Welcome,
Everybody.
Today we're going to do just a little bit of a more advanced breathwork practice.
Always remembering that you are in control of your meditation.
That if I'm counting too fast or too slow,
Please feel free to govern your own breath,
To govern your own counting,
Your own body,
Your own mind.
That's the beauty of being the masters of our own domain.
So we'll find a comfortable seated position,
Whatever that looks like for you.
Not so comfortable that we fall asleep,
But maybe comfortable enough that we're not in pain,
That we could sit for the next 10 or 12 minutes.
The breathwork that we're going to do is going to really help us start to let go,
Start to activate our parasympathetic nervous system,
Our rest and digest and heal nervous system.
It's like when our sympathetic nervous system is active,
When our fight or flight nervous system is active,
It's like we have to repair the house and we don't really have time to clean the house when there's so many people coming over and we're so busy.
We don't really have time to repair,
To fix the window that we've been meaning to fix,
To paint that wall we are meaning to paint.
It's only when we don't have anything in our schedule that we can really tend to the house.
So that's what this meditation will bring.
It'll just give us time,
Give our body time to dedicate resources to start patching up maybe that injured foot or leg or hip.
Our body is a healing machine and we are here to guide it.
The way this breathwork will work is we'll inhale for five seconds,
Five counts,
Hold for eight counts at the top and exhale for ten and then we'll go directly back into the inhale.
I'll count the first round and then it's up to you.
Let's take a deep inhale and exhale to clear the breath.
One more deep inhale.
Releasing.
Our next inhale will be for five counts.
Deep inhale.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Hold for eight counts.
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale for ten,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
We'll do one more deep inhale for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Hold for eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale for ten,
Nine,
Slow and controlled,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale on your own time.
Continue your counting.
Notice the full expansion of the ribs and any changes in the body or the mind as you hold in the breath at the top.
They say the true self lies in between the inhale and exhale.
And slowly controlling the exhale,
The chest,
Then the stomach.
Finding your pace and your rhythm to keep the body calm,
To keep the mind calm.
Noticing the expansiveness of the body and the mind.
And as we continue this process,
The mind starts to quiet.
The heart starts to quiet.
The tension leaves the body.
Feeling softness arriving into the heart space.
An irradiance of serenity blanketing the body.
A gentle peacefulness.
Perhaps our physical body starts to disappear and fade into the background.
It starts to blend into the oneness.
Continuing this breath.
Softening the jaw,
Softening the eyes.
And just taking a moment to note.
To feel.
To heighten the feeling body to turn up this healing and feeling body.
What can you feel right now?
What is available and accessible to feel?
Maybe we can feel the tingling of energy up the spine or in the arms or a heaviness or lightness.
I want you now to imagine.
Imagine that you've dug a hole in the earth.
And you put blankets in that hole to keep it warm.
And you squeeze down in there and gently place earth on top of you.
Like a big hug.
A safe and gentle cocoon of the earth around you.
This warm and nourishing earth.
Anchors your feet and hips.
And caresses and nourishes you.
As you feel this deep and sense deepened sense of safety.
And in the distance you start to see a deer.
A quiet and graceful deer.
Walking over towards you and laying down next to you.
Just wanting to be in your presence.
To rest in your presence.
And you start to see other animals.
Rabbits.
Maybe a cat.
Come lay down next to your head and chest.
On this earth around you.
As the safety emanating from your heart and mind.
The gentleness and softness.
Can be sensed by other animals by other beings.
And like a magnet they're drawn to come rest near you.
A deep harmonious connection with this animal kingdom.
With this natural world.
And letting this imagery softly dissolve and fade to black.
We'll take two deep inhales to release.
Exhale.
Deep inhale.
And exhale.
Bringing our palms to heart center.
And start to notice your energy descending and grounding.
When we support others the universe supports us.
The enlightened in me sees and honors the enlightened in you.
The enlightened in me sees and honors the enlightened in you.
Namaste.
