Once you come into your position,
Go ahead and close your eyes if that feels safe and okay.
Relax your shoulders.
Notice your breath.
And feel your body just settle into this position as much as possible.
And remember that this version I'm giving against the wall is just one option today.
If it would better suit you to lie down or come to a completely different seat,
Then by all means,
Please serve your body the best way you know how to today.
I was reading a post where someone was sharing about their meditation experience and this is something I try to include in my teachings but sometimes forget,
So I just wanted to remind you.
The student was saying how sometimes it's hard because they feel like their shoulders can't let go at all or they can't soften at all or they can't focus their mind or whatever it is.
All you can do is try to create an environment where that thing may be possible today.
Maybe you create an environment where it's possible to soften your shoulders and relax your jaw.
Maybe you create an environment where it's possible to sit in between thoughts for a moment or two.
You can't force it.
All you can do is try to create the environment where that is possible or most likely to happen and then from there,
You just have to yield and surrender to whatever is.
There's no forcing yourself to soften,
Right?
So just remembering as we move through this to have a sense of deep compassion to yourself and remember that you're trying.
Like that's all that matters.
That's all you can do.
As you continue to settle your energy and your mind and your physical body,
I'm gonna just tell you a little bit about the crown chakra that we're working with today.
So this is the final chakra that we're working with.
We started at the base of the spine,
Remember.
So this one is all the way up at the top center of your head.
So maybe you can become aware of this region of your body.
This is the center of spiritual connection,
Connection to divinity,
To a greater purpose,
To this deep,
Deep wisdom.
Maybe you call it enlightenment,
Right?
It governs our inspiration,
Our devotion in life and it's through this space that we explore a connection to the higher self.
Right,
Not the self,
The small self that is attached to the ego and our physical form and our titles,
Right?
This higher self that kind of watches in the background and observes all these things happening.
And when the crown chakra is balanced,
We have a greater spiritual understanding,
Right?
And I just kind of always think of that as believing without having to see.
Whether that the thing that we are believing in is unseeable or we just haven't seen it for ourselves,
Right?
We have a greater connection to the divine.
Maybe we feel like we have a purpose in our life or maybe we just feel like us existing is purpose enough.
We trust our inner guidance when the chakra is balanced because that relationship with the higher self is already there,
That relationship with divinity is already there.
There is a sense of peace that comes with balance in the chakra,
A sense of clarity,
Not getting caught up in the sense of peace a sense of clarity,
Not getting caught up in the little ordinary stresses of life.
And ultimately this chakra when balanced invokes this feeling of a oneness with all that exists,
Right,
Every being on this planet.
And just notice how your body's feeling now.
You've created the environment as best you can.
Notice what has softened,
What has let go and what has stayed the same.
And notice what has slowed,
What has let go and what has left.
It can be a really hard time to exist with the chakra and balance when we are experiencing illness,
High stress,
Emotional turmoil.
It can,
All those things can really leave us doubting any sense of divinity or spirituality or sometimes it drives us deeper in that direction.
But I want you to acknowledge and observe what your barriers to engaging with the chakra in a balanced way are.
Remember it may be one,
It might be none,
There may be just an inkling of one,
Maybe this is your strongest connection to the chakras yet,
Remember that.
There's no right or wrong with this,
Right?
You're gonna have different relationships with all of them.
Maybe one barrier to experiencing the chakra in a balanced way is that you have a really hard time believing in what you can't see,
Right?
Or maybe your barrier is that you can't comprehend,
Feel any type of connection to the chakra or connection to anybody that you don't know.
Or maybe your barrier is that you're really sick or you've had a lot of bad things,
Hard things happen in your life and it feels hard to believe in something really great when there's so much suffering in your life on this planet.
Just acknowledge the barrier that you have,
The one that is maybe calling out the most to you that seems like the biggest block.
And I want you to solidify it in your mind,
Repeat it three times.
I'm gonna give you a couple more moments to decide what your barrier is,
To perceive it and explore it for a moment,
And then we will continue on.
If you already have your barrier in mind,
Just continue to repeat it in your mind or if it feels really secure,
You're not gonna forget it.
Come back to noticing the location of the crown chakra at the top of your head.
Okay.
For our pranayama,
You have two options,
Both tied to the breath with the different visualizations.
Either way,
The concept is with each inhale,
Envisioning,
Imagining,
Sensing that you're breathing the whole universe into your being.
And then on each exhale,
Releasing the whole universe back out.
And you can visualize this kind of portal coming through the top of your head at the crown chakra location,
Inhaling,
Letting the air,
The whole universe,
Seep into and sink down into your body and with each exhale,
Pulling the universe back out and letting it re-expand.
Or if you'd like a different visualization option,
You can almost imagine your body opening up like a coat.
Right?
Like opening up from the front and as you inhale,
Your heart,
Your chest opens out to each side,
Right?
Expanding and letting the whole universe in.
It closes gently and then as you exhale,
It opens again and everything releases back out.
So take the visualization that's best suited to you.
Of course,
If you need to tweak it even more too,
Best suit yourself,
Please do so.
You can change any kind of verbiage in the mind to help you better settle into it,
Help you better embrace this exchange.
Using this as a way to remember that your soul is divine.
Your soul in itself is spiritual.
Right?
We all understand that when we die,
This physical body remains,
But our soul,
That something greater than,
Right?
Is no longer tied to this place,
To this body that it's been coexisting with in this time.
It's this way of embracing oneness with all.
Holding everything and then letting everything hold you.
So,
I'm gonna start with this.
I'm gonna start with this.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
If your mind has wandered off,
That's natural.
Just try to bring yourself back to this breath exchange.
Okay.
Release the visualization of your breath and come back to that barrier that you thought of,
Maybe you repeated in the mind,
A barrier to existing with the crown chakra in a balanced form.
And I want you to create your personalized affirmation that aims to address this.
Right?
So,
For example,
If you have a really hard time believing things that you can't touch and hold and see and calculate in some way,
Maybe your affirmation is,
I don't have to see to know.
I don't have to see to know.
Just like we can't see wind,
But we can feel the breeze,
Right?
I don't have to see to know.
Or maybe if you are having a hard time connecting to the higher version of yourself,
Maybe repeat in mind,
I am not this body.
Breaking a little bit of this connection to the physical body,
Not in a way that is dismissive or unappreciative to the body,
But a healthy detachment that says,
I am so much more than this.
Right?
The big I that is.
So again,
These are just two examples.
You pick one that aligns with your particular barrier.
Again,
The ones I offered or I don't have to see to know and I am not this body.
Take all the time you need to find your affirmation and then once you do,
Continue to verbalize it,
Whether that's mentally or out loud.
Just saying it over and over and over and over again.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Release your affirmation and simply let your mind go.
Let it go where it goes,
Let it stay where it stays.
There may be something,
There may be nothing,
But try to sit in the seat of the higher self,
That observer,
That witness and just watch where your mind goes when it doesn't have anything too specific to attach to,
To follow,
To think about.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Simply acknowledge where your mind is,
Where it's gone to in this time.
Maybe you pulled it somewhere,
Maybe it went somewhere with some accord,
Maybe it was kind of nowhere.
After you've acknowledged where your mind was just at,
Become aware of your breath.
Become mentally aware of the space around you,
How close or far things are from your body,
What's in contact with you,
The colors,
Shadows,
And shapes.
Now you'll see when you open your eyes.
Maybe dropping your chin towards your chest a little bit if you're in an upright seat so that when you do eventually open your eyes,
You're gazing downward and then you can choose to look up when it best suits you.
Thank you so much for joining me for this practice,
For trusting me to guide you.
I will see you next time.
