Forgive Yourself! It's OK To Get It Wrong

How about we give ourselves a break and stop the internal criticism? These are hard times and if we sometimes get it wrong, then that’s understandable. If we said the wrong thing, ate too much, feel down, and don’t feel like beings of light anymore, then so be it. The chakra themes are a structure for letting our judgments go. We use full yogic breath at the beginning, I advise you only do this if you feel well enough to do so. Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Transcript

Let's find a comfortable spot for our body. So we're putting our legs with our knees comfortable, Our ankles comfortable. Placing our bottom firmly on the chair with our seat in the back of the chair. When we inhale next let's expand a little bit and when we exhale let's soften our shoulders a little bit. So we're alert but not rigid and we'll just bring our chin in slightly so the back of our neck is long. Making sure our body's comfortable and could be at rest for a few moments. And let's take a few slightly deeper breaths with our focus on the breath and the body in the present moment. And seeing how it feels to do that. Breath becoming a little shallower as we become still. Seeing how it feels to remove our attention from the external world with its many dramas and demands to the internal world with its stillness. So let's use the full yogic breath to bring ourselves into a slower, Healthier state of mind. So I'll guide you through the first one and then we'll do a round of five. So when we're ready to inhale and make sure our spine is tall and guide, Gently guide the breath deeper into the lungs. We use our belly, Moving our belly out slightly. Then we allow the breath into the sides of the lungs and we might feel our lungs expand sideways. And then we fill the top of the chest and then we let it all go comfortably. So we'll try that once more. We're not forcing anything, The breath is still comfortable. So when we inhale gently allowing more breath into the lower lung, The sides of the lungs and the upper lungs, Just under the collarbones. And if we wish we can let it out in the same fashion from the top of the lungs, From the sides of the lungs and from the deeper lung. But that's up to you. Resting for a moment. So we'll take a round of five yogic breaths if that's comfortable for you. If not, If you find you're light-headed or there's discomfort you may be trying too hard, Just rest. And it may help us to count on our fingers. So we can use our thumb to count which breath we're on. So in your own time please, As you inhale we allow the breath into the lower lung, Sides, Upper lung and we can let the breath come out comfortably naturally or we can do it in reverse order. Please continue for another four in time with your breath. Resting in the present moment with the breath. And the body when you've completed that. And noticing how it feels, If it's shifted your energy at all. The full yogic breath can have different effects depending on how you use it. It can be cleansing, We can refresh the air in our lungs because sometimes that can become a little stale. It can be calming, It can be cleansing to encourage more gaseous exchange in our body. How does it feel for you? So as we think about forgiveness let's allow the breath to flow through, Run over, Run through our lowest chakra. So the breath can help us with our practice and we can imagine the breath in the area of our tailbone and I tend to imagine the breath running back and forth through the front and the back of the body at the very base of my spine. But if you choose to imagine it in some other way then that's fine too. Let's just imagine the breath flowing back and forth. And we'll bring to mind the themes of the lowest chakra. See how it feels to offer ourself forgiveness for any mistakes we might have made around our safety. Anything we've done that makes us feel insecure. Can we let that go? Might help if you imagine it just slipping off your shoulders. It's okay to do that. Sometimes we are fearful and that's okay. It's okay to feel the emotions I feel. It's okay I forgive myself. Sometimes it's difficult to be here in the physical and I let myself off the hook. Let go any blame, Any recriminations I may have given myself about how difficult it is to be here on earth at this time. Noticing what comes up for you as we as we make these suggestions. If you can forgive yourself how does it feel? And if you find it difficult to forgive yourself for whatever can you forgive yourself for that? Get a second chance. Thanking our first chakra and allowing our attention and our breath to move to the second chakra. Halfway between the base of our tailbone and our navel roughly. Letting the breath gently flow over this part of the body back and forth or however you want to visualize it. And we offer ourselves forgiveness for anything we've created that we