapped up and attached to them. If you notice the mind wandering, You can just gently guide your attention back to the breath. Notice that you have left and then come back. Start to bring all of your awareness to your nose. The underrated nose and all the air that it filters throughout the day, All the energy it gives us. You can notice the air the moment it enters your nose. Maybe even seeing if you can zoom in to all the little hairs in your nose and just the lining of your nostrils. And just really pay attention to the sensations that you feel as the air is entering and as the air is exiting. The nose is what allows our breath to be healing and healthy for us to breathe. Breathing in through the mouth is not nearly as healthy. Sometimes it can be unhealthy. But I do know many struggle with congestion and allergies and runny noses. I myself am one of those people. But as much as we can encourage ourselves to breathe through the nose anyway, It will start to clear over time. So notice where the air is traveling in your body as after it enters the nose. And notice how you can direct your breath. You can start by directing your breath into the brain and the mind. Just feel that direct channel of energy up the nose into the mind. Energizing, Cleansing, Healing the mind with this life force energy. And then maybe starting to feel a little bit lightheaded or up too high. It will start to ground down. So send your breath all the way down to your pelvic floor, To your lower belly. Allow it to open up. You can also send it to all the spaces in between. You can guide your breath into your lungs and your rib cage. Feeling the rib cage expand in all directions with your inhales. You also have the power to guide it into your heart and your heart center. Feeling your chest expand and fall. Now imagine that you're breathing into your entire body. Every corner and edge of your physical body allow the air to rush into those corners and edges and fill up your physical body with air, With your inhales. Maybe picturing this as a wave of energy or water or air, Whatever makes the most sense to you. And then you exhale just letting your breath be a natural filter. Letting it fill up your body with things that you need. Things that are loving and kind and healing to you. And naturally letting any negativity and toxins exit the body with your exhales. So your next breath is filling in those empty spaces with more love and healing and understanding and patience. And you don't have to consciously deepen the breath to do this either. You can still allow your body to naturally breathe by itself. They might be quite gentle and soft and still breaths. You can still imagine those tiny sips of air filling up your entire body, Cleansing your entire body. Once again, You can remind your forehead to soften, Remind your jaw to relax, The shoulders to relax, The stomach, The hips, The legs, Glutes. And then start to bring your awareness to everything that you can hear in your own personal soundscape. Bringing all of your attention to your ears. And noticing all the different layers of sounds that are around you. Tuning into whatever is furthest away from your physical body. Whatever is closest to your physical body. All those layers in between. Just like releasing tension in the body, You can allow your awareness to dance around to whatever grabs your attention. So if there's one particular sound that's standing out, Just bring all your attention there and listen closely. And then if your attention is brought somewhere else, Going with that, Listening closely there. These can be the sounds outside of you as well as inside of you. Maybe you're in a quiet place and it's just the humming of the lights in your breath. Maybe you can hear some birds or cars or nature, Planes, Whatever you hear. Even if there's something you might label as distracting or an annoying sound, If you have some noisy neighbors maybe. Practicing, Just letting that be a part of your environment. Not fighting any of the sounds that you're hearing. Sometimes we get stuck thinking we can only meditate if it's perfectly quiet and in the right location. And I think, I know meditation can be done anywhere at all times, No matter what activity you're doing. Just being totally present with where you are and not trying to change anything. So even if you're sitting on a train right now or in a busy environment, Practicing the same acceptance. So as you're listening, Start to feel the pulsing sensation of your ears. Feeling that pulse, Maybe gentle or strong. Okay, Allow your awareness to start to travel into the ears, Into the eardrums, Ear canals, Through the inner ears where your awareness meets at the space between the inner ears. Feeling the pulsing of the space between the inner ears. Allowing your face to soften even more. Allowing for a little bit more stillness. And then you can allow your awareness to spread upward so that you come to the space behind the eyes. Resting in the space behind the eyes and noticing anything that you see. Maybe it's just black, Maybe a deeper reddish color, Or maybe you're seeing some visions and shapes. But again, Just practicing accepting whatever is there, Not trying too hard to see anything specific. Just noticing, Becoming fully aware of your internal landscape. Noticing wherever the eyes are gazing, Maybe at the backs of the eyelids, Maybe into the forehead, Maybe rolling back into the skull. Starting to feel the pulsing of your eyes and the space between the eyebrows. Maybe turning your gaze to the space between the eyebrows. And then allow your awareness to spread to the space beneath the crown of your head and above the nasal cavity. At the center of the brain. And as you feel this stillness, This comfort, So reminding yourself of who you are at your core. Your core is this person. The observer of your life, Of your mind, Of your body is always there within you. And they are patient and kind and generous. And there's no need to be hard on yourself for forgetting or for straying away from your innermost self because they are always just waiting for you, Patient with you. Whenever you choose to slow down and to tune in and to inquire with your innermost self, They will be