Soften + Glow: Light Meditation
Soften + Glow is a breath-guided body awareness and relaxation meditation. This can be used in the evening or in the middle of your day to release any stress or tension and reconnect to the Light of your being.
Transcript
Hello everybody and welcome back.
For our session today we will get started seated.
So sit either on the floor or you can sit on a chair or the side of your bed.
And if you're sitting on the floor feel free to prop yourself up using a stack of blankets,
Maybe a pillow or two,
A yoga bolster,
A cushion,
Or even a yoga block.
And also have some blankets nearby if you have them available to you because we will be transitioning onto our back for the second half of the session.
And if you're sitting on the floor you can sit cross-legged or you could sit with your legs extended out in front of you.
You can even place a rolled up blanket underneath your knees.
Once you have found your seat just go ahead and let your hands rest anywhere along your lap or your knees with your palms facing up or down.
Now once you've found your seat before we make any deliberate changes in our posture just take a moment just to observe how your body feels in this moment.
So just notice any soreness,
Any tightness,
Any places where you're feeling sensation whether discomfort or even pain.
And just notice kind of take a scan of your body without any regard to what happened before you started this session or what's left to happen.
Just take notice of how you're feeling in this very moment.
And then start to turn your attention to your lower body,
Everything from your navel downwards.
And just feel all the touch points that you have with the floor,
With your chair,
Or with whatever you're sitting on.
And as you notice those places start to become heavy through those places.
Feel like you're working with gravity to ground your legs,
Your feet,
Your hips down into the floor.
And even imagine like your sitting bones are like roots of a tree breaking the surface of whatever is beneath your hips.
And as you feel that energy drawing down towards the earth intentionally take your attention to your spine.
And from the base of your spine,
Your tailbone,
Start to feel each single vertebrae stack on top of each other like the trunk of a tree growing taller towards the sky.
And when you feel the crown at the very tip of your head lift up towards the ceiling,
Tag some weight into your elbows and feel your shoulder heads,
Feel your shoulder blades draw downwards.
And as your shoulder blades draw down,
Feel your chest and your collarbones broaden.
And so as you feel these opposing actions,
Just notice how this deliberate and intentional posture feels in your body.
And then from here take a deep breath into your nose and then sigh it out through your mouth.
Again inhale into your nose,
Sigh it out through your mouth,
Inhale into your nose.
Pause at the top,
Hold for a moment,
Keeping your lips sealed slowly let the breath go through your nose.
And just for these next few breaths just let your breath be in a natural rhythm and rate,
Unchanged.
And just notice how your breath feels.
So just like our body can give us an indication on where we are in our day and where we are in our life,
Our breath can do the same thing.
We can use our breath as a barometer of sorts to just gauge where we are,
Especially in connection to our nervous system and our emotions.
So just notice the different qualities of your breath without trying to change it or make it a certain way.
Notice the depth of your breath,
Notice the texture.
What can you gather about the air quality around your space through your breath?
As if the breath could tell you a story,
What story would the breath be telling you right now?
And then from here take one hand to your lower belly below your navel and then take the other hand to your upper belly just above your navel.
And as you feel your hands lightly pressing into your belly,
Take a deep inhale and breathe back into your hands.
And without forcing your hands into your belly,
Just slowly let your belly empty out as you exhale.
Hands go down towards your spine and then inhale,
Breathe into your hands.
And then as you exhale,
Your hands just lightly float towards the center of your spine.
Just take a couple of breaths just like this.
Noticing if you're breathing into one hand more than the other and seeing if you can work towards breathing evenly into both.
So you're not just breathing into the lower part of your belly or the upper part,
But you're breathing fully into your entire midsection.
And then from here slide each hand to the sides of your torso into those spaces between your ribs and above your waistline.
Your palms will be on your sides with your fingertips facing down,
Elbows out and shoulder blades back.
And as you inhale,
Breathe into the front of your belly and then breathe into the sides of your midsection.
And then as you exhale,
Your hands close in and your front belly closes in.
So breathing into the front and into the sides.
And then exhale,
Your sides and your belly hugs the center of your spine.
And just do that for a couple of rounds of breath.
And then from here,
Slide each hand to your low back.
So the backs of your hands will stack on top of each other behind your low back.
Elbows out,
Chest is broad.
And then as you breathe,
Breathe into your belly,
Your sides,
And breathe into the hands that are resting along your low back.
And then as you exhale,
All four sides start to hug the center of your body.
Inhale all four directions.
And then exhale all four directions.
Close and hug the center of your being.
Just stick with that for a couple more rounds of breath.
And from here,
Take your hands,
Let them rest on your knees,
Palms face up or down.
