Grounded

So,

Before we start though,

We're going to do ujjayi breath work,

Which helps with grounding,

And specifically we'll be doing it with the exhale.

So we will inhale normally,

And then we will use this ujjayi breath to exhale.

So for those of you who might not know what that breath is,

I'm just going to give you a little bit of a demo,

And we can even practice.

I can't hear you or see you,

So if you want to practice,

You can.

You don't necessarily have to.

So you can kind of imagine like your hand is a mirror in front of you,

And with your mouth,

What you're going to start to do is imagine like you're going to fog up that mirror.

So it looks something a little bit like this.

Specifically,

What's happening is there's this restriction in the throat,

And you can hear that sound,

And that right there is the ujjayi breath,

And so if it feels better,

You can keep the mouth open.

Traditionally,

How we practice though is we close the mouth,

So it's just making the same exact sound.

So what we will do is we will inhale,

Like I said,

And then it's,

So it's that constriction of the throat happening,

Kind of like I said,

Like you're fogging up a mirror in front of you,

Or you know you're getting ready to clean your sunglasses.

Same exact sound,

And you can close your mouth.

If you want to practice keeping the mouth open until you really can grasp it,

You can do that,

And then you can gently just close your mouth.

So we're going to do that.

We'll do that about a quarter of the way through the meditation today,

And then another thing we're going to use,

And I'm just going to show you,

And then I'll talk you through it,

But we're going to use a mudra.

So a mudra,

For those of you who might not know,

Just means hand gesture,

And this one specifically,

This is the jhana mudra,

J-N-A-N-A,

Is the pointer finger and thumb connected,

And then your palms,

So kind of imagine like I'm either lying down or I'm seated,

Your palms are facing down like this,

So gently touch them.

You don't need to squeeze them together,

And if,

As we're meditating,

They kind of release,

Then you can just let that happen.

So again,

Like I said,

Specifically the palms are facing down,

Down towards the ground,

Because that's where we want to bring our attention.

We've seen other people do it this way,

That's a whole different property,

So again,

Downward.

All right,

Let's just get started,

And whoever wants to join can join.

So just kind of squirming and wiggling in your position,

Just kind of really settling yourself in,

And we will actually start here by using that hand gesture,

That mudra,

The jhana mudra,

So just gently,

Very lightly touching the pointer finger and the thumb,

And it doesn't matter if you're seated or you're lying down,

Either way,

Just turn the palms to face downward.

If you're seated,

You can rest them on your lap.

If you're lying down,

You can bring them alongside the body and rest them on the floor or your bed or wherever you are.

And as we first begin our meditation,

Let's just take a big picture of noticing where we are this evening,

Even where we are this week,

But specifically in this moment.

Sometimes when we come to our meditation practice,

We might have a lot with us,

That could be emotionally,

It could be a lot of weight that we're bringing with us,

It could be joy as well.

And so just acknowledging where we are this evening,

Accepting it,

And letting it just sit down right next to us,

And being gentle on ourselves.

So sometimes if we're having a harder week or a harder day,

Meditating might be a little bit more difficult,

Not necessarily setting the expectation that tonight you're going to have a difficult time,

But being gentle on ourselves and just accepting exactly where we are,

Letting ourself flow in and out of the meditative space,

And if our mind wanders,

We just bring it back in.

Now let's begin to turn inward,

Starting with the physical body,

As we always do,

And allowing the mind to start to scan around the physical body.

And just a reminder for this part,

We try to keep it really simple.

You don't need to analyze why an area might feel tight or even open.

You just notice that this one little place in your shoulder,

There might be some pressure.

Maybe your hands feel a little bit uncomfortable,

Maybe your back feels really supported.

And this is also the time that we allow ourselves to move and shift,

Getting out anything finally that we might need to,

And then eventually really settling into the pose.

So as you're scanning the internal body,

Don't feel like you need to hold anything still.

If your hand all of a sudden wants to start shaking and moving,

Just let it do it.

Just kind of let it go.

It's like those emotions,

We acknowledge them and then release it.

And if you have not done so already,

Moving on to your breath.

And we're just noticing the breathing.

We're not trying to elongate it if we feel like it gets stopped in a certain part of our body.

We're just watching it,

Noticing it as it travels down through the body,

And then watching that exhale as it travels back up again.

Now adding on to the breath,

We're going to use that ujjayi breath on the exhale.

