The practice of alternate nostril breathing or Nadi Shodhana can act as a gentle reminder to live in reciprocity with nature as it supports us to access internal balance.
We begin by finding a comfortable upright seat,
Lengthening the spine and softening shoulders backwards and downwards.
And resting your left palm in your lap and bringing your right hand just in front of your face.
With the right hand,
Place your pointer finger and middle finger to rest between your eyebrows,
Lightly using them as an anchor point.
Placing your thumb to the right nostril and ring finger to the left nostril.
And taking a clearing breath to begin,
Inhale through the nose and allow the breath to fall out the mouth.
Lightly seal the right nostril with your thumb as you inhale left.
Lightly seal the left nostril with your middle finger as you exhale right.
Inhale right,
Exhale left.
Inhale left,
Exhale right.
Inhale right,
Exhale left.
In through the left,
And out the right.
In through the right,
And out the left.
Continuing to alternate nostrils in your own timing,
And you may observe the length of your inhalations and exhalations.
And see if you can allow them to be equal in length and depth.
And perhaps noticing the space between each breath.
And take your time to complete the practice,
Finishing with an exhalation out of the left nostril.
Invitation to check in and notice any shift.
It could be a shift in the balance between your inhalation and exhalation,
In your state of being from when you arrived in your seat until now.
And see if you can stay with that gentle awareness of your natural breath,
Remaining present with your breath and body as you listen to the music for meditation on the earth element.
Begin by softening your face.
Allow the eyelids to become heavy,
The cheekbones soften,
Jaw release,
And lips part slightly.
Feeling the tongue floating in the mouth.
And just starting to open your hearing to the sounds around you,
And see how far you can expand your hearing awareness.
Noticing what's the furthest sound you can hear.
Gradually drawing the hearing in closer,
Hearing sounds around you in the room,
And perhaps you can hear the gentle pulse of your heart beating or your own breath.
And see if you can become aware of all sounds at once.
Awareness of the furthest and closest sounds you can hear.
Bring your awareness to your breath,
Without changing anything.
Simply noticing how your breath is naturally breathing your body.
Connecting with the rhythm of your inhalation and exhalation in and out.
You might check in and notice how the meeting of your breath to body feels.
Are the edges of the breath smooth or jagged?
And as you continue to soften,
Can you observe any change in your natural breath?
Now starting to observe all three awarenesses at once.
The softness in your face,
Your hearing wide open,
And this connection or anchor to your natural breath.
Fully present with all three awarenesses at once.
See if you can stay present with the three awarenesses as you listen in to the compositions for meditation.