regret. Mis-creations from the past. We were doing our best with what we had at the time. The knowledge we had, The resources we had. If we've been greedy for a sensory experience that's okay. Can it be okay? Can we let ourselves off the hook? For any experiences of sexual discomfort, Dysfunction can we let ourselves off the hook for that? Let them go. Imagine our forgiveness of ourself and anyone else who's involved. To see how that feels to do so. Breath is comfortable and just flowing naturally. Thank you to our second chakra. Taking our attention, Our breath to our third chakra. And the stomach area, The end of the breastbone, The stannum. Visualizing the breath, Giving it a bit of a dust, Freshen up, Whatever way works for you. The themes of this chakra include our will, How we use our power and if we have misused it. Are we allowing, Can we allow that to be forgiven? Maybe we've criticized ourselves in the past for using our will, Our strength in ways that have compromised others. Can we forgive ourselves? Can we be okay that we've made mistakes? Because we all do. And recall the many times that will, That strength and power has been used for the benefit of ourselves and others. And feel how it all feels. To ask our own forgiveness and to receive it. Giving our thanks to the third chakra. And taking our attention to our fourth, To the heart chakra. Allowing the breath to give it a refresh. Many of us in the past have closed our hearts. Because there's so much pain, Suffering and that is okay. It's a defense mechanism. It's okay. We may choose to do that differently now or we may not but either way can we accept and forgive that that has happened in the past? To understand that it's hard to be here with a functional heart, With an open heart because of the pain, Because of the suffering. And feel how it feels to know that there's only pain and only suffering because of love, Because we care. Underneath the suffering is love because there would be no suffering if we didn't love, If we didn't care. And we are doing our best for those we care about. So deciding we might forgive ourselves for all of it. And feeling that love for our own self. The flaws and all, The warts and all. Imperfections. Embracing our whole self in love. Thank you to our heart. Allowing our attention to move to our throat chakra and imagining the breath, Moving through the energy, The prana, Awakening the throat chakra at the base of the throat. As we bring to mind the themes associated with this energy centre. Our voice. Our truth. For the times when we have shouted others down with our truth. For the times our words have hurt. And we may think of them as foolish. It's okay. Can it all be okay? Let it wash away. Any mistakes let it all go. We all make mistakes. It's okay. Thank you to our throat chakra. Allowing our attention to move to our sixth chakra between our eyebrows, Our eyebrow centre. Imagining the breath, Moving through back and forth through the centre of our brain. Energising, Awakening. Seeing if we can forgive ourselves for times when our vision has been clouded, Obscured, When our dreams have been self-centred, When our thoughts have judged others and ourselves harshly. It's okay. It's okay. When fear has filled our minds, It's understandable. Can we let it go? Removing the energy of those experiences. Starting afresh. Fresh vision, Fresh perception. Thank you. Our seventh chakra. The crown chakra on the top of our head facing the sky. Letting the breath energise this part of us in any way that works for you. Many of us have lived much of our lives closed to the divine. This chakra closed up tight because of our fear. Our closed hearts, Our closed experience because of the suffering. We've closed this chakra and we may or may not choose to change that in our present moment, To open to the divine, To the light in the universe and let it enter our experience. That's understandable and it's okay. Because we can choose again consciously what we would like in this present moment in our experience. Thank you. Holding as best we can now our whole being in our awareness. In all its complexity, Strengths and flaws. What we lack and what we hold dear. In this moment can we be perfect? And I don't mean striving to be something you are not. I mean allowing yourself to experience that you are already just as you should be. How you are is just where you should be on your journey right now. And that the observer, The soul self, The higher self of us that asks for and offers the forgiveness. You can hold your hand through all of it. And embrace you through all of the difficulties. And it's the one to offer yourself more love not less. Starting to take one or two deeper breaths as we return to our regular waking consciousness. Knowing that experience of forgiveness is there when we choose it. So having a little stretch and a few breaths to mobilise us. Thank you for practicing with me.