Welcome to your practice.
I'm going to guide you through a five-step meditation process.
And to start,
Most importantly,
You want to have a nice comfortable seat.
So for me,
That means sitting up on some blankets.
Anytime you can get the hips higher than the knees that'll help to create some more openness through the hips makes it a little bit more comfortable You can set on a bolster.
You can sit in a chair.
You just want to find a seat that is stable and comfortable.
Good.
And then sit up nice and tall,
So really reach up through the crown of the head.
And relax the shoulders down and back.
And allow your eyes to close.
The first step is stillness So as you settle in,
Allow your body to get completely still.
Settling down into the support of your seat.
And aside from the physical stillness,
There is an even deeper stillness at the core of your being.
Unfazed by.
Thoughts and emotions and experiences As you breathe,
Breathe into that deep inner stillness.
Second step It's a diaphragmatic breath.
Start to Notice the breath in the abdomen.
Feel the breath as it moves in and out through the nose.
And let your breath be completely relaxed.
Inhale,
Seamlessly flowing into the exhale.
This nice continuous,
Unbroken,
Relaxed stream of breath.
Sense the effortlessness of the breath.
As you breathe sense that your body is breathing as one each cell energized and nourished.
As you inhale And each cell.
Cleansed as you exhale.
Third step is relaxation.
So keep the spine nice and stable.
Lifted Lengthen.
And around that stable spine start to relax the body.
Softening the muscles of the face the jaw Relax your tongue.
And all across the shoulders,
Down the arms,
The torso,
Down your legs.
You're being held in stillness body completely relaxed breath flowing effortlessly.
Fourth step is awareness of your breath.
At the opening of your nostrils.
Bring your awareness there.
And as you breathe in and out through the nose,
See if you can sense the exact where the breath is.
Enters and exits the body.
With each breath feeling the sensation of air.
Inside the nostrils.
Staying focused just at the just at the opening Breathing in cool fresh air.
Breathing out hot,
Tense air.
Each breath nourishing and cleansing the body You might stay here,
Staying with the breath.
Or maybe you go to the fifth step,
Which is mantra.
Sacred Sound repetition of The sacred sound.
Either quietly in the mind or aloud.
And so if you have a mantra that you practice with,
You can.
.
.
Invite the mantra.
Into the space between the eyebrows.
Deep within the center of the mind silently repeating the mantra to yourself.
And if you don't have a mantra,
Maybe you'd like to practice with Sohum.
It's a universal mantra.
And it's said to be the natural sound of the breath.
So you'll inhale.
Repeat so.
And exhale,
Hum.
Silently in the mind,
And it's more of a whisper.
Hearing for the full length of your inhale.
So.
.
.
Full length of your exhale,
Hum.
Concentrating your awareness.
The space between the eyebrows,
The center of the mind.
And it's not a physical space,
So it's not on the surface of the forehead.
It's in the center of the mind.
Anytime the mind wanders off in thought just playfully bring it back to the sound of the mantra Allow the mantra to be an anchor for the mind.
You can continue on with this practice as long as feels good.
And you can keep coming back to this practice,
To this video.
And once you sort of memorize and establish these five steps,
Then you can practice them without the video.
To close,
We'll rub the palms together.
Warm up the hands,
Really,
Really warm up the hands here.
And we'll cover the eyes with the palms allowing that warmth to nourish the eyes and the face.
And as you're ready you can release your hands down Om Peace Peace Peace Namaste.