And just for a couple of rounds of breath,
Breathe deeply into the entire midsection of your body.
So your front belly,
Your sides,
As well as your low back.
Feeling all four sides expand outwards on the inhale.
And soften and hug as you exhale.
And then from here,
Take a slow breath in all the way to the top.
And then exhale,
Side out through your mouth.
Now for our breath progression,
We'll build on a few rounds of box breathing.
An even count inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
And pause.
This will then transition into triangular breathing where we'll have an even count inhale,
An even count pause,
An even count exhale,
But in the exhale you want to breathe as much volume of air as you can out before you move on to the inhale.
This will then transition into vashama vritti.
An inner vashama vritti or uneven breath will make the exhales shorter than the inhales.
And as we're moving through these breath progressions,
Really think about that lower midsection breathing into all four sides.
So take a slow breath in through your nose and out through your nose.
Begin.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Now inhale for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Now back to 4,
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
Now exhale as much air as you can out for 4,
3,
2,
1,
Right away inhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
Empty and now inhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Force the breath out for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Now inhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Now inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Inhale 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Now keep holding the breath out.
Even if you're physically empty of air,
Can you imagine yourself mentally taking more air out?
Feel that empty space,
Feel grounded in your hips,
Still feel tall through your upper body.
Now expand all four sides of your belly and take a slow deep breath in.
Pause at the top hold.
Open your mouth,
Let it go with a sigh.
Just take a moment to do absolutely nothing and observe your body,
Observe your breath.
And then from here we will transition onto our back.
Now for this next portion,
You can do this from seated,
So maybe you're in a position to not lay down or you just want a little bit more alertness to take into the rest of your day,
Then feel free to stay upright in your chair or on the floor.
But if you are choosing to lay down,
Then place something underneath your knees like a blanket or a pillow,
Something underneath your head and something over your body or your hips.
And if you have something to place over your eyes like an eye pillow or an eye mask,
Feel free to do that as well.
If you're staying upright,
Then have yourself a little bit more relaxed if you're sitting on a chair,
So maybe you just sit all the way back onto your chair.
If you're on the floor,
Then just continue to stay upright with that nice tall and alert posture that we established at the beginning.
And once you've found your position,
Whether laying down or seated,
Just take a moment just to notice the touch points that you have with the floor.
And then as you check these next couple of breaths,
Allow those touch points to become heavier with the floor and allow them to sink down further into the floor.
And then take a moment to notice the places of your body that do not have contact with the floor,
Any places that are hanging in space.
And with your next couple of breaths,
Just simply allow those areas that you notice to just simply soften.
Then wherever you are,
Take a slow breath in through your nose and then just let your entire body melt as you exhale.
And then from here,
Just simply notice your feet,
Notice the arches of your feet,
That natural curve of your ankle and your Achilles heel.
Notice the tips of your toes,
Those spaces in between your toes.
And then with your next exhale,
Just simply allow your feet and all the spaces to just simply become heavy and soften.
And then from there,
Move up to your lower half of your legs,
Your shins,
Your calf muscles.
Notice your kneecap and the spaces behind your kneecaps.
And just through those places,
Take a deep breath in.
And with your exhale,
Just allow those spaces of your lower legs to soften.
And turn your attention to your upper legs,
Your thighs and your outer hips and glutes.
Notice your hip points,
The quadriceps,
Your hamstrings.
And just with your next exhale,
Allow your upper legs to just simply become heavier and more melted into the floor.
And from here,
Notice your belly.
Notice the sides of your belly,
Your low back.
Notice the lower part of your belly where it meets your pelvis.
And just let your entire midsection just become heavier and melted towards the floor.
Bringing your awareness to your rib cage and into your chest.
Notice your shoulders,
Your collarbones,
Your breastbone.
Notice the spaces between your ribs.
And notice your back,
The back of your ribs,
Your shoulder blades.
And as you exhale,
Just let this entire upper part of your torso soften and become heavier into the floor.
And then move your attention into your arms,
Into the upper arms,
The lower arms.
Notice your elbows,
The pit of your elbows,
The pit of your arms,
The space where your shoulder joints attach,
The place of your wrist and your forearms,
Biceps,
Triceps.
Just notice your arms,
These two limbs.
And with your next exhale,
Just allow them to become heavier into the floor.
And then notice your hands.
Notice the palm of your hands,
The back of your hands.
Notice your knuckles,
The space between your fingers.
Notice the tips of your fingers,
The pads of your fingers.
And then just in your hands,
Just allow them to melt,
Allow them to become heavy and more one with the floor beneath you.
And then notice your head.