So inhaling normally,

And then using that ujjayi exhale,

A little bit of constriction of the throat.

You don't need to make it really a loud sound.

The sound is just for you to hear,

So it can be really quiet.

And as you continue through using that ujjayi on the exhale,

With each exhale,

Allowing the body to release a little bit.

Allow the body to surrender and to really connect with the surface that is supporting you.

Just let go with those exhales.

And then completing three more rounds.

And with these final three,

Each exhale brings you deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation.

And then you can release the attention to the breath.

And beginning to imagine light from our higher source.

So that might be whatever you might believe in.

And this light shining from this higher source travels down,

And then eventually it will reach the crown of our head,

The very top of our head.

And this light will travel down from the top of our head,

Forming this egg surrounding our entire body.

So you can imagine the egg starts at the top of the head,

And then on the right and left,

Travels all the way down past the shoulders,

The arms,

Past the waist,

The hips,

The legs and feet,

And then that egg gently closes underneath of your feet.

So sealing you in,

Keeping you safe and secure.

Knowing that you are protected within this bubble,

Within this egg.

And that nothing that is not of the highest light source may come near you.

And this light source now travels down through that crown of the head,

Filling up that entire egg,

Filling up your body.

This light radiates and envelops the entire body,

This entire space surrounding the body,

Filling up this entire circle,

This whole bubble.

And knowing that as you radiate in this light,

You are safe,

You are secure.

And gently drawing your attention into your root chakra.

So your root chakra is that energetic space located right at the perineum,

Right on your pelvic floor.

Our root chakra is a red sphere.

And it's said that this sphere is halfway with inside the body and halfway outside.

And as you tune into your root chakra,

Noticing what shade of red it is.

Maybe it's a ruby,

Or crimson,

Or even a pale red color.

As you inhale,

This shade of red brightens and grows,

Radiates the most beautiful red.

And as you exhale,

Imagining just like smoke,

Anything that is not serving your security,

Your safety,

Release it out into that bubble that surrounds you.

Inhaling the brightness,

The most beautiful red color that you can imagine.

And then exhale,

Anything from this space that is keeping it from shining brightly,

Just release it into the light.

And then gently releasing the imagery after you finish an exhale.

And keeping our awareness in this root chakra,

This beautiful red sphere now shining very brightly.

Knowing that we are safe,

Secure,

Steady.

And from this space,

Imagining roots.

So these very strong roots as if coming from a hundred-year-old oak tree,

Beginning to grow from this area.

And these roots begin to lower down through the surface that's supporting you.

Lowering down through the foundation of the building which you're located.

Your home.

And as these roots go lower,

They become stronger.

And eventually lowering down in through the earth.

And traveling down through each of the levels of the earth.

The rock,

Sand and sediment.

Becoming stronger as they continue to lower down through the earth.

And eventually your roots will find that very core,

That very center of the earth.

Which looks like a silver sphere.

And this root begins to wrap around that silver circle.

Locking you in.

The next time you inhale,

Pulling up the energy from the stable,

Steady,

Secure earth all the way into your body.

So traveling up those roots into the body.

And as you exhale,

Releasing from the body what is not serving you.

Down into those roots,

Into the earth to be recycled,

Renewed.

Inhaling,

Pulling up stability,

Steadiness.

And exhaling any anger or sadness,

Worry,

Doubt or fear.

And staying with this imagery using that inhale to pull in what you need.

And that exhale to release what you don't need.

And we'll stay here for a couple moments of silence.

Allowing that imagery to gently fall away.

And trusting that you are fully supported,

Safe,

Secure and steady.

Bringing your awareness back into the body.

Feeling the surface below you.

And feeling the parts of your body that are connected to that surface that is supporting you.

Noticing the effects of the body from when we first began to now.

Noticing any shifts.

And if you are lying down,

Stacking one hand on the heart center and the other hand right on top.

And if you are seated,

Bringing your hands into Anjali Mudra prayer position.

Bringing attention into the space behind the hands,

Either bowing down to it or just mentally bringing awareness there.

And with your attention in this space,

Saying to yourself one time,

I am safe,

I am secure.

And knowing that at any moment,

If you feel as though you're starting to feel a little unsteady or stable,

You can always just bring that attention back into the root chakra and lock yourself into the earth.

From my heart space to each of yours,

I'm deeply grateful that you joined me this evening.

Wishing you a grounding rest of your evening and week.

Namaste.