Hello,
Your guided meditation today is called Kirtan Kriya,
And this practice comes from the Kundalini tradition,
And it integrates breathing,
Sound,
And touch.
This practice has been shown to reduce stress levels and increase activity in areas of the brain that are central to memory.
During this meditation practice,
You'll be sitting in your comfortable seated meditation position.
Then,
You will be repeating the following syllables,
Sa,
Ta,
Na,
Ma,
And as you repeat these syllables,
You will also be sequentially touching each finger with your thumb.
Sa,
Ta,
Na,
Ma.
You can be saying the sounds out loud or silently to yourself.
The phrase,
Sa,
Ta,
Na,
Ma,
Comes from the term sat-nam,
Which means true essence.
Now let's begin our meditation.
Begin by settling into your comfortable yet alert meditation position.
You're seated in a chair,
Your feet should be flat on the floor,
Your hands resting comfortably on your lap,
Your spine nice and long,
Your eyes closed or gently capped.
If you're sitting on the floor,
You may be sitting cross-legged or perhaps on a cushion,
Gently lift your hips.
Begin by bringing your gentle attention to your breath,
Just noticing the flow of your inhale and your exhale.
And now let's take three long,
Slow,
Deep breaths,
Beginning with an inhale to the count of three and pausing at the top of that inhale,
And exhaling to the count of four,
Noticing that pause at the bottom of your exhale.
Complete two more long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in your own time,
And when you've completed your deep breathing,
Return to your natural breath pattern.
And during meditation,
Your breath may speed up or slow down.
Don't try to change or control your breath,
Simply notice fluctuations.
And now I'll invite you to take a few minutes to gently scan your body,
Bringing a bare gentle awareness to any sensations,
Heat or coolness,
Scanning your body with kindness and with curiosity.
And should you notice any areas of stickiness or discomfort,
Pause for a moment and see if you can relax the muscles in that area of your body,
And continue scanning.
And when you've completed your body scan,
Bring your attention back to your breath.
And now we'll begin the practice,
Taking both hands,
And as you begin,
The sequential touching,
Chanting,
Sa-ta-na-ma,
Sa-ta-na-ma,
Sa-ta-na-ma,
Sa-ta-na-ma,
Sa-ta-na-ma,
Sa-ta-na-ma,
And during the practice,
We're not thinking about the meaning of the sounds,
It's simply a focus,
Letting the pace of your breath guide the pace of your chant,
Of the movement of your fingers,
Finding your flow,
Your pace with this practice.
And should your mind wander or you lose track of where you are in the chant,
Simply begin again,
Sa-ta,
No matter how you're doing the practice,
You're doing it right,
We're not trying too hard,
Meditation is a practice of being,
Not doing,
Continue with the practice and the chant for a few more minutes.
And now you can let go of the phrases,
Of the syllables,
And settle your hands on your lap,
Continue sitting,
Following your breath,
And in a few moments,
You'll hear the sound of the bell signaling the end of meditation.
Take your time to slowly come out of meditation,
Thank you,
And have a wonderful day.