Notice all the facial features of your front of your face,
The creases of your forehead,
Space beneath your eyes.
Notice your eyelids,
Space around your nose,
The creases around your lips.
Notice your lips.
Notice your chin.
And notice your neck,
The front of your neck,
The sides of your neck,
The back of your neck.
And notice the back of your head,
The back of your skull,
The base of your skull.
And even notice the crown.
And then just let your entire head become heavier into the floor with your exhale.
And then looking internally,
Just notice the inside of your mouth.
Notice the roof of your mouth,
The floor of your mouth.
Notice your tongue.
Soften in the spaces beneath behind your cheeks.
Soften in your teeth,
Your gum line.
And just let your mouth soften,
Just holding a very gentle space.
Then bring your attention to the space that holds your brain.
And just let that space become heavy.
Let the back of your brain just melt towards the back of your skull,
Towards the earth.
And then from here,
From the very tips of your toes,
As you take your next inhale,
Feel like a wave of relaxation washes all over your entire body to the very crown of your head.
And then as you exhale,
The wave recedes from your head down to your toes,
And you melt further into the floor.
And just take a couple of rounds of breath,
Breathing in a wave of relaxation,
And just letting the wave of relaxation recede as you melt further down.
And then within the space of your head,
Imagine a single point of light.
This light can be in the form of a spark,
Maybe a gentle flame,
Or even a shooting star.
And then just imagine that flame or that shooting star or single spark of light at the very tips of your right toes,
Just lingering there.
Just feel some energy in your toes.
And as you take your next inhale,
Imagine that single point of light drawing up your right leg all the way to the right side of your pelvis.
And then as you exhale,
That light goes back down to the very tips of your toes and the soles of your feet.
And then on your next inhale,
Guide that light up to the right side of your pelvis.
And then exhale,
Let the light slowly elevator its way down to your toes.
And then as you inhale,
The light goes up to your pelvis.
And then as you exhale,
Allow that light to draw up the right side of your waist,
Right ribs,
And to the right side of your heart space.
And then as you inhale,
The light goes back down towards the right side of your pelvis.
And then back down to your right foot and right toes.
Just moving this awareness,
Inhale from your right toes,
The light draws up your right leg to your right pelvis.
And then as you exhale,
It draws up the right side of your ribs and waistline all the way to the right side of your chest and right heart space.
And then as you inhale from your heart space,
The light goes down the right side of your torso to your right hip.
And then exhale down your right leg and back to your right foot.
And then inhale,
The light goes up your right leg and keeps going up through the right side of your pelvis to your right heart space.
And then exhale,
That light goes down your right arm to your right palm and out through your right fingertips.
Send that light back to your right toes and then inhale it up your right leg,
Upright torso to right heart.
Exhale out through your right shoulders,
Arms and out through your hands and your fingers.
And just for these next few breaths of awareness,
Just allow that light to keep looping up the right side of your leg,
Up your right torso and out for your left arm.
After your next exhale,
Bring that light of awareness to your left toes,
The sole of your left foot.
And as you inhale,
Draw that light all the way up your left leg to the left side of your pelvis.
And then exhale,
Follow that light of awareness down your left leg to your left toes.
Again,
Inhale,
Light goes up your left leg and then exhale down to your toes.
And then from here,
Inhale,
Light goes up your left leg to your left side of your hips.
And then as you exhale,
The light draws up your left waist,
Left rib cage to the left chamber of your heart space.
And then inhale from your heart space,
The light goes down your left torso to your left hip.
And then exhale down your left leg and to your left toes.
Inhale up your left leg and then from your left hip all the way to your left side of your heart.
From left side of your heart down the torso to your hip.
And then exhale down to your left toes,
Left foot.
And then from here,
Inhale up left leg,
Up left torso all the way to the left side of your heart.
And then as you exhale,
The light draws down your left arm out through your left fingertips and left palm.
The light makes its way to your left toes and you inhale it up.
And from your heart space,
The light goes out through your left arm.
Just like the right side,
For the next few rounds of breath,
Just making a loop around the left side of your body.
Shifting your awareness,
Bring that point of light to the very center of your right palm.
And then as you inhale,
The light goes up your right arm through your right shoulders to the right side of your neck.
And then as you exhale,
Imagine that light filling the right side of your head,
The right side of your brain with this bright glowing light.
From your right palm,
Inhale the light up your right arm.
Exhale,
Filling the right side of your head.
And just a couple more rounds of breath.
Shift your attention to your left palm,
Left hand.
Imagine that single point of light lingering at the center of your palm.
As you take your next inhale,
The light goes up your left arm to the left side of your neck.
And then exhale,
That light just shines.
