Hi everyone,
Welcome back to Your Journey Yoga.
Today we have a meditation for expansion.
This practice can be done seated or lying down,
Whatever is feeling the most supportive for you today.
Just take a moment to find a shape and settle in.
If you would like to have any props with you,
Whether that's a pillow,
A blanket,
A block or a bolster,
Feel free to utilize that as well.
We want to bring ourselves into a place where our awareness can expand and wander,
Where we can stay attentive and relaxed.
Next,
Once you have found the place you want to be,
You can close your eyes and take a deep inhale in through your nose and then exhale out through your mouth.
Another full and complete inhale and let it go.
Begin to relax the muscles of your face,
Letting the brow and the eyes be soft.
Allow your jaw to unclench and your tongue to settle in a way that feels best for you.
Letting the limbs of your body grow heavy,
Relaxing the body physically as much as you possibly can.
Take a moment to tune into your breath.
Where did you find it first?
In the nose,
The chest,
The belly?
How does it feel to breathe today?
Is there a more intentional form of breath that you would like to find?
That could be an ujjayi breath,
Creating a slight restriction in the back of your throat.
You might also start to find a counted breath,
Counting the lengths of your inhales and exhales and allowing them to be even.
Or simply slowing your inhales and your exhales down in a way that brings you more relaxation.
Continue to follow each breath in and follow each breath out.
You might notice that simply by becoming more mindfully aware of your breath,
That your body and the mind begin to relax more as well.
And if that is not the case,
If the mind is still wandering,
If the body still feels tense,
That's okay.
Just notice.
Keep your inhales nice and deep,
Your exhales super slow.
And any time that a thought or an emotion arises,
Just notice that that happens and give it enough space to be released,
Refocusing on your breath and re-relaxing into the present moment,
Re-relaxing into your body.
Begin to drop your awareness more deeply into the physical sensations of your body.
You might do a scan,
Starting at the crown or at the feet,
Making your way slowly through each part of the body,
Observing what you feel.
Sensation may ebb and flow more easily in some places than others.
You may feel sensation less in some areas than others.
Simply begin to explore the body.
Any and all sensations that are present are fine.
There don't need to be any stories written about what is being felt.
Your only job is to sense,
To feel,
To observe.
If there are sensations that do feel difficult,
That do feel uncomfortable,
Painful,
Continue to breathe as deep as you can.
Allow there to be distance between each thought and distance between the thought connected to the sensation,
Welcoming a sense of spaciousness,
Even and especially to the sensations that feel a little bit difficult.
Allowing your inhales to create space and your exhales to bring you ease.
As you are sensing the physical body,
When you come across something that feels potent,
I'll encourage you now to let your awareness deepen into that part of the body,
Into that sensation,
Familiarizing yourself with the texture of the sensation.
Does it feel dense or light?
Heavy?
Does it sit low in the body or is it more near the surface?
How does the sensation move?
Are there small movements,
Fluid movements?
If it feels tense,
Dense,
Heavy,
Can you imagine the muscles surrounding this part of the body relaxing and melting,
The blood vessels opening,
Being spacious,
The pores of your skin expanding and relaxing around it,
Allowing the sensation to simply dissolve.
Any stories or thoughts,
Opinions you may have of the sensation,
Allow those to dissolve as well.
It is only sensation.
It is simply an experience of the body.
Allow it to be released.
You can continue to do this body awareness practice with other strong sensations of the body for the next couple of minutes.
Continue to relax,
Find spaciousness.
And we will come back together to the sound of my voice in just a few moments.
Now begin to bring your awareness to your hands.
You can have the palms facing up or you can have them facing down.
Whatever is calling to you.
Just begin to feel the center of your palms.
The temperature is present in your hands.
Is there any tingling or buzzing?
Noticing your left thumb,
Pointer finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and pinky.
Observing your right thumb,
Pointer finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and pinky.
Feeling the entirety of both of your palms.
Now if the palms are face down,
Go ahead and turn them up.
And see if you can sense the liminal space just beyond your hands and your fingers.
That might begin simply as sensations of the skin.
Feeling the air surrounding your hands.
Maybe this awareness can expand even slightly further beyond your hands.
Is there any energy?
Any other sensation present in this liminal space beyond your hands?
If this feels challenging for you,
Try not to force it.
Just stay connected to the sensation of your hands.
And see if you can allow the awareness to expand just slightly beyond.
Connecting here with your energy field.
Your energy field that exists just beyond your physical body.
Notice if you can sense this,
Not only in your hands,
But now also maybe your arms.
Shoulders.
Can you sense the liminal space around your head?
Can you sense your energy field just beyond your heart space?
The belly.
The hips and the legs and your feet.
There is no right or wrong.
Just begin playing with your awareness of your energy field.
Your mind's eye may see colors,
Shapes or movement.
Let your intuition expand.
Let your awareness expand.
Allow your energetic senses to heighten.
See if this energetic sense can expand a little farther beyond the body.
Connecting with the space you are in.
Keeping your eyes closed here,
What can you sense in the room with your energetic body?
Again,
There is no right or wrong.
Allow whatever intuitively arises for you to arise.
Practicing attuning to that which is beyond the physical experience.
Is there anything you can connect to beyond the room or the space you are in?
Can you connect to the nature outside?
Sensing the earth,
The trees,
The wind,
Any birds or other animals.
Can you sense your interconnectedness beyond the physical sense to the natural world?
How does it feel to connect with the natural world in this way?
Trust your intuition here.
Allow yourself to receive.
Allow this awareness of your interconnectedness energetically with the body,
The space you are in,
The natural world.
Let it expand upwards towards the sky.
Passing through the clouds.
Expanding towards the stars,
The sun and the moon,
The cosmos,
The universe at large.
How does it feel to energetically sense your interconnectedness with the cosmos,
With the universe?
Remembering that you are a piece of the fabric of the universe.
You are a loving expression of the light of the universe itself.
You are the magic.
Allow your awareness to settle into this intuitive knowing.
Allow yourself to be held here for a moment.
Allowing your awareness to travel back down through the sky.
Back through the natural world.
Back into the elements of your space.
Traveling back down into your heart center.
Carrying this knowing of your interconnectedness to all beings,
To the universe at large,
With you.
Let this knowing live with and through you.
Carry it with you through each moment of each day.
When you feel ready,
You can begin to come back into the physical body by finding small little movements in your fingers and your toes.
Perhaps finding a deeper inhale.
Very slowly fluttering your eyes open.
And allow yourself to come back into your physical experience.
Thank you so much for choosing to show up and practice with me today.
It has been an honor to be your guide.
I'll see you in the next episode.
Namaste.