there. Maybe sending messages through sensations in the body, Through urges or songs, Or overheard conversations with words that hit you differently. You have a whole team of spirit working for you. Your innermost spirit, As well as the spirits of all of those you have loved and will love. The spirit of the force that created all of us. These spirits are always here, Even when we don't feel like they are. And they understand sometimes you need to feel in the dark in order to feel illuminated. You're just trusting whatever space you're at right now, Whatever space you've been at. Knowing that chaos is the expectation, Chaos is on schedule. Just trusting the events that play out in your life, Trusting whatever your instincts are of where to move next. Bringing your attention to the very crown of your head. Feeling the pulsing of the crown of your head and that innate connection to spirit, To source energy. We'll do some affirmations moving down the chakras to finish the practice. So keeping your attention on the crown of your head, You can repeat to yourself, I am connected clearly to source energy, To spirit. I am connected clearly to the energy that created all of life because I am life. You can let your attention come to the space between the eyebrows at your third eye center. I trust my inner guide. I trust my intuition. I do the work to see myself clearly, Which therefore allows me to see the world clearly. Let your attention come to the throat center. I am honest when communicating with myself and therefore I am honest with others. I speak words of love and compassion into myself and therefore speak words of love and compassion into the world. Bring your awareness to your heart center, Tuning into that unique rhythm of your own heartbeat, The unique rhythm of your own soul. I am love and light at my core. I allow my core to spread throughout my body and into the world. I am deeply compassionate for my past, Present, And future. And I am deeply grateful for my past, Present, And future. It's allowing the sensations of compassion and gratitude to take over the entire body. As you allow your awareness to come into the solar plexus, Into the stomach, About an inch or two above the navel. And feeling that other heartbeat that exists here. Letting the muscles soften so that the energy can flow freely in the solar plexus. I am confident with who I am. I am worthy of all great things in life. I am worthy of loving myself. And even if those messages don't feel completely true with how you've been feeling, You can trust that at your core you do feel those things. Those feelings are already there. All of these feelings are already within the body. You can let your attention sink down a little bit further to the lower belly, A few inches beneath the navel in your sacrum. Feeling any sensations here. I am innately creative. I am joyful and I'm worthy of all the things that I have to do. I am innately creative, I am joyful and I'm worthy of pleasure. I am just feeling the creativity and the patience and the joy that exists here and allow it to spread throughout the entire body. Feeling the quiet strength of your sacral chakra. And finally, Let's bring the attention to our base chakra, The root chakra at the very base of your spine, The space in between the sit bones and our connection to Mother Earth. Noticing any sensations here. So you repeat to yourself, I am safe, I am secure, I am supported. And again, Trusting that these are facts, These are truths. Even when you don't feel like it, You are safe and supported in all realms, In all dimensions. You are always exactly where you need to be. You always hear exactly what you need to hear and feel exactly what you need to feel. You can let the sensations of safety and support spread throughout the body, Down the legs, Into the feet and up the body, Into the mind, Into the arms and the hands so that you feel the safety of just the ground that you're sitting on, The air that is entering your body and hugging your skin, The clothes you're wearing, The roof over your head, All of the things that you have that make you so safe, Your ability to hear and even be on this meditation right now. You can trust that you are safe and allow yourself to be safe, Allow yourself to be supported. You can start to bring all your awareness to the skin on your body, Your largest organ. Feeling the air and your clothes touching your skin. As you take your inhales, Seeing each pore on your skin breathing as well, Each pore gently touching your skin. As you take your inhales, Seeing each pore on your skin breathing as well, Each pore gently opening with each inhale and gently closing with each exhale. Breathing into the entire body. Once again, Noticing the sounds that are around you. And seeing yourself and the shape that your body's in and the space that you're sitting in and the room that you're sitting in, Just seeing yourself and the space that you're sitting in. Just seeing where you are in space even with your eyes closed. Just bringing your awareness back to the room that you are in. And if it feels natural for you to do so, You can gently bring your hands to a prayer position at heart center and your high heart or your low heart. You can even place your hands on your body and just feel your hands on your body. And then you can gently bring your hands to a prayer position at heart center and your high heart or your low heart. You can even place your hands on your body. If that feels better, Just leave them where they are. Just take this moment to feel the connection of your palms to your body, To your other palm. Feel all of that energy that you have within you. You're reminding yourself of your power. Gently bow your head and take this moment to thank everyone in this room for their energy and being here with you. Thank yourself for being here and for your energy. Thank your innermost self for guiding you to this practice and trusting that all these messages are within you and your subconscious will be guiding you to act through love. May this practice continue to heal you throughout the rest of your days and nights. And may you bring some of this love to everything that you do and to everyone that you see. Namaste.